Date: 2003-07-19
From: MA8/MA9/Dalton

To: Mt. Greylock Summit
Miles today: 17.0

The plan today, was to get a not-late start on our day, knowing we had a long climb to the top of Massachusetts' highest peak, Mt. Greylock. We didn't do too bad getting out of town, and were on the trail at 9:30. That was after a wonderful breakfast of Donettes and OJ at the Cumberland Farms store. It's great to be able to eat junk food all day long!We roadwalked for about a mile, then the trail cut into the woods. I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere when I roadwalk, but the walking is usually easy and the pace quicker than it feels. Once in the woods, I had my mind set on getting to Cheshire for lunch, about 9 miles away. We had a few small mountains to go over, gradually up a thousand feet and back down into Cheshire.Along the way, we met a couple of dayhikers, one with a dog named Truman. We also ran into Twofiddy, a northbounder who was doing a southbound slack from Cheshire back to Dalton, and BS (Bright Side) a southbounder doing a section hike from Hanover, NH to PA. He was great to talk to, and very much enjoying his time hiking. It's good to see that!After all the talking we did, we still managed to get to Cheshire shortly after 1:30pm. We'd heard T's Treats was a good place to stop for goodies and sandwiches, and the trail took us right by there. I was disappointed to find T's Treats closed when we arrived! Aaargh! That meant I had to eat the lunch I was carrying: PB-honey on crackers. Plus other goodies like trail mix and candy bars. We were concerned about getting water, and as we were sitting on a bench eating lunch, a police officer rode up on his bike. When we asked about water, he said "You can come to the station about 200 yards up the street and get some there. Or... just give me your bottles and I'll go fill them up for you." He rode off with one of my bottles and Hotdog's platypus, and came back with both of them full. What a great guy! He also informed us that behind the school, there was a Little League Baseball tournament going on, and they had a concession stand with hotdogs, hamburgers and all! kinds of other foods. A man who knows hikers! We met southbound thruhikers, Dixie Bound and Nanowolf, as they were passing through town, and talked with them for a long time, before they convinced themselves to leave the cool shade of the trees and head for Dalton.I had a hotdog and frozen fudge bar, and we ate while watching a bit of the current game. At 3pm, we decided, if we were headed the 8 miles to the top of Greylock, we'd better get going, as we had to gain 2500 feet of elevation as well. Before we got out of the park, a resident of Cheshire stopped us and asked if we were doing the whole trail. We chatted with him for a while, and he said he was envious of us. He was riding in an electric cart because he'd lost the use of his legs, and had been quite active as a hiker, hunter and fisherman until then. I left there, once again thinking about how fortunate I am to be able to do this.Toward the beginning of our long ascent to the summit of Greylock, we met two southbound section hikers and talked with them for a while. It seems we can't just walk by other hikers with a polite "Hi. How ya doing?" I like talking to everyone though. It's what has made this better than I expected.We got to the summit around 6:15, and the views were incredible! I could see for miles, in all directions! This was one of the clearest days I'd seen in a while. Just incredible. We went to the Bascom Lodge to check out the details on the hiker's hostel. The Lodge offers family-style dinner for $16, but he checked to see what was left over, and told us, for $10 we could have salad, soup, drinks, chicken, rice, and corn on the cob. I didn't want to spend the money on it, having just come out of town, but I did anyway. I have no regrets. The food was good!The sun was getting lower, so, after dinner, we climbed the War Memorial on the summit (Memorial was built as a lighthouse and ended up here) and once again, the views were just awesome! THAT is why I hike! Although, most people there drove to the summit....! We took our packs down to the former garage, now hiker hostel, grabbed clothes to change into, and went back up to the Memorial for sunset. As I arrived there, someone asked "Didn't I see you earlier today?" Hmmm... I didn't recall seeing her. "..in Cheshire? At the ballpark?" "Yes! That was us." She said her and her mom were there earlier today. Then she asked if we hiked here, and when we said 'yes', she said "That's a long way!" We had to inform her that we not only hiked from Cheshire, but from DALTON. She was amazed! We talked to her, her sister and their boyfriends about the trail, while watching a spectacular sunset! The sky was mostly clear, but the few clouds off to the west made for an awesome s! unset. The colors were purple and pink far from the sun, changing to red and blue near it. The temperature was dropping, but we watched until the sun had just set, then went into the Lodge for our showers.Back at the garage hostel, it's just Hotdog and I. No other hikers here. That puzzles me. We are not alone though, as the mice are quite active, even as we sit here with the lights on. I don't mind HEARING the mice, but I really don't like SEEING them. My fear is that one will crawl into my sleeping bad with me. I should be concerned that they don't chew up some of my gear. Luckily we don't have to sleep on the floor, as there are bunks here. Hotdog was going to sleep on two mattresses on the floor, but after seeing the mice, he's decided a bed/bunk is better. I can't wait to hear the activity once the lights are out! It's gonna be a fun night!Today, I had a great day. I felt pretty good. The weather was nice, and is quite cool tonight. The people that I met and the sunset just made this a wonderful day, and reminded me how precious this adventure is. I am so incredibly lucky to be able to take the time to do this. This is what living is all about.I am a dreamer. I always have been. Why I chose to go after this dream, I don't know. I could very easily be a person who talked about this, but never took any action toward GOING for it. That's the way I am. Or had been. That has always been the 'safe' way of dealing with dreams. That way, they go the way I want them to, in my mind. What is it that made me do this? I believe in destiny, or a purpose, and I believe that I am meant to do this. Everything that has happened, all of the people I've met, that was all in the cards before I started. However, I also believe there is a greater purpose to my AT hike. I don't know what that purpose is, and might not for a long time, but there is some reason why I am doing this. I don't worry about that reason much though, as I know it may take time to recognize.I don't know what will happen after this hike, regarding myself personally. I have learned a lot about myself already, and hope that I will remember it all, and use it after this hike. Lessons like this are not meant to be lost. For now, I am just glad I have the opportunity.