Date: 2004-08-23
From: Bascom Lodge, Mt. Greylock, MA

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

The first hike I ever took was over Father¢s Day weekend with my son, Jack, back in 1990. We met in Denver, stopped in the store to buy my first pair of hiking boots, and spend two days together exploring the trials in the Mount of the Holy Cross wilderness. Spectacular country!The second hike I went on was with my daughter, Kim. We used a road map to locate the Appalachian Trail that she knew went through the Berkshires somewhere near Williamstown, MA. We drove over from Albany where I was living, found the trail, and hiked about half of the same section that I came through this morning. I remember how impressed (and surprised!) I was with Kim¢s strength and endurance as she steamed up the three miles of trail, that today, still felt to me like one of the steepest sustained pitches without switchbacks that I¢ve encountered anywhere on the AT-and I was going down it, not up!Something happened on that second hike with Kim, that served to ¢hook¢ me in to subsequently becoming a day hiker and that certainly contributed to me doing what I¢m doing now. On that summer¢s afternoon, after a couple of hours of hard work, without any warning, or ever a premonition of its potential existence, we were suddenly treated to a small opening in the trees where a large, flat rock protruded westerly from under our feet; unveiling a view so breathtaking its effect is still with me. That same view had the same effect on me again today, as I stood there and looked down on the miniature farms and roads and cars and houses and, a picturesque New England college town all framed by the Berkshire Mountains to the west and the higher Green mountains to the north. The first time I saw this vista it clicked ¢ ¢So THIS is what hiking is all about¢ ¢ camaraderie, exhilarating physical work and personal challenge all punctuated with a spirit-stirring glimpse of God¢s creation from a vantage earned by only a few.My first hike with Jack held every one of these same elements but, frankly, I expected that this would be the case even before we left. After all, it WAS Colorado and the Rocky Mountains and all that. But my second hike with Kim was mostly unplanned and pretty much in my own back yard. And, it certainly didn¢t come with any expectations of reward beyond a pleasant few hours spent with my daughter wandering in the woods.As I sat at this same point again this morning where Kim and I had sat on my second-ever hike thirteen years ago, I still felt as touched and as grateful as I did then, to be doing what I¢m doing and to see and to feel God¢s grace in my life. How fortunate I am!But, much too soon, I had to get back on track and return to civilization for a while. I hitchhiked into town then walked two miles north to collect my packages at the Villager Motel, which isn¢t anywhere close to the Village of Williamstown. The owner charged me $45 for receiving three packages when I informed him that I couldn¢t stay this far from the Village given they had no car and no taxi service available. This ¢extortion¢ did not sit well with me so, needless to say, ¢don¢t go there¢ (no, I mean literally, ¢do not go there!¢).Fortunately, I was able to hitch a ride back to town and found a delightful Motel close to a laundromat, restaurants, outfitter, running track, and movie theatre, where I made my business calls, received faxes, took a nap, enjoyed a shower and had dinner including two pieces of pecan pie! And now bed. Ahhh, so this is what this hiking business is really all about!!!