Peekskill, NY to North Adams, MA 5/27/2009-6/9/2009

Hello world! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been on the trail since May 27 and haven't had the opportunity to find a computer until today (I'm currently taking a zero in Dalton, MA). Hope you enjoy the new entries. I'll be entering my 12th state (Vermont) tomorrow. Next update will probably be from Hanover, NH. Thanks everyone for the emails and comments. I'll try to catchup with them today.

Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/572933007WUyEGm?vhost=community

5/27/2009 8:15 pm - RPH shelter - 7 miles today - 1417.7 miles total

First day back on the trail after an 8 day hiatus. Had a really good time at home and in Maine. Glad to see the family and eat good food. Went to the vets and Harley has lost 10 lbs! I lost about 16, but put some back on (thanks to Dinosaur BBQ and Maine lobster). Interviewed with RNews and the story ran on Sunday. Also interviewed with Americorps, and fingers crossed things will work out. Organized everything for the second half (third third) of the hike. Updated schedule and blog. Rachel and I left Rochester at 9 this morning. Easy drive as it was highway all the way. Made life-lists and talked about the future. When I get back, we'll be moving in together. Exciting! Got to the trail at 3:30 and said goodbye to Rachel. I'll see her on Saturday. Bit of an adjustment back to the trail. New shoes, new poles and new pack for Harley. Cloudy and cool. Got to the shelter at 6 and met Firepit, Jail Bait, and Dubs. Cooked dinner and pumped water. Weird adjusting back to the trail. Pleasant evening with new friends.

5/28/2009 9 PM - Telephone Pioneer Shelter - 16.8 miles today - 1434.9 miles total

Got up at 7 and hit the trail at 8:45. Tough to get back into the routine. Hit the deli at Route 52. Bought a breakfast sandwich and muffin. Gave Harley his first dose of doggy Gatorade. Had lunch at Morgan Stewart Shelter. Left my spot behind and didn't realize until 5 miles down the trail :( Suddenly my 16 mile day turned into a 26 mile day. Dropped my stuff and jogged back and forth. got to the shelter at 9 pm. Just me and Dubs. Ate some gorp and went to bed. Hope my legs are okay in the morning.

5/29/2009 9:15 PM - Mt. Algo Lean to - 21.1 Miles today - 1445.6 miles total

Got up late today at 8:15. Hit the trail at 9:30. Rain held off all day. Passed over Dubs which was massive. Took a video at the train station. Train passed and it was powerful. Had lunch at Wiley Shelter. Bypassed Ten mile Shelter. Crossed in to CT, my 10th state. Kind of rocky in the PM. Got to shelter at 7:45 and rain hit. Had gorp for dinner again. Shelter leaks. Sharing with 5 including Dubs. Time for tick check!

5/30/2009 9 pm - Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to - 17.3 miles today - 1472.0 total

Got up at 6:30 but was last out of camp. Harley was slow eating his breakfast. Got moving because I wanted to make sure I wasn't late for Rachel's arrival. Cruised to Stunt Brook Lean to for lunch along the Housatonic River. Nice flat walk for 5 miles. Was on pace until I found Guinea Brook was so full that the stepping stones were underwater. Took the blue blaze around to avoid wet feet, but added about a mile to my day. Thought I would be late, so hurried the last 4 miles to West Cornwall Rd. Timed it perfectly as Cheryl and Rachel pulled up in 10 minutes. Got the bags packed with food, fuel, and sleeping bag and said goodbye to Cheryl. Rachel's first mile was a pretty teep uphill that included a narrow crevice "squeeze" she did great. Got to the shelter around 6:30 and showed her the whole routine. Shared shelter with Dubs, Turtle, Navigator, and 96. Also had a group of Boy Scouts camping nearby. Good day and glad to have Wiggles on the trail with me :)

