Date: 2005-06-29
From: October Mountain Lean-to

To: The Birdcage Hostel
Miles today: 12.4

Miles hiked today : 12.411.8 AT miles + 0.3 mile of side trail + 0.3 roadwalk mileI woke up this morning at 4:55 a.m. and used the privy before returning to my tent to read a bit. When I heard other hikers begin to stir, I emerged, packed my gear, and ate breakfast. I hiked out with Opa at 6:00 a.m. and made great time, covering the first 2.2 miles in 50 minutes and the next 3.2 miles in 70 minutes, arriving at Blotz Road at 8:00 a.m., where I stopped for a 10 minute break.At 9:30 a.m., 5 minutes before I reached the side trail to the Kay Wood Lean-to, I slipped on a wet rock and went down hard. I landed hip first in the dirt and slammed my right knee into a rock, ouch! Cha-ching, fall #22. Thankfully, after a few minutes of walking, the pain dissipated. The side trail to the lean-to was 0.15 mile long and I had planned to bypass it, though the dinner from last night necessitated a privy visit. I stayed at the lean-to for a 30 minute break, then continued on to Dalton at 10:05 a.m.I covered the 3.0 miles to Dalton and arrived at 11:15 a.m. As per instructions we'd received from various sources, Opa and I walked to the Shell gasoline station to ask for Rob. Mario, the attendant on duty told us that Rob wouldn't be in for about 30 minutes. He told us that we could leave our packs in the garage if we wanted to go get a bite to eat.We left our packs and walked up the street to a sub shop, where I had an excellent hot chicken sub. As we finished eating, the clouds ripped wide open, heavy rain began to fall, and a fierce lightning storm commenced. As such, we stayed in the sub shop for a bit, then I suggested that we go next door to the juice / coffee bar. Fortunately, the two businesses were in the same building and had an internally connected hallway between them, so it wasn't necessary to go through the rain. At the coffee shop, I had an Oregon Chai chai tea latte, which was very, very good. I don't believe I've had such a good chai in a long time. As I finished my drink, the rain let up and we returned to the Shell station at 12:30 p.m., only to find that it was closed for 15 minutes.I walked next door to the post office to pick up my maildrop. When I returned to the Shell station, it was open and I sat in the garage with Opa until Rob arrived about 15 minutes later. He'd been there while we were stranded in the sub shop and coffee shop, though had to leave to check on one of his other employees.When Rob returned to the Shell station, he took us to his house, "The Birdcage," showed us around, and then headed back to work. I showered and changed into one of the spare sets of clothes available for hikers. After showering, I made a couple phone calls, and then journaled while watching "Enemy at the Gates."Just before the movie began, Tea Break showed up after doing a southbound hike from Mount Greylock back to Dalton. During the movie, Michael showed up and, at 4:15 p.m., Turtle arrived! I was very surprised to see her, as she'd jumped up the trail from Cornwall Bridge, CT to Mount Greylock, MA. She's currently 23.3 miles ahead and said that if I hike fast, that I'd catch up before long. I'd like to hike with her again, though I've greatly enjoyed hiking with Opa and know that Turtle will be hopping up the trail from Glencliff, NH, to Andover, ME before long.After the movie, Turtle, Michael, Goldilocks, and I went for ice cream, then returned to the Birdcage. A big group of people were going out to a buffet, though I decided to stay behind and watch another movie. Turtle and Michael stayed behind as well and we ordered a pizza, which turned out to be rather tasty. Rob returned from work at 9:30 p.m. with the rest of the hikers and, after chatting with him for a bit, I made some phone calls and headed off to bed to read. Tomorrow I'm aiming for Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts!Bedtime at 11:35 p.m.