Date: 2003-05-24
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to
Miles today: 6.6

It was hard to get up again this morning I think my motivation must be dwindling , the 2 girls from Vermont reminded me of how I used to be because they were up and ready to go at 0700hrs.I had breakfast at the same time as the girls from Boston and our main topic of conversation was how crappy the weather was , has , is ,going to be and what it should be like.So I set off just after 0900hrs to conquer the mighty Mt Greylock which is the highest mountain in Massachusetts , but it did in fact turn out to be easier than hiking up Tinto or even Arthurs Seat and the weather was even similar just like nearly every significant Mt top along the way it was covered in clouds and just to spice things up a little bit it was raining also.At the top there is a Lodge called Bascom for Hikers and outdoor lovers , so I stopped off and treated myself to a hamburger & chips(freedom fries)and I sweet talked the girl on the desk into gettng a free shower,my accent does have its good points in fact she loved how I said the word shower so I repeted it for her 5 times.The lodge was full of kids up on a prep hike for thier forthcoming trip to Europe , I told them they should get better weather than they have here as long as they miss out Scotland.Mary & Jen (Boston) appeared and we all sat round the fire drying out our bones , they seem to be carrying to! much wieght and were amazed to feel how much lighter my pack was than thiers.The Lodge crew were a pretty friendly bunch but probably only since they have just opened for the season just wait until later on when the hordes stinky sweaty hikers start to arrive covered in bug bites screeming for all things COLD !!!!.After a few hours of relaxing I made tracks and spoke to a few people who were on the trail , one guy I talked with was a ultra marathon runner who just done a 50 miler last week in 9 1/2 hours........which he told me was not so good !!! he went on to tell me about how a few of his friends do 100 milers in just under 24 hours.That sounded a really good challenge and I thought to myself I would love to do something like that but then I woke up as I realised I am struggling to do 10 miles at the moment never mind 100.I met up with Jen & Mary a mile or so from the shelter and walked the rest of the way with them.We are the only 3 at the shelter tonight so there was no problem with having a fire , so we got one sparked up and stood around talking until it started to get dark.The girls are on a prep hike for a trip out west later in the year to the wonder trail which goes round Mt Ranier it sounds good , I enjoyed talking with them both since they were such well educated Yankees....I sure am not used to doing these short days !! I am glad I've not had to take it easy too much like this before on the trail because I defintely enjoy being a power hiker and not a slow one.Its memorial day tommorow which is a holiday here in America where all the soldiers of every war in the history of the country are commemorated , so I expect I will be seeing a few people on the trail since its a national holiday. I am going into Williamstown tommorow to see if I can search out some of my favourite Italian snack food Sopprosatta sausage & provelone cheese , this stuff is rocket fuel and I am sure its going to help me up my miles in the next few days..........