11 June - Williamstown / North Adams, MA

Partly sunny with high on mid 70s.

Started the day atop Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. The monument there to the state's war dead was actually intended to be a light house. Apparently the light in it works and is turned on at night (not for ships but airplanes).

We said our goodbyes to Dave the Man and Mo Fo. The hike today was 6.5 miles to Williamstown / North Adams. They went on to the next shelter.

On the way down from Mt. Greylock we came to the view at Mt. Williams. I am told that you can see the Green Mountains in the distance. At the view point, Terry and Cindy, the "Drive Thru Hikers" caught up to us. We talked and then hiked the rest of the way out with them. It was very slick coming down the steep sections. Everyone had some trouble - I fell twice.

Today is their last day hiking for this spring (they will be back in the fall to do Vermont). They gave us a ride into North Adams to pickup our packages at the Post Office. Then the helped us find a motel and drove us there. Very nice of them. Today they planned to drive 500 miles and be home (Illinois ) by tomorrow. Being 500 miles away from here by tonight is such a foreign concept to me now.

After reorganizing our gear, we wanted to send a bounce box ahead. So we tried out the local bus service (and found this is not like Hong Kong). The bus only comes once an hour and today the schedule is completely off due to construction. The first bus to come was to Williamstown so we took it. Good thing! It is a beautiful New England college town. We took care of our mailings and walked around the town / campus. Even found an outfitter before we caught the next bus back.

We are staying at the Redwood Motel which is near the trail so we can be up and out early.

Dave the Man

Some pics from today.

Our departure today - Tom, Knee Deep, and MoFo.

10 June - slack pack back to Dalton

Cloudy with rain most of the day. High in the upper 60s. It was wet all day with occasional rain except hard rain in the early afternoon.

Hiked 17 miles today. That is the most we have ever hiked. True, we were slack packing (not carrying our heavy packs but only a day pack. But it was still the most we have ever done so we feel good. Actually, I felt better than I did after an eight mile day two months ago.

Tom Levardi took us up north and dropped us off. Knee deep headed north. We hiked south, back to Dalton, with Mo Fo and Dave the Man. They left us behind. I found out why today. They are both Marathon runners. Also found out that Knee Deep is a Navy Seal. I am out of my league out here. Also found out tonight that Dave is 73! Can't believe it. He ran part of the trail today and finished an hour before the rest of us.

Tom will take us back in the morning to the same spot and we will continue our hike north from there. He is a great guy and spends a lot of time helping hikers. He took us to an outfitter tonight so we could get new poles, gas for the stove, and a sleeping bag liner.

Not much wildlife today but there was yesterday and I forgot to mention it. We say two very large wild turkeys that ran over a hill. We we crossed it, they ran down hill and took off flying down the steep hill staying low to the ground and trying to be evasive.

Then we saw another grouse that put on quite a spectacle. She jumped up in the are making noises like new puppies make (Wendy's description but accurate). She flew up then back down and repeated this try to attract attention to her and away from her nest. She did this only four feet away from me at one point. Finally she move away but kept making noises to get us to follow her.

Lastly, we saw what I thought was moose scat and a set of tracks that could have been from a moose. I thought it was unlikely but Tom said that they do come down this far occasionally. Hope we see a moose on this trip.

Found out that Dalton is the home of Crane paper and that they make the paper for all the US currency here in Dalton.

Dalton, Mass - Shamrock Inn

Dinner was nice (Jacobs) and the company was great (lots of hiking stories).  We learned from Canoe Man that Alice's Restaurant was actually located in Great Barrington and the police that arrested him were from nearby Stockton.  We went through Stockton twice - beautiful New England resort town and home of Norman Rockwell.

Mo Fo has arranged a slack pack tomorrow that we will join.  Probably going rain all day so it will be nice to come back to a dry motel room.

View from Warner Mtn. on way to Dalton

09 June - Dalton Mass.

Cold and wet. Rain this afternoon, light at first but now heavy. High today in the 50s, but only for a while. Most of the day while we were hiking it was in the 40s. Low in the high 30s or 40.

Very cold last night. My sleeping bag plus extra clothes was not enough. Shivering! Wendy's bag is a little better and it was enough with extra clothes on. I may need a new bag.

The hike was easy today. We hiked about 10 miles to Dalton and got here before 1:00. Went to the post office and bounced all three packages (from Mary, Shana, and ourselves).

We are staying at the Shamrock Inn and Mo Fo, Dave, and Canoe Man are all here. We are going out to dinner shortly.

08 June - Cookie Lady's Farm (near Becket)

Partly cloudy and cool with some rain in the afternoon.  High in low 60s.

Berkshire Lakeside Lodge was a very nice stop.  Besides the kayaking, she (one of the new owners) gave us a bowl of fruit and two big muffins for snacks and breakfast. 

The hike today was nice - a big climb in the morning and then small ups and downs the rest of the day.  There were lots of lakes and ponds/marshs, very pretty.  It did rain today in the afternoon - lightly for about 20 minutes then harder.  We were close to a shelter and were able to get out of the rest of it.  It was cold enough that we were hiking in jackets even when it was not raining.  It is supposed to be cold tonight, 43.  Hope our light weight bags are enough (they won't be).

Today we met many people on the trail.  First we met "Blue Moon", a young guy thru hiking.  Then came "Mo Fo" who we first met last week when he was slack packing.  They both passed us but we saw them again at the top of the climb.  "Dave the Man" was there too - he is Mo Fo's hiking partner.  Both have previously thru hiked th AT.  Mo Fo is section hiking to complete the AT for the third time.  Both guys are approximately my age.  We all left together but Blue Moon left us all behind. 

