August 11 – Minerva Hinchey Shelter (Day 145 – milepoint 1653.9)

Little Rock Pond: beautiful glacial pond with 30-foot rock cliffs on the far side. Cosmo and I were the first to arrive and we peer-pressured each other into taking the plunge from the cliffs. Exhilarating!

Huff, Puff, and Water Girl showed up and swam across to join us on the rocks. You think you’re in good shape until you have to swim a few hundred yards. Man-0-Man…

Walked the rest of the day with WaterGirl. The presence and company of a woman is a rare pleasure and welcome therapy. We arrived at the shelter with intent to move a few more miles but were easily convinced to stay and avoid the coming rain.

Also here are Cosmo, Huff and Puff , Baltimore Jack, Apple Jack, Wayward Traveller, Silence, and Ridge Runner, Maggie Mae. Maggie Mae mentioned a small stone cabin that was nearby and open to thru- hikers. Cosmo and I grabbed our packs and walked over to check it out. We stayed. Very cool little “shack.” Three stone walls, one glass, and a wooden roof. A beautiful view of a nearby pond and the soft mountains surrounding us. Dry, comfy, and out of the rain.

Aquaholic

August 10 - Baker Peak (Day 144 – milepoint 1637.1)

Spent the morning and afternoon relaxing a bit before leaving town around 3 p.m. Felt very sluggish but made it to Baker Peak right before dark. Looking forward to the view on the morning.

Joined by Baltimore Jack and a few new faces: 12 Bears, Big Wahoo, and Grandpa. Whiskey is making rounds.

Aquaholic

August 9 - Manchester Center, VT (Day 143 – milepoint 1624.8)

Didn’t plan to take the day off, it just happened. My 28th zero-mile day. Laundry, phone, ice cream, nap.

Quote of the day from Cosmo, “I will never celebrate my birthday again. ”

Aquaholic

August 8 – Manchester Center, VT (Day 142 – milepoint 1624.8)

Up with the sun and got to hiking around 6 a.m. along with Jarvis and Small World. Lunch siesta at Stratton Pond. Went for a swim and watched a mink play along the shore where we sat.

We arrived at the road into the town of Manchester Center and ran into a couple of couples who had been out day-hiking. They offered us rides and Jarvis was the lucky one who rode in the 1934 Chrysler Air Flow, which was in mint condition! The first car to be designed in a wind tunnel.

Walked to the Post Office and then over to the Zion Episcopal Church/Hostel. Jarvis and Small World were picked up by a couple of friends from home who now live in this area. I caught a shower and walked over to a Mexican restaurant to meet Cosmo, Achilles, Paka, Chewy, Spice, Chicken Man, Wrangler, LandShark, and Church Mouse for dinner and for Cosmo‘s official 24th birthday celebration.

Did you know that Vermont State Law prohibits you from having more than one drink in front of you at a time? It’s true. So it just took us a little longer to fully wish Cosmo a Happy Birthday. We continued the party at a local bar and when I left, Wrangler was dancing on a table and Paka was looking for volunteers to help carry Cosmo back to the church.

Aquaholic

August 7 - Story Spring Shelter (Day 141 – milepoint 1604.2)

Beautiful day. Beautiful views. Excellent company. Just another day on the AT.

Aquaholic

August 6 – Under a powerline in Vermont (Day 140 – milepoint 1587.5)

Crossed into Vermont this morning and joined the Long Trail. Nice, clear, cool day. Took a long lunch next to a beautiful pond and enjoyed dinner by a nice medium-sized stream.

I now lay on a rock under a power line watching the sun set, drinking wine.

Cosmo, Land Shark, and Paka Bear hitched into nearby Bennington, VT today, bought two boxes of wine – Bravo Sangria and Chianti – and carried it up the mountain to share with us in celebration of Cosmo’s birthday. Also here are Water Girl, Chewy, Chicken Man, Small World, Jarvis, Huff, and Puff.

Two boxes of wine (10 liters) is equal to about 13 bottles. I admit that I could not down my 1.2 bottle-share, but all the wine was consumed and all were happy.

Said Cosmo just a few minutes ago, “You haven’t really had Sangria, until you’ve had it in a box!” Cosmo knows his wine.

Aquaholic

August 5 – Campsite at Sherman Brook (Day 139 – milepoint 1570.2)

The “baa-ing” of sheep woke me up this morning and I stepped out of the barn to an amazing view of the farm. Eight-or-so acres of garden backed by a steep mountain ridge topped by a patchy blue morning sky. Kinda looks like paradise.

Soon discovered that Cosmo, LandShark, Small World, and Jarvis all slept in or near a teepee on the far side of the garden.

Our farm-friends put together an amazing care-box full of fresh vegetables and I helped Farmer Rebecca harvest some onions before we loaded our packs in the truck for the ride back up to Mount Greylock.

Eventually we made it up to Mount Greylock and the employees at Bascom Lodge helped us cook up the vegetables, which we were quite happy to share.

Finally got to hiking in the afternoon and rolled down the mountain into North Adams, MA with Jarvis, Small World, and Water Girl. A quick stop at the grocery store for some re-supply and then headed out of town up to where we are now about a mile from the Vermont state line. Great sunset.

Aquaholic

August 4 - Williamstown, MA (Day 138 – milepoint 1566.8)

Wow, what a day.

To the Cheshire post office in the a.m. to pick up my new backpack and warmer clothes sent by mom. Why I waited so long to replace my uncomfortable, oversized pack, I do not know. My new pack has a few more bells and whistles than the old one, which I care less about than comfort. Hopefully, it will prove to be a good purchase.

7-1/2 miles of climbing brought me to the summit of Mount Graylock and Bascom Lodge. As I walked out of the trees into the open space approaching the lodge, I encountered Jarvis and Small World loading their packs into a car.

