Date: 2014-07-28
From: Blotz Road

To: Furnace Hill Road, Cheshire MA
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: few clouds

Yesterday's zero was a busy one, but a great break from hiking. Rich and Doreen, my brother and sister-in-law, stopped yesterday morning on their way back North after their Southern trip, and Houdini and I went to the Dalton Restaurant for breakfast with them. I had a Cajun pot roast omelet and French toast. The restaurant was recommended by two locals and we were not disappointed. Rich and Doreen stayed the morning, then went on their way. It was really good to see them and left me wanting to be home with family, but not before I finish this journey. Meanwhile No Name and Salty Hat were walking into town. Houdini and I gave them and Astro Guy a ride to the Quality Inn where they are zeroing tomorrow. No Name, Salty Hat, Houdini and I went for a late lunch at the 99 Restaurant, dropped them back off at their hotel, then headed back to our motel to pick up I Believe. We went to the grocery store for resupply and back to the 99 Restaurant with I Believe, this time for dinner. I only iced my feet once. Today I felt like a kid. After yesterday's zero, I Believe and I had planned to go to Dalton's Restaurant for breakfast with Houdini at 7:00 and then slack pack from Blotz Rd into Dalton and continue onto Cheshire. I woke up at 6:10 to the sound of thunder. By 6:30 the thunderstorm was overhead and it was pouring. Lying in my bed, I entertained the thought of taking a 2nd zero thinking how much my feet would appreciate it. The nagging voice in my head, however, told me I should hike. I texted I Believe and we decided to go to breakfast when the rain let up, and then try to hike the 7 miles into Dalton, weather permitting. After the morning hike, we could look at the updated afternoon forecast and decide whether or not to push on to Cheshire. We had a hearty hiker breakfast, the sky was improving, and more thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon, so we had Houdini drop us off at the trail, and we were hiking at 8:30. It didn't rain the rest of the morning, but the trail was wet. I don't mean a little wet. It was quickly apparent that there was no way to walk around the water. The trail was either a fast moving stream or a deep puddle. We had no choice but to walk through it. We waded through water that at times was up to my mid calf and for much of the morning at least ankle deep. There was mud and clay under the surface of the water and our shoes sunk down into it. We laughed and it was fun. The cold water felt good on my feet too. We got into Dalton after 11:00 and did the mile road walk through town before Houdini picked us up. We went back to our motel and hosed down our filthy legs, shoes and socks. The sun was shining as we walked around the corner to Java and Juices and had lunch. Our sandwiches were very good. We looked at the afternoon forecast, and more thunderstorms were predicted, but we decided we'd take a chance and hike on to Cheshire. I put on a dry pair of socks and my wet shoes and off we went. Well, two thunderstorms rolled through over the course of the afternoon, and we got soaked. It didn't matter. I knew once I got to Cheshire, Houdini would be there to pick us up and I would come back for a last night in the motel. It took forever to wash the dirt out of my socks enough to put them in the washing machine along with my hiking clothes. The laundromat closed at 6:00, so the motel owner kindly agreed to do the load for us in the motel machine. I Believe had decided to spend the night at St Mary's in Cheshire, but we convinced her to come back to our motel room to take a shower. After driving her back to Cheshire, Houdini and I went to the 99 Restaurant for the third time! As we were about to pay, the power went out in Dalton and we left the dark restaurant and returned to a dark motel room. What a day....I talked to First Gear tonight, my niece who thru-hiked last year. She is hiking the Long Trail in VT and we made plans to meet in Manchester Center at the Green Mountain House hostel over the weekend. I will pick her brain about what lies ahead the next several weeks.