Day 8, Great Barrington to North Mt Wilcox Shelter. 13.5 miles.
Rosemary O’Brien gave me a ride back to the trail this morning. She lives locally, and I was grateful for her help.
My body felt good after my zero, and my backpack didn’t feel heavy even though I resupplied.
Started the day in humid Mosquitoville. The bugs were quite bad through the first climbs of the day. They eventually subsided somewhat. Definitely my buggiest day on trail.
It rained lightly throughout the day, which I appreciated since it kept me from overheating.
Saw no other thruhikers today. Saw a friendly local dayhiker.
Not much in the way of views since everything was socked in.
Lots of ups and downs, over and over. I guess that sums up the AT, though!
For the first time, I’m at a campsite by myself. Unforecasted heavy rain is now falling. I already had my tent set up and everything situated before the drops fell, but still, there wasn’t supposed to be rain tonight. Kind of makes me with I had set myself up in the shelter instead of my tent. Oh well. My tent is doing its job so far. Hopefully this rain will stop soon and the rest of the night will be clear (as forecasted).
Day 9, North Wilcox Shelter to Berkshire Lakeside Lodge. Massachusetts 15.8 miles.
It poured rain all night long, which was not in the forecast. I had to close the rain fly, which made the inside of my tent feel like a sauna. So much condensation! Everything was wet outside and in when I packed up in the morning.
The first few hours of hiking felt stifling. It was so humid that the sweat would not evaporate from my skin but just remained there as a slimy film. The forecast called for highs in the lower 90s with thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Thankfully there were only a few climbs today, and they were relatively manageable. The day also grew less humid as the hours passed.
Walked through some pretty fields, including one with tons of boardwalks.
Caught up with the woman from my first day and her dog. Pebbles is the woman’s trail name. She and a few others were sitting at a stream cooling off. Chatted with them all for a bit, then continued on my way.
There’s an enclosed cabin hikers can stay in for free, but I opted instead to go further on and stay at a motel right off the trail. I need ac tonight, and I want to rinse out my clothes. Was not expecting to pay for a motel so soon after my zero, but I think ac would really help my body after a day like today.
Crossed the 100 mile mark! 102.9 trail miles, to be exact (not including town detours)
4.68% of the trail is now complete. Only 95.32% to go!
Day 10, Berkshire Lakeside Lodge to Sweet Pea’s Ice Cream in Dalton. 18.9 miles
Had a great night at Berkshire Lakeside Lodge. The air conditioning and lovely room helped restore my energy. I also scored a nice rice packet out of the hiker box and bought a couple of cold ginger ales. Was able to dry everything out, too. It thunderstormed and poured rain overnight, but what did I care, I was inside.
Started the morning with a huge free muffin provided by the lodge, then off I went. I felt amazing, like I could fly. The sky was overcast, the temps were cool, and there was a strong wind the entire day. Had to look up from time to time to make sure nothing was going to fall on my head. I loved it, I felt blissfully happy. I sped along, bounding up the 1000 feet of elevation gain of Beckett Mountain, and I don’t think I broke a sweat. Give me temps in the 50s/lower 60s all the time, please.
Took a break at one point and three people came up behind me. Two are doing a LASH (long ass section hike), and one is a NOBO. Scar (female), Finn (male), and Martian (male). I hiked with them for a while and enjoyed their company. At one point I got ahead again for a while.
Stopped by the Cookie Lady’s home. Her place is just off trail, and she gives homemade cookies and hibiscus tea to hikers for donations. That tea was amazing. The Cookie Lady herself wasn’t home, but I met her helper Harry.
Went over Warner Hill and enjoyed some lovely views.
Toward the end of the day, Finn and Martian caught up and called out to me. They told me they wanted to give me a trail name. Since I hike in a dress – something neither of them had seen before – they named me Prom Queen. At first I didn’t like it since I was the complete opposite of a prom queen in high school, but then I warmed up to it and gratefully accepted the name. It makes me smile. 🙂 The two guys seemed happy to have named someone. I was slowing down a bit, so they went ahead. I saw them again a mile later once I got into Dalton, MA. Shared a table at Sweet Pea’s and enjoyed some ice cream.
I had a problem now. I had happily gone 18.9 miles without thinking too much about it – cool weather makes me happy! – but now I was too tired to hike an additional five miles uphill to the next camping area. Oops. Called a local trail angel, Tom Levardi, and he said he could give me a ride to a local motel. Tom is an AT fixture, he did the trail years ago and now helps out other hikers every year. Super nice guy.
I wasn’t planning on platinum blazing Massachusetts, but here I am in another motel room. Call this a $133 lesson in pacing myself. Should have stopped earlier instead of going almost 19 miles.
Day 11, Dalton ice cream store to Mark Noepel Shelter. 13.7 miles
Took it easier today since there was a heat advisory index. Began at 6am (trail angel Tom gets up at 5 so was happy to get me back to trail early). Walked through the rest of Dalton, then made it up the first hill (1000 feet of elevation gain..?) without much trouble. Walked through the town of Cheshire and began heading up Saddle Ball Mountain/Mount Greylock. A bunch of steep climbs in humid weather.
Thought about continuing over the summit which would have me doing a total of 19 or 20 miles, but since the heat is going to continue for the next two days, I decided instead to pace myself.
Now, sitting in my tent at the Mark Noepel Shelter area, I kind of wish I had continued on. The place is now full and it’s not even 5pm. There’s a college group of six that is playing recorded music, a father-son duo who walked right through my tenting space and almost tripped over my guylines, and a bunch of other thruhikers. Scar, Finn, and Martian continued farther today, the thruhikers here that I met are Diva, Moose, and PBR. They are nice, of course. I heard other folks arrive, but by then I had retreated to my tent.
