Date: 2004-08-25
From: Mt. Greylock

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 8.0

The good news is I hiked today. The bad news is I only made it 8 miles¢¦I guess it¢s a better day than 6 zeros :-) . Of course zeros take less work (just kidding).I awoke early and prepared myself. The mini van was packed today. Scorch and Chicago Rob finally decided to leave. Mickey, Malloy, Atlas, and Momma¢s Boy left too. Sadly, I was the only person headed south today. Rob dropped us all at the mountain at about 11 a.m. I made a quick visit to the lodge on the mountain. It looks like we missed my friend Sunshine :-( according to their log book.   As I first began, I felt out of it. My body was stiff after 6 days of no use, my tummy was pretending to be a ¢drying machine¢, and I was just generally tired. The ground was wet with numerous mud spots. As I walked beneath the typical ¢green tunnel¢ I went slow and thought about things. My big thought centered on the Olympics. In the marathon I watched a British woman in the top 3, destined for a medal, break down and quit with 2 miles to go as a runner passed her for 2nd place. Her will failed when she faced disappointment. The eventual winner was a 4¢11 inch Japanese woman. I can guarantee you that her will carried her. Which will I be on this ¢marathon¢ hike? I was happy to be out again, but my body was still hurting. Two things helped to pick me up: 1) I took a GI-normous poo¢¦it was green¢¦yuck. 2) I ran into ¢ATK¢ and ¢Miss Daisy¢. They are an awesome couple who takes it slow and do things their way. We seem to keep meeting each time I hike south (PA, NY, and today). They laughed to see me again and we talked and caught up. It was great! I finally continued hiking after 20 minutes. After my 2 respites, I pushed on more quickly. Mt. Greylock was particularly more gradual near the bottom which helped. I was pleased as the trail crossed 2 fields and entered the town of Cheshire, Mass. I was even more pleased as I hit an ice cream shop on the trail. There, a fellow hiker whose name completely escapes me, bought me a Pepsi and a milkshake prior to pushing on :-). I thanked him and enjoyed¢¦now for a little cat nap.I woke on the picnic table bench 2 hours later at 5 p.m¢¦.DOH! There was now no way for me to cover 9 more miles before dark, and to be honest, I was simply ¢done¢. I called Rob from the Shell Station in town and he came to get me in the mini-van. ¢How was your day?¢ ¢What happened?¢¢¦¢Its OK son.¢ I love Rob, he always makes me feel better :-) .Tonight all kinds of new hikers arrived. I met Fly, The Green Mountain Boys, Pop Tart, Swix, Swatter, Goofy, & Terrapin. They all seemed cool, but 2 in particular stick out. ¢Terrapin is from Annapolis (10 minutes from my childhood home) and is a big Maryland fan. ¢Pop Tart¢ is from NY and started before me in early March. The bartender at the Holiday Inn on my birthday is one of Pop Tart¢s best friends. What are the chances?Anyhow, while I did not hit my goal, I covered 8 of the 17. I will cover the remaining 9 and get to stay here a 9th night tomorrow. I will make sure I do not take any more 2 hour naps. I¢d love to talk but the Olympics are on TV now :-) . Goodnight, BEATBOX   ttt