Date: 2010-08-19
From: Dalton, MA

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 7.7

More detail on the last two days. Hiked down Greylock on Weds. I found it very difficult - and I'm still sore from it. I found going up the other side much easier. My pace was pretty normal but the muscles I used had apparently not been used for a very long time! I am hobbling around like an old person - oh wait - I might be one. I parked at the Greylock Community Club - no one was there but there were several cars parked in the grassy area so I pulled in and left the car there. I then called a cab - apparently the only local cab company. He came and picked me up and charged me $25 to take me to the top of Mt. Greylock - I thought that was okay. I was a little worried about the ability of the cab to make it up the mountain road but it made it up without giving out. I then walked north, back to my car. I passed many sobos and a large group of nobos who were slacking from Bennington VT to Dalton MA. Oh to be 20-something again. On Thursday I parked alongside the bike path in Cheshire - a great place to park. I think its relatively new because its not mentioned on the Rohland parking website. I met Dave my shuttler at 6:15 and he dropped me at Gulf Road in Dalton. By the way - I've used Dave A. a few times now - he is mentioned on the AT site - he is a nice guy and is very reliable. I then hiked back to Cheshire. Pretty easy hike but also pretty unremarkable. One of those sections that you just want to get done. BUT - I did see a porcupine up close and personal. He/she was walking across the Trail in front of me - I stopped quickly about 5 feet away and just watched. I was going to take a picture but then I kept thinking - what do they do in situations like this? Can they actually shoot those quills? So I backed up slowly, clanked my poles together and watched it lumber up a tree - every time I clanked my poles, it scooted up a bit more. Very slow motion and pretty interesting. After watching it for a bit, I ran past it and kept going. My first encounter with a porcupine in the wild.On Thurs afternoon I drove south to Salisbury, CT to update the ALDHA Companion. I volunteered to do the 2010 update for the section from Salisbury to Great Barrington. At first I thought 'why did I volunteer to do this'. But that changed once I started visiting the businesses, libraries, post offices and lodging establishments. It was fun. I spent an hour at Maria McCabe's house. What an interesting lady. Everyone was very nice and almost excited that I was there. I would highly recommend staying at Maria's house. Very nice accomodations. She showed me the hiker rooms, all of the postcards and gifts hikers have sent her. One of those moments when your faith in the goodness of the hiker community gets recharged. I spent some time chatting with a hiker from Australia who was doing a sobo. Nice guy - who provided me with some input for the Companion. I then headed to Great Barrington to visit the hotels/motels listed in the current Companion. Very funny experience. All very competitive with each other - but they all complained about hikers sneaking people into the rooms and about dogs. As one owner said to me "the hikers - they are very dirty. Their dogs are more dirty so no more pets." All in all, a fun few days. I have 4+ miles left to complete MA and I'll do it in the fall to take advantage of the foilage. 'til later