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
August 1 – Upper Goose Pond Cabin (Day 135 – milepoint 1522.8)
Joined here at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin by 20+ other thru-hikers.
Achilles and I had an interesting conversation today about this group of hikers that has loosely formed. A pretty wide variety of backgrounds, all extraordinary in their own way. We wondered if other groups have formed liked this and whether this one will remain, dissipate, or grow? Does this happen every year? Most of the people we’ve hiked with for multiple days out here are still going. Interestingly, most of the people who have gotten off the Trail for whatever reason, are folks that we don’t know or haven’t spent much time with.
Which brings us to Achilles‘ question: Is there a common trait attracting the folks who have within them the luck, perseverance, frame of mind, physical stamina, etc. to make it this far? How many people have these traits, but will not make it this far because of the influence of those who “didn’t have it?”
Maybe luck has nothing to do with it, but a lot can happen in six months and I’ll bet there are some solid sociological conclusions that could be drawn from the social patterns that exist on an AT thru-hike.
Of course, we could be wrong.
Anyway, Upper Goose Pond is a beautiful glacial pond. Small World, Jarvis, Woolybooger and I took a canoe out and explored for a while. Nice to be on the water.
Aquaholic
July 31 – Benedict Pond (Day 134 – milepoint 1505.8)
Slow going in the morning, for everyone it seemed, before-during-and-after a bus ride and a short hitch back to the trailhead.
Ran into Aunt Marty, Pixie, Earth Surfer and gang who have just recently caught up to us. They invited Achilles and I to join them for a spaghetti dinner at Benedict Pond and they did not have to ask twice. A great evening swim in Benedict Pond, a very satisfying dinner, and I’m early to bed.
Aquaholic
July 30 – Great Barrington, MA (Day 133 – milepoint 1495.3)
Small World woke us all up around 5:30 a.m. and we returned to the rock overlook to watch the sunrise. Patches of clouds blanketed the lakes, ponds, streams, and swampland in the valley below and slowly lifted like ghosts into heaven as the warm sun rose over the horizon.
I fell back asleep right there on the rock, and when I awoke, I was alone. As I stumbled back to my pack and gear, I figured I would be walking alone today, until I found Achilles, Jarvis, and Small World just waking up as well.
Yet another beautiful day all around. We’re finally being rewarded for our efforts each day with nice views and increasing topography. My energy and spirit had been somewhat drained through the mentally tough Northern Virginia to New York portion of the Trail. Rocks, heat and humidity day after day will do it to you, but I must say it was well worth the effort and I did enjoy myself. The initial stages of New England already have me rejuvenated, and the buzz seems to have spread throughout the thru-hiking community.
Achilles and I hiked the rest of the day with Jarvis (20, IN) and Small World (22, IL), definitely a couple of my favorite people on the Trail.
We had all planned a group celebration for reaching 1,500 miles and we headed into Great Barrington, MA to meet the rest of the celebration crew. Achilles and I got a ride into town from a very generous couple who had been out all day doing Trail maintenance on the AT nearby. They dropped us off at the Barrington Motel, which is conveniently located next to the Barrington Brewery. We got cleaned up then walked over to the Brewery and joined Huff and Puff (father and son from Oklahoma), Apple Jack (61, Ireland), ChurchMouse (30’s, Key Largo, FL), Woolybooger (mid 20’s, NC), Spice (mid 20’s, Boston), Cosmo (23, GA), Chewy (25, IN), Watergirl (mid 20’s, San Diego), Chicken Man (20’s, GA), and LandShark (mid 20’s, NH).
Good beer and food, excellent company, billiards, darts, and a great jukebox all made for a fulfilling 1500-mile celebration. It is now 2:30 a.m. and I can’t believe I’m still awake. Should probably find out when checkout time is.
We’re now planning a party for Hanover, NH where Achilles went to school…
Aquaholic
July 29 - Bear Rock Falls Campsite (Day 132 – milepoint 1482.7)
A humble thank you to the Grossmans, then Alan dropped us at the Trailhead at 7 a.m. with fresh fruit, cookies, and Apple Bran muffins to get us going.I felt great all day. Lots of energy. Cooler temps and much less humidity made the morning climbs a pleasure.
Excellent views from the Bear Mountain Ridge and the Trail dropped into a place called Sages Ravine, a beautiful creek with numerous swimming holes. Eventually crossed the creek and into Massachusetts. Stopped for a siesta at Bear Rock Falls Campsite and ended up spending the rest of the day here with Achilles, Small World, Jarvis, Huff, Puff, ChurchMouse and a southbound section hiker, Hugh, with his dog Mr. Phil. Cool spot with an excellent view. Hugh is 16 years old, hiking for 2 weeks from Vermont to his home in Pawling, NY, which is only a mile from the Trail. Great kid. We’re trying to talk him into joining us to Katahdin, but I have a feeling his naturally worried mother would not appreciate that.
Jarvis played guitar for a while and I accompanied on harmonica. A very nice and easy 8-1/2 mile day.
Aquaholic