5/31/2009 9 PM - Plateau Shelter - 16.6 miles today - 1489.5 total

Got up at 6:30 and made Wiggles breakfast in bed. Showed her how to pack everything away (except the thermarest). Hit the trail at 8:30 which beat Flo by 3 hours I think! Climbed Mt. Easter and took a break at Hang Gliders View. Could see Lime Rock Racetrack from there. Tailed the Boy scouts for a while. Decided to push on a bit before lunch. Found a detour at Rt. 7 that was an incredibly long road walk. Did the first mile and stopped for lunch under a tree. As we were packing up, a girl offered us a ride. We gladly took it and avoided the worst of the road walk (I don't like to road walk with the dog). She dropped us off right by the Great Falls at the end of the detour. Snapped a couple of photos and hit the trail again. Covered the next 3.5 miles fast and got to the shelter earlier than expected. Decided to push on as we still had daylight and energy left. Wiggles did especially well. Mostly downhill for the last 4 miles, including a steep drop into Salisbury. I hitched into town to buy a new lighter (mine broke yesterday). Got a ride from a guy named Bob who drove me both ways and waited for me outside the store! Nice guy. Got soda for dinner to. Reached the campsite at 6:30 and did the chores. Made Mac and cheese for dinner. Harley doesn't have much of an appetite today. Not sure whats up. Rachel also freaked out about a snake today. She's worried about bears tonight. First night in the new tent. So far so good. Can't believe Wiggles did 16 her first day! Proud of her :)

6/1/2009 7 pm - Laurel Ridge Campsite - 8.5 mi today - 1498.0 mi total

Woke up at 7:30. Made breakfast while Wiggles and Harley stayed in bed. Mixing Harleys food with doggy energy drink helped. Packed up and left camp at 9:30. Gradual uphill to start. Met an 05 thru hiker that gave us a Snickers bar. Climbed Lions Head and had a GORP break. Very pretty views. Nice walk to Bond Shelter where we had lunch and put a really funny entry in the shelter log. Climbed up Bear Mtn with a couple locals. Met a lot of day hikers. One guy saw Harley carrying a pack and asked if I had ever gone camping with him. I was dumbfounded and simply said yes. Nasty descent to Sages Ravine. Very pretty brook at the bottom with a lot of little waterfalls. Entered MA, state number 11. Gradual uphill to Laurel Ridge Campsite. Set up camp and had Mustard Chicken for dinner. Early to bed so we can get a good start tomorrow. Have to climb 2 mountains early tomorrow, Race and Everett. Glad Wiggles is here. Harley loves to snuggle with her.

6/2/2009 9:30 PM - Travelodge Great Barrington MA - 12.7 mi today - 1510.7 mi total

Woke up at 6:20. Wiggles got the food from the bear box, I made breakfast. Hit the trail at 8. Began with a climb up Race Mt. Dramatic drop off to the East made for great views the whole way up. Ate Gorp at the top. 2 miles later we charged up Mt Everett. Climb was quite steep and rocky. Had a Jolly Rancher each at the top. Also finally meet ACE, a thru hiker that has been tailing me since Georgia. Descended to Glen Brooke Lean to for lunch. Long walk to Jug End Summit with a steep descent from there. After crossing Rt. 41 we entered a 2 mile stretch through a swamp, Mosquito Alley. Used up all our bug spray and put bug netting over our heads. Rachel was embarrassed wearing it, but then realized that everyone else had it on too. Bugs ended at Shay's Rebellion Monument. Pretty easy walk from there to Rt. 7. There was supposed to be a place called the Corn Crib with fruits, veggies, showers and camping. It was no where to be found and we didn't want to camp next to the road. We decided to stay at a hotel as the next nearest shelter was 7 miles away. Called the place to get a room and hitched a ride into town. A lady on her way to her sons little league game and drove us straight there. Paid for the night and took a shower. Had dinner at the brewery next door and tried the Barrington Ale. Very good with my meatloaf special. After dinner we hit price chopper for a couple items and Ben and Jerry's. Went back to the room and collapsed on the room. Ate desert and watched ESPN until I fell asleep. Great day on the trail!