A short way down the trail we met Cindy and Terry again.  We actually saw them twice as they continue their journey to hike the AT downhill.  They do not know it yet but they have been given the trail name "Drive Thru Hikers". 

We met up again with Mo Fo and Dave the Man at our campsite tonight.  We are at the Cookie Lady's farm.  She (Marilyn) and her husband Roy live on a blueberry farm just off the trail and let hikers camp there and get water.  As you might guess, she also bakes cookies for the hikers.  They were good.  Very nice people.

Shortly after we arrived, we were joined by "Knee Deep".  He started from GA in Feb. and hiked with Toe Man, Eric D. (Lead Dog), The Gent, Trek, and others.  He gave us an update.  Nature Boy finished first but had to go back to complete the section he skipped.  Toe Man finished two days later (presumably making him first - even though they are not really racing).  The others are finishing now.  Knee Deep got injured - broken bone in his left foot and shin splints in left leg.  He had to get off the trail twice.  As we were setting up our tent, he left to hike the 10 miles into Dalton that the four of us will do tomorrow. 

At dinner, "Canoe Man" arrived.  He was at Goose Pond with Mo Fo and Dave last night.  The gave him the trail name yesterday because he apparently fell out of his canoe in Goose Pond.  He had on a fleece jacket which was so water logged, that he could not swim back to the canoe.  He went under twice but finally thought to take the jacket off.  He was then able to get back and into the canoe.  He is continuing his section hike from GA to ME with a new trail name.

Hope it does not get too cold or rain tonight.

Upper Goose Pond

07 June - Upper Goose Pond . . .

Beautiful day, high about 70.  Breezy.

Wendy saw a large deer and we both got multiple close up views of a Great Heron at the lake.   Met Cindy and Terry from Southern Illinois.  They started section hiking from GA in 2002 and have made it this far north.   They hope to complete it next year.  They use two cars and always pick their direction so that they go mostly down hill.

Great day for hiking.  Planned an easy day hiking to Goose Pond Cabin but we arrived there so early (and it was too cool to swim), so we hiked further...

Location Note from #Compass

Upper Goose Pond near Tyringham, MA
USA

Altitude: 1788 ft
Latitude: 42°17'5.5" N
Longitude: 73°10'11.7" W

07 June - Berkshire Lakeside Lodge, Rt. 20

... and crossed I-90 (our 8th or 9th interstate crossing) and came to Rt. 20 and the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge. Went kayaking for something different. Have ordered Chinese delivery. It's tough out here on the trail.

Location Note from #Compass

3512-3832 Jacobs Ladder Rd
Becket, MA 01223
USA

Altitude: 1394 ft
Latitude: 42°17'22.4" N
Longitude: 73°9'19.5" W

06 June - zero day Monument Mtn. Motel, Great Barrington

Cooler, upper 70s.  Wind, heavy rain.

Took a zero day and watched the tornado watches and warnings on local TV.  Did laundry and have everything dried. 

Packing up now - back on the trail tomorrow to Goose Pond Cabin.  Only slight chance of a shower.

05 June - Tyringham back to Great Barrington

Rain and thunderstorms,  high in mid 80s. 

Forecast changed and we decided to hike from Tyringham back to Rt. 23, 11 miles.   Good hike, less rocks and steep climbs.  Took lots of pictures. 

It rained on us of course but we can dry out in the motel room.  Nice to get some miles in during bad weather.   Tornado watch today and again tomorrow. 

Met two hikers today,  both very strange.

Pictures from today's hike - 05 June

All before the rain came.

04 June - Great Barrington

We slack packed today.  The people here at Monument Mountain Motel (Pravin and Krishna) drove us over to where the trail crosses Rt. 23 and we hiked back - about 9 miles.   This is a good place for hikers to stay.  Call them, and they will pick you up (413 528-3272).

The trip to the outfitter was a bust.  The good one closed and the remaining one sells clothes, shoes, and lawn furniture.  We still need gas and new tips for my poles (they are getting dangerous ).

After that, we hiked.  It was a nice hike but surprisingly tiring for 9 miles.  We came back to a swim in the ice cold pool (cold to us Southerners).  Feel pretty good for now - Wendy is still hiking.

Some pictures from our hike today

What porcupines do to the shelters - while you are sleeping!

03 June Great Barrington, MA

Cloudy, warm, and humid, high on low 70s.

Saw a small snake again and a wild turkey hiding in the grass.  Still seems like spring here.  Lady Slippers are still blooming and even saw some wild Azalea still with blooms.  Mountain Laurel is mostly ready to bloom in the next week or so.

Tough day - two 700-800 foot climbs before lunch followed by lots of up and down.  There was also a very steep decent of 1000 feet and 2000 feet total.  This coming down from Mt. Everett, the second highest peak in Massachusetts.

It rained on us lightly twice and some thunder.  Fortunately,  the last several miles of the days 12.8 were mostly flat.  Unfortunately, they were full of mosquitos.  At one point we had to part some leaves to enter into a pine forest.  As soon as we did, we were both in a cloud of mosquitos - 20+ bites each.  Applied more deet and put on head nets.

When we arrived, Wendy was spent.  There was some idle talk of quitting.  We are supposed to do 13+ miles tomorrow.  That is already out.  Plus we must go to an outfitter for stove gas, hiking pole repair, and some needed clothing.  This will cause a late departure.  I have arranged a slack pack day of 8-9 miles and we will come back here to Barrington for another night. 

Maybe I can get some more pictures tomorrow.

Massachusetts!