Date: 2004-06-27
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepal Lean-to
Miles today: 13.7

I came close to taking another zero-day ¢ it would have been so easy, here at the Birdcage. (Oh, by the way, the name of the hostel has nothing to do with the movie. It¢s so named because it¢s easy to get into, but hard to leave.)But the magnetism of Katahdin is strong now, and I have no intention of stalling my hake now. So instead of taking a third day off, I sleep in and grab breakfast at the nearby general store. I return to The Birdcage, take my time packing up, and I finally hit the road at about 10.The afternoon was not all that great. At one point, crossing an old woods road, I somehow managed to turn right instead of going straight, and kept going for ten minutes or so until the lack of white blazes made me suspicious and I turned around. I found the trail again, but was suddenly unsure of which way I needed to go ¢ there were no markers indicating North or South and I do not carry a compass. This is the first time I regretted that decision. But the sun was out, and since it was late morning, I figured the sun was in the southeast. So I put the sun to my back and walked on down the trail. It was, as it turned out, the correct decision.A few minutes later I stopped to put DEET on- the mosquitoes were getting pretty bad again. I set my glasses on the ground to apply the stuff to my face, but as I did so I shifted my feet and stepped down hard on my glasses. The frames got bent pretty badly, and one of the lenses popped out. I managed to pop the lens back in and straighten the frame, but upon putting my glasses back on my face, I found that I had put the lens in upside down! Crud! After much effort I popped the lens back out, but for the life of me could not pop it back in correctly. So finally I pocketed the broken glasses. The town of Cheshire was only 9 miles down the trail from Dalton, so I would be there soon. I figured if worse came to worse, I could call Rob and have him come get me, then tomorrow I could find somewhere that would repair them. I didn¢t want to do that though, because it meant I would have to muster the willpower to leave the Birdcage again, and on top of that it would be another zero (or possibly a near-zero) right after two consecutive zeros. So I sat down on a rock and, frustrated, tried again to pop the lens in. This time I was successful, and after washing them in a nearby creek, they were as good as new.Feeling buoyant, I walked into Cheshire. The trail passed right by an ice cream store, where I saw Skyline and Sundance sitting. They¢re trying to get to the top of Mt. Greylock, which is an additional 3 miles beyond the shelter where I plan to stop. I decide not to change my plans and go with them. I want to find a local pizzeria that was recommended to me by some section hikers, and have a late lunch/early dinner.So I say good-bye to Skyline and Sundance, and set off to find the pizzeria. But no luck- despite the town¢s small size, I don¢t see it and the streets are quiet this Sunday afternoon, so there¢s no one to ask (no, I am not going to ask the ice cream shop for directions to another restaurant.)Ah well, it¢s money I didn¢t need to spend anyway. So I return to the ice cream shop, buy a milkshake (so much for not spending money) and eat lunch out of my feedbag. Then it¢s off down the trail again another 5 miles to the shelter.I half expect to be camping alone, but there is one section hiker here named Bill. No thru-hikers, though. I seem to be back in the pattern of solitude that has marked most of my travels since Kent.It¢s interesting-- I¢ve hiked with a single partner, I¢ve hiked in different large groups, but this last week has been the first time that I¢m really hiking solo. It¢s definitely different, and not altogether unpleasant.