Date: 2019-08-29
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Shelter 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

I woke up this morning with a stomach ache, but that's kind of par for the course for me in trail towns. I always feel a little off until I'm back in my natural habitat, I mean the woods... (Also, I'm slightly lactose-intolerant, so my stomach had some feeling about all that ice cream...) The second I was back on trail, most of that pain went away. Which is good. Because I had 12 miles to do.This morning is one of my favorite kinds of forest, and one that I haven't seen much this season due to my very good weather luck. The rain last night brought in fog that lifted off the forest floor in wisps. It danced in the sun, angled steeply as it rose through the trees. Everything felt at once dreamy and alive. Sleepy and expectant. It reminded me so much of Vermont that I started dreaming about re-hiking the Long Trail. Hmmm... Maybe one day...The hike was pretty smooth for the first part of the day. I stopped about 2 hours in for a snack break next to a boggy pond. Then it was on to Cheshire Cobble for a lunch time view. I figured I'd pack out a salad, and was very happy with that choice. I also chatted with a couple of women who gave me some blueberries ("Do you want some blubes??" "yes. Yes I think I would love some blubes, thank you!") They offered to take my trash as well. So nice!Cheshire Cobble is a large marble ledge sticking out of the mountainside overlooking Cheshire, MA. It gave me a unique vantage point to see where the rest of my day would take me. The trail was headed into Cheshire and up into the mountains on the other side of town before climbing Mount Greylock. Using the map and landmarks such as fields and houses, I was able to trace the trail nearly all the way to the shelter "Hi, future Rachel!"). It was even cooler to be able to look back after climbing out of Cheshire to see a big marble slab jutting out of the mountain behind me. ("I was just there! Hi past Rachel!")The last six miles of the day sped by. I did a good job of keeping correct form and taking appropriate breaks, so my body held up really well with minimal pain. I could have (and really thought about) pushed another 3 miles to climb Greylock tonight. There's a hiker hostel at the top with $35 bunks and showers. Considering how many college freshmen are at this campsite, part of me is wishing I had... BUT my tent is already set up and now I'm full of Mac and cheese. So looks like I'm staying here!Tomorrow is my last day on trail for this section, and possibly this season. It's been a bit of a roller-coaster (sometimes literally) of hiking and outdoorsing this year, and while I'll be sad if this is it, I have so much to look forward to in 2020. So many miles! So little time! For tonight though, I'm falling to sleep to the sweet, sweet (read: not at all sweet) sounds of ukulele and 10 different 18 year old voices singing Jason Mraz. I have never begged for a down pour so hard in my life....I'm looking forward to an early summit tomorrow followed by a relaxing 9 miles to finish out Massachusetts. The last night in the woods is always so bittersweet (but mostly bitter tonight... I hate children.)