Tuesday’s (7/7) plan was to hike 14 miles. It was raining when I got up in the morning. The forecast was for rain until 6pm. I finally stepped out into the rain about 8:30 to start the long wet hike. I must admit, it’s not much fun to hike in the rain. You have to be careful because of the slippery conditions. Some parts of the trail looked like a stream. At first I tried to walk on the side of the trail to avoid walking in water up to my ankles until it really didn’t matter any longer, so I just walked right through it. Finally around 3 pm the rain stopped. I made it to the shelter. It was a very miserable day. There was one other hiker at the shelter. The wind was still blowing hard which kept the mosquitos away, so I slept in the shelter. I got a decent nights rest.
Wednesday (7/8) was one of those days that my hike turned out much shorter than planned. In the morning I had to put my wet clothes back on since I only carry one set of hiking clothes. Putting on wet pants, shirt and socks is not much fun.
The day started with a tough 3 mile hike to the top of Greylock Mountain. Greylock is the tallest mountain in Massachusetts. At the top of the mountain there is Bascom Lodge and Cafe and also a war memorial. The lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservative Corp. The war memorial was dedicated in 1933, honoring all Massachusetts’ war dead.
People can drive their cars to the top of the mountain. I took the hard way up. There was a large crowd there enjoying the beautiful day. The view was spectacular. I had a burger at the cafe and then sat for a while just looking at the view. My plan was to hang out for about 30 minutes but it turned into a hour and a half. I headed down the mountain and cut my day’s hike short. The day’s total was only 7 miles. I set up my tent by a shelter and there was another hiker setting up next to me and we hung out for a while talking. About 7 o’clock I crawled into my tent and went to sleep.
Thursday’s (7/9) plan was to hike a little over 11 miles. The day’s hike started with a with a climb up Mount Prospect which provided a beautiful view. It was a great place to sit and read God’s Word and spend sometime in prayer. There were several miles of the trail that went through a beautiful pine forest. I came into the town of North Adam’s Massachusetts. The trail goes right down a residential street. As I walked by one house there was a nice lady walking her dog. She told me stop by her house that had a AT symbol and come up to enjoy a cold drink or two, could not refuse that. She went by the trail name of Evergreen and her’s husband trail name is Father Time. The three of us set on the porch and chatted for a while. Very nice couple that just love the hiker community.
The second part of the day included lots of rocks and bugs. The mosquitoes and gnats were relentless. I came to the Vermont border, goodbye Massachusetts. Vermont is also the home of the Long Trail that stretches from Vermont to Canada. The Long Trail and the AT share the next hundred miles until Maine Junction, where the Long Trail turns north toward Canada. While the AT is much more popular and widely known, the Long Trail is actually older and was the original inspiration for the Appalachian Trail. I stopped at area where power line were to set up my tent. The shelter which was another 1/2 mile up had no tent site and I did not want to fight the mosquitoes all night. It was a bit windy up there but I got a pretty good night’s sleep.
Friday’s (7/10) plan was to hike 10 miles and call a shuttle and take me to Bennington Vermont. Most of the hike was a pretty smooth but there was some very muddy areas that tried to suck your shoes off. Vermont is known as Mudmont on the AT. Toward the end of the day I climbed up Harmon Hill which had a beautiful view of Bennington. It was a very long and steep decline to navigate before arriving at my pickup point. It felt like I would never get down from there. Just before I got down I met my first south – bounder ( Joyo) coming from Maine. I was surprised to see a South- Bounders this early, he had started 6/1 and was moving fast. I finally got down and met my driver, Steve.
Steve dropped me off at the motel. He is a true trail angel and does not ask for money, but you can donate if you want. This was a neat little motel that caters to hikers. There was a hiker there that I previously met at a a hostel in Connecticut. It was very cool to see Spark Plug again. There is a pass thru- hiker (Stops) that makes the motel his home base, he travels up and down the trail making trail magic for hikers. He fixed us pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, potato salad and onion fritters. There was six of us sitting in the shade eating and having great conversation. Steve and Stops love the trail community and devote their time helping hikers. Back to the trail in the morning.
Saturday (7/11) Spark Plug and I got dropped off at the trail. I only had a ten mile day planned. It was one of those times when there was a campsite at 10 miles or 15 miles, I knew I could not do the 15 mile day. There was a hard incline hiking out of town, it was a lung buster. The day was pretty uneventful. I did pass an area with power poles that had a nice view of the town Bennington, which I just left. About 7 miles into the day I hit the 600 mile mark, that was exciting. I arrived at the shelter area and met a hiker named Red Squirrel. He was up from GA heading to Maine. I ate my dinner, set up my tent, crawled into my tent and went to sleep. Until next time, Happy Trails !
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