6/3/2009 9 PM - Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to - 11.7 mi today - 1522.4 mi total

Got up at 7:30 and took another shower. Felt great! Hit the continental breakfast in the lobby. English muffins were a bit stale but I still had four of them. Got all packed up and hitched a ride back to the trail. People are very friendly and helpful around here. Got on the trail at 10:!5. The miles crawled by in the early going as today was mostly uphill. Had some nice views back towards Everett and Jug End. Nice when you can see what you have done already. Had a late lunch at Tom Leonard Lean to. 96 rolled in as we were finishing. Enjoyable walk from there although Harley got quite muddy. Good view from the ledges and the birds were quite noisy. Got to Mt. Wilcox Lean to at 6:15. There are 2 shelters here. One built in 1937 and the other in 2007. The new one is sweet and we are staying in the loft. Though it was difficult getting Harley up here. Wiggles made clam chowder while I pumped water. The next two days should be pretty easy going, another great day on the AT.

6/4/2009 7:35 pm - Tyringham MA - 8.8 miles today - 1531.2 mi total

Woke up at 7:30 and took our time getting up. We knew today was a short day, no rush. Ate breakfast and packed the bags. Hit the trail at 10. Steep climb to begin. Made good time as Wiggles is hitting her stride now. A couple buggy spots but not too bad overall. Had lunch at Shaker Campsite. Harley got stung by a bee but was OK. Beautiful hiking weather today. Played a few alphabet games in the afternoon and the miles sailed by. Took the second road into Tyringham to save ourselves a mile tomorrow. This town is tiny. There is a post office, small library and fire station...that's it. We are sleeping under a picnic pavilion. Feels a bit strange sleeping outside in a town. We will meet Nick tomorrow at Upper Goose Pond Cabin and day hike with him on Saturday. Hitting the sack before sundown.

6/5/2009 9 pm - upper goose pond cabin - 8.1 miles today - 1538.2 miles total

Harley barked at 2 kids walking along the road at 5:20 this morning. That was much earlier than I wanted to get up. Went back to sleep and got up at 7:30. Had breakfast and on the trail at 9. Couldn't get a hitched so we walked a mile to the trail. Had our gorp after a good climb. Meet up with 96 and Jared. Rest of the day was pretty even. Got to Upper Goose Pond before 3. Pond was very pretty. Meet the caretaker Wanderer. He showed us the place and made us feel welcome. We are staying here with Pooh Bear, Tortoise, 96, Jared and Julie. Had lunch on the porch. Choose our spot in the bunkhouse and then went for a canoe ride while everyone else napped. Paddled to an island and managed to get out of the boat without wetting our feet. Very serene place. Paddled back and had hot chocolate with everyone. Wanderer lit a fire and our friend Nick (trail name Gecko) showed up. He had been taking care of Wiggles car all week and is meeting us for a day hike tomorrow. Had dinner and enjoyed the company of others. Wanderers told us the history of the cabin and some funny hiking stories. Sat around the fire for a while and are heading to bed now. Great place, great people.

6/6/2009 9:30 pm - Cookie Lady's House - 11.0 miles today - 1549.2 mi total

Woke up at 6:30 and went out with the dog. Wiggles and Gecko slept a little longer. Harley and I went down to the lake which was flat and beautiful. Went back up to the cabin for breakfast. Wanderer cooked everyone pancakes. I had 10 of them. Yum. Packed our stuff and hit the trail. Crossed over I-90 after a mile. This was a major mile stone for me as I have driven under this spot countless times. Glad I am out here doing this. Got to the car and dropped all our gear for a slack pack. I carried the food and water for the day. Wiggles was super fast without a pack. Had lunch on top of Baldy Top. Managed to eat up most of the food. Enjoyable walk with Wiggles and Gecko. Beautiful weather all day long. Harley is going to miss Wiggles when she leaves tomorrow. Got to the cookie lady's house at 4:30 and had cookies and coke. The cookie man Roy drove us back to the car and pointed us in the direction of town. Decided to eat McDonald's for dinner. Went back to the Cookie Lady's to camp and the bugs are biting. Last day for Wiggles was a good one. Now back to the normal routine for me. Should hit VT pretty soon.