“Where y’all going,” I asked.

“Bob Dylan is playing at Tanglewood Music Center tonight, about 40 minutes away. Wanna come?”

“Uh, sure.” I introduced myself to the driver, Peter Pan, whose wife Timmy is thru-hiking, and loaded in for the drive down the
mountains to Williamstown, MA. I was informed that Cosmo and Land Shark were already in town working on getting us all a ride to the show. When we arrived we made little signs on cardboard that read, “We need a ride to the Dylan Concert.”

After a little while, we ran into Cosmo and LandShark who had just secured a ride for them with a nice girl named Kerri who was also checking into a ride for Jarvis, Small World and I. Kerri gave us a number to call and we spoke with John and Kevin, who offered to pick us up outside the Post Office in a couple of hours. So we removed the signs off our chests and relaxed in a grassy spot
outside a deli. Grabbed some sandwiches and had our pictures taken by a photographer from the local paper.

I soon spotted a sign that read “Swimming Pool” and decided to investigate. I entered the Williams College Student Rec Center, approached the guy at the counter named Bob, and asked him if we could go swimming.

“Are you a student here?” he asked.

“No, sir.” I replied.

“Are you here for a convention within the college?”

“Uh, no, sir.”

“Are you a student at any college?”

“Well, not right now but I graduated from college four years ago.”

“How many people are with you?”

“Two, sir.”

“Are they in school?”

“Well, one is in the middle of a year off and the other is just getting ready to go.”

Bob took a deep breath, “I guess thats close enough.”

I went back outside and had to explain to Jarvis and Small World where I had disappeared to. They accepted my explanation and Bob kindly offered to watch our packs while we swam. Diving boards and all!

So that took care of the showers we didn’t think we were going to get. A big thanks to Bob and we walked down to the Post Office to find our ride arriving as we did. John and Kevin work at a local organic farm called Caretaker Farm. They informed us we would
be meeting Cosmo and LandShark at the concert along with the rest of the farm staff – Kerry, Rebecca, and owners Elizabeth and Sam.

A 45-minute ride south took us to Tanglewood Music Center. We bought lawn tickets for $16.00 and I was allowed to bring my entire pack in with me. Rain was coming so I set up my rainfly and we threw everything underneath.

First band, BR5-49, had a fun bluegrassy sound. They were followed by Ani Difranco, who I had heard a lot about and enjoyed.

But Dylan was the show. I had heard stories about how hard it can be to catch him on a good night. Luck was on our side because even his voice was sounding good. Good for Bob Dylan fans anyway.

I was eventually able to sneak my way into the pavilion and all the way up to the front rows. I soon noticed that Cosmo, Jarvis, Small World, and LandShark had all made their way to the front as well. Three encores! A great show and oh boy what a treat for a bunch of hikers so far removed from live music for so long.

We were all invited to stay at the farm for the night. I’m in the barn and not sure where everyone else is. Too tired to find out. What a day.

Aquaholic

August 3 – St Mary’s Catholic Church – Cheshire, MA (Day 137 – milepoint 1552.6)

Easy nine mile day into Cheshire, Mass. About a mile before town I was halted by some movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked right to see a black bear not more than 5 feet away. I had almost walked right by him/her. (Let’s make it a female). She hadn’t noticed me yet as her face was buried in the trunk of a dead tree gnawing and scratching to get at what I later saw to be a huge colony of ants/termites. I was entranced.

After an eternity of about 10 seconds she raised her head lazily and saw me standing there. And then time stopped for another eternity of about 2 seconds.

I wonder what went through her mind as she raised her head to see and smell a bearded backpacker standing there? Did I look competent enough to appear as a threat? Did she like my backpack? How did she like the Doobie Brothers rockin’ out on my Walkman? Did she wonder, “Without love, where would she be now?” Or was I just scary, like a clown in a horror movie?

Whatever registered with her, she was out of sight in only a few seconds (most likely to find a quiet spot to contemplate love).

Note: There will be no outrunning a bear.

I took a deep breath and walked on. Arrived at St. Mary’s Catholic Church/Hostel and relaxed for a bit before joining Achilles for lunch at a nearby deli. Back at the church, Tom Lavardi showed up, stuffed a bunch of us in his truck and took us to a nearby mall with movie theatres, where Paka Bear introduced Achilles and I to the art of seeing multiple movies for the price of one. We saw Air Force One, Men in Black, and Contact.

A couple of beers and a pre-season football game at the mall restaurant/bar before calling a taxi back to the church. Sketchy taxi driver. We were happy to get out of that cab alive with our feet back on solid ground.

Aquaholic

August 2 - Dalton, MA (Day 136 – milepoint 1543.3)

A relatively easy 20 miles today. As I crossed a road I looked up the way to see a sign that read, “Blueberries for Sale.” Naturally, I was curious and decided to investigate. What I found was a blueberry FARM. So I dropped my pack, introduced myself to the farm owner, and proceeded to pick 4 lbs. of blueberries in about half an hour. Big, fat, beautiful, juicy, sweet and tart, flavorful frickin’ blueberries.

I was charged $4.00.

After a few miles carrying the extra few pounds I was happy to run into Small World, Jarvis, and Land Shark, who had missed the farm and were very happy to lighten my load.

We rolled into Dalton and arrived at the home of local Trail Angel, Tom Lavardi, who opens his home and yard for hikers. We joined Tom for a fun little concert in town. Entertaining for it’s corniness more than anything. Back to Tom’s and joined the rest of
the folks who rolled in today (a dozen or so) in a circle passing around a bottle of whiskey. There was nothing about that whiskey that interested me, except passing it on to those who were happy to receive it.

Aquaholic