Date: 2016-08-16
From: MA, Fernside rd, 1537.9 

To: MA, Blotz Rd, 1562.3
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: broken clouds

Massachusetts starts in the south at beautiful Mt. Everett (2,602 ft elevation). The trail then has a long and relatively flat area which connects to Mt Graylock (3491 ft) in the Northern part of the state. That will be the first time that the trail has exceeded 3000 ft elevation since North Marshall Mountain in Virginia over 625 miles earlier! We find ourselves today in the flatish middle section between these two mountains.   Taking advantage of the slightly easier terrain, we are trying to push bigger miles while we can. Yesterday we did about 26 miles and today we pushed out another 25. The weather cooperated with clouds, light rain and pleasant temperatures in the 70s. This was noteworthy following a weekend heatwave across much of the northeast which left several dead in Philadelphia and necessitated cooling centers in New York City. The trail was pretty, leading to ponds, lakes, hills not quite big enough to be mountains, and similar idyllic settings with moss covered rocks and scattered Christmas trees. A few hikers were out, but none that we recognized. Since the hike was long and largely uneventful, Sherpa decided to liven things up by finishing the day with a race. Our final meeting place was 3.1 miles after the previous road crossing. Sherpa ran the whole way, pretending like it was a 5k. We won't discuss his time, but the prize of course was spending extra time with Porter tonight. In case you are wondering, he was the winner (ok he was the only competitor).We are staying in a section of Massachusetts right now called "the Berkshires." It is a popular vacation spot made up of a group of small towns in Western MA that all seem to have quaint main streets dotted with restaurants and shops amidst a pastoral countryside backdrop. We picked up the local paper to get a sense of the place and were surprised to learn that they have a theater scene. They also seem to attract the yoga retreat crowd. One section of the paper stood in stark contrast to all of the entertainment options, the support group section. We counted and there were 48 support different groups listed.   Topics included LGBTQ issues, domestic violence, managing addictions (i.e. Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, gamblers anonymous, recovery international, etc.), finding healing after suicide loss, and coping with health problems ranging from autoimmune diseases to cancer. There was even an Ostomy support group "for all men and women who have had an Ostomy."   The many manifestations of brokenness and hurting on display in this small community are a heartbreaking reminder of the pain and suffering creation has been enduring since death entered the world through Adam's sin! With the open recognition that this affluent area is plagued with so many problems, we thought surely there would be some space allocated to the life giving hope found in Jesus Christ. Jesus famously declared that "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10). Searching the whole newspaper carefully, we only found one scant mention of a faith based program. The silence towards religion was deafening!   Despite the lack of recognition by the local newspaper, we have been pleasantly encouraged, seeing evidence that God is very much alive and working in this community. For example, there were flyers from multiple local churches hosting community activities posted on the AT info boards. The free library box had donated Christian books. We even saw a group praying on the lawn of their church. So grateful for the many faithful Christians here who are helping the broken world find healing, even if the newspaper doesn't recognize their efforts. We have been so blessed to meet so many people who love Jesus along the way and it is great seeing their presence here as well.