Date: 2008-07-16
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Williamsburg Mountain Goat outfitter
Miles today: 10.0

My kind of town, Williamstown isMark Noepel Lean-to to Williamstown The Mountain Goat: 10 miles if you email me please make sure you give me your return address in the email because trail journals doesn;t give it to me and I can't reply to you.The shelter bunk was hard as nails and I slept in many positions without ever finding satisfaction. I need a pad if I plan on sleeping in shelters on a regular basis. I managed to get out of bed and get packed up before the Scarlet Seven (-3) left. Actually, they waited for me is more like it. We hustled up the mountain to Greylock and it was cool. Greylock is the highest mountain in Massachusetts and also the highest mountain anywhere around so the view was cool. There was an amazing War Memorial up there. I wanted to get in to town so I kept pushing. I got to Mt Williams and noticed that the numbers of the elevation, 2951, add up to 17, my lucky number! How cool is that? The climb down was steep and my feet felt fine. Maybe the Dr. Scholl¢s things are actually working. My knees took a pounding though and they are still killing me now as I write. We finally got in to Williamstown and the Scarlet Seven (-3) headed to North Adams and me and Indy hitched a ride in to town to pick up stuff at the post office and the outfitter (new trekking pole parts, a USB cable so I can upload pics and my new pack) We hung out at the outfitters and Kimberly gave us a ride to the Laundromat. It was extra awesome for her to do that. I¢m sure we didn¢t smell the best. We laundered, fed and resupplied in the same parking lot and just when it looked like it would be really tough to hitch back, a bus came along and picked us up! It was awesome. They just pulled right over and picked us up! I found out that they do that sort of thing herein the Berkshires. NICE! We got back and went to the Williams Inn, a very nice place where we really didn¢t belong; however, they offer showers and Jacuzzi for only 6 bucks for hikers! SWEET! The soap was Bayberry scented and I smelled wonderful for the first time in a long time; the Jacuzzi soothed my weary muscles and the pool refreshed my senses with a cool awakening. We walked out of there Kings in heart and mind. On the way back to the Outfitter, whose backyard we are camping in, we ran into a group of kids playing some bluegrass. It was reminiscent of Gatlinburg and we stopped to get a little ice cream and listen. It was cool. Some students from an academy on the other side of the mountain were singing multiple harmony tunes and concluded with the Old Crow Medicine Show Tune, ¢Rock Me.¢ Rolex would have loved it. I keep running into that song on this trip. We dropped our stuff at the outfitter and went across the street to hang out at the bar and blog and post. I finally have some connection!! I¢m sleeping out in the middle of the grass and stuff tonight, no tent, just a sleeping bag and the stars. I hope it doesn¢t rain! Tomorrow is my Birthday and I plan on Walking into Vermont as long as this knee doesn¢t give me a problem. It started acting up when I was at the grocery store. It¢s been giving me a lot of pain. I took two Tylenol and some ice cream; that ought to help JDavid AKA ¢Mister Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1