The whole place is loud right now. I am sure it will quiet down once hiker midnight (9pm) arrives, but I am hot, tired, and feeling antisocial, so I will therefore stay in my tent for the night.
This is why I never wanted to be a NOBO as opposed to a flip flipper or SOBO. I enjoy speaking with other hikers while on trail or at streams during breaks. Lots of great people out here, everyone is kind. I like hiking with others too if we happen to be going the same pace. At the end of the hiking day, however, I really want to be on my own or with just a couple of other folks. I’m not into a crowded or loud scene. Other hikers are, and there is of course nothing wrong with that. It’s just not my thing. Once I get into Vermont, I will likely seek out dispersed camping sites instead of staying at/near shelters.
Day 12, 19.2 miles, from Mark Noepel Shelter in MA to Beaver Pond outlet (mile 1609.2 NOBO) in Vermont
It rained early in the morning, so I started out with a wet tent. Despite the extra water weight, I felt good. Was out of the shelter area before any of the other hikers and had the trail up Greylock all to myself with the exception of a female NOBO who overtook me close to the summit.
The day today was grey, and there were rumbles of thunder here and there. The rain had cooled the temps, so the heat I had been concerned about wasn’t happening. The lodge at the top was not yet open for breakfast, and the views were of Cloud, so I didn’t linger before beginning my descent. I have seen the views before anyway, back when my kids were little and we were highpointing.
It was a long slog down, going over some minor neighboring peaks along the way. The sun came out and the temps increased. Finally arrived in North Adams and – trail magic! Many coolers filled with all kinds of things sitting in a local park. Cold drinks, doughnuts, crackers, wet wipes, first aid, it was a delight. I was running out of food and my body needed a sugar hit, so I ate a doughnut and drank some Sunny D. Met a section hiker named Dead Man (he previously left the trail to get married). Nice guy. After speaking with him a bit, I took a half mile detour to a Stop and Shop and got a few things for tomorrow. Also ate a real sandwich and drank some Ginger Ale.
Fueled and feeling fine, I walked back to the trail and began the very long climb out of North Adams. It was now hot and muggy, but the higher I climbed, the cooler it got. The trail became White-Mountain-like near the top, with fun bouldery climbs and some open views. Once on the ridge, I walked until I came to the sign welcoming me to Vermont!
The southern portion of the AT in Vermont is the same as the southern portion of the Long Trail, so for a while I’ll be meeting Long Trail hikers as well as AT hikers.
As soon as I entered Vermont, the trail turned 50% mud and the black flies came out. Ack.
One can disperse camp in this part of VT, and I walked for miles looking for a decent spot that wasn’t already taken. Went a lot farther than I had anticipated today, and I am proud of myself for making all those additional climbs! Got to the first shelter in Vermont, Seth Warner Shelter, and there were a million people there. The shelter itself was full, and there were people trying to set up tents and hammocks in the surrounding unlevel forest. Dead Man was there and called out that they could make room for me, and I thanked him for his kindness, but decided to continue on 0.3 mile to a beaver pond. A note on FarOut mentioned space for a tent just past that pond, and…yay! No one was there! I had this scenic spot to myself. Gorgeous spot overlooking the pond with a lovely breeze. I set up camp being sure to leave room for others in case anyone else ventured farther than the shelter. No one did.
Tomorrow will be a nine-mile day. I will take the AT to Route 9 and then catch a ride into Bennington, VT for a zero. I am still a believer in one zero a week, at least for the first month while my body adjusts to trail life.
Day 13, 8.7 miles. Beaver Pond Outlet to Route 9 Vermont
What a wonderful evening! The cool breeze coming off the pond dried out my tent overnight. No one showed up at my spot last night, and when people passed me this morning as I was getting ready, folks told me the shelter got even more crowded as the evening went on. So glad I continued on to this site!
Got a move-on, and as soon as I left the pond area the air got oppressively humid and still. No breeze whatsoever. Thankfully, since I did so many miles and climbs yesterday, I didn’t have that many to do today. Just a few small ups, and that was enough in this heat advisory weather.
“Vermud” is living up to its nickname. Tons of deep mud everywhere. So far, not difficult to get around though. Lots of rocks and branches to step on.
Stopped at almost every water crossing to drink a liter of electrolyte water and refill my bottle. Some of the shelter residents caught up and we played leapfrog, often seeing each other at water crossings.. everyone agreed staying hydrated and taking it easy today is crucial.
Passed through some lovely meadow/pond areas.
Made it to Harmon Hill and called for my shuttle to the Catamount Motel, where I have a planned zero tomorrow. Harmon Hill is the only place I’ve had with a cell signal for two days. Nice breeze up there, the only one I felt all day.
The climb down to Route 9 was steep and rocky, and, since the air didn’t seem to move at all, I sweat bullets all the way down. Got to the parking lot and there was a nice guy in a van doing Trail Magic. His name is Onesimos, and he drives up and down the AT doing trail Magic at various trailheads. He gave me an ice cream sandwich and a Coke, and we talked a while as I waited for my shuttle. He is a retired vet and hiked the AT years ago, now he spends his life doing Trail Magic. Cool dude.
The owner of the motel picked me up in his wonderfully air conditioned car and took me to the Catamount. I have an entire bunk room area to myself! Air conditioning and laundry and food nearby. So glad to be out of the heat. Happy to shower and remove the sweat-film that has become a second skin these past couple of days.
Day 14, zero day in Bennington, Vermont. Rested and ate all day.