6/7/2009 10 pm - The bird cage, Dalton MA - 9.6 mi today - 1558.8 mi total

Got up around 7 and packed up camp. Said goodbye to Gecko and Wiggles. Hit the trail at 8:30 and realized a half hour later that I still had Wiggles ID. Called her and set up a meeting place. Had my first view of Greylock from Warner Mt. Met Wiggles at 11:15 and said goodbye a second time. Easy 2 miles from there to Dalton. Met trail angle Tom on my way in. He gave me a huge bowl of ice cream and told me who had recently passed through. Very nice guy. Called Rob Byrd who I had met in Unionville and he brought me to the birdcage. Met his son Gary and another guy named Sam. Very friendly place. Wall hanging in the bathroom sums it up best : "guest: you are welcome here, be at your ease. Go to bed when you're ready. Get up when you please. Happy to share with you, as much as we've got. The leak in the roof, the soup in the pot. You don't have to thank us, or laugh at our jokes. Sit deep and come often, you are one of the folks." Amazing what a smile and friendly welcome can make you feel like. Threw in my laundry and took a shower. Caught a Red Sox game in the afternoon. Had some chicken and mashed potatoes and then Rob gave me a tour of Pittsfield. Went to Friendly's and got sundaes. Afterward came back and watched the Lakers game. Great relaxing day. Looking forward to 23 mile slack pack tomorrow. Hope to catch up to other thru hikers quickly.

6/8/2009 10 PM - The bird cage, Dalton MA - 23.3 mi today - 1582.1 mi total

Today is my 100th day on the trail! Woke up at 7 this morning. Had some breakfast and packed up the day pack. Rob drove me to North Adams on the north side of Greylock so I would slackpack 23 miles back to Dalton. Started with a very steep climb. Gained almost 3000 ft in 6 miles from North Adams to Greylock. Felt great to slackpack. Meet a section hiker and 2 guys starting the Long Trail (a trail that coincides with the AT and goes to Canadian Border). Signed the register on Mt. Williams though bugs prevented me from staying long. Summited Greylock at noon and took a snack break. Beautiful views and the weather was perfect. I could see 5 states (MA, CT, VT, NY, NH) including the White Mountains in the distance. Bascom lodge was closed for renovations. South of the summit I saw a moose crossing the trail, very exciting! Though I was relieved that the rustling in the woods was not a bear. Pushed on through to Cheshire where I ate lunch and had a milkshake. Talked with a couple nice old ladies at the post office and met a cop at the ice cream store. Another climb out of Cheshire though not as bad as earlier (only 1000 ft). Very pretty views all day. I am certainly getting back into the mountains. MA has been a kick in the pants after the last 4 states have lulled me to sleep. From here it should be rewarding. Got back to Dalton at 7 and showered. Rob took me to the Misty Moon diner where I attempted the Godzilla omelet. This brick of an omelet has 12 eggs, 12 toppings, toast and hash browns that you have to eat in 30 minutes. I made a valiant attempt but fell short. I was on pace having eaten 3/4 of it with 7 minutes to go, but I didn't have enough room in my stomach. I didn't want to push my limits because I had learned my lesson in Waynesboro, VA. Took the last quarter home for breakfast tomorrow. Sad I didn't win a t-shirt but glad I kept it down. Took the dog around the block to walk it off and now hitting the sack. Supposed to rain tomorrow.

6/9/2009 - 2:00 PM -The Birdcage, Dalton MA - 0.0 mi today - 1582.1 mi total

Decided to take a zero today as the weather is rainy and there are a couple of errands I need to run in town (especially update the blog!). Seven miles left in Massachusetts, and then it's on to Vermont!