Date: 2003-11-11
From: wilbur clearing lean-to

To: the birdcage (dalton, mass)
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: scattered clouds

up early and it wasn¢t too cold. not like the last couple of days. in the twenties, i would say. i was hiking by seven o¢clock. i had to get an early start. today was the big day. i was shooting for 23 miles today. my biggest day yet. i figured that the terrain wasn¢t going to be that bad. and, as long as the weather cooperated, i should have no trouble making the mileage.i started off strong. heading up the trail towards mount greylock. the sun was somewhere above the horizon, but still blocked from my view because of the mountains. i could see its light shining on a few wisps of cloud in the blue sky above. so far, this state has been nothing but great. i can find no reason to complain. if i could hike in weather like this everyday, over a trail like this everyday, i don¢t see why i couldn¢t go on forever. i climbed higher towards the ridgeline that would lead me to the summit of greylock and eventually i found myself high enough to see the sun. i took a step and it broke over the top of the ridge, through the trees and the cool morning air, and rested upon my face. it was bright. it felt good. it soon disappeared into some dark clouds. where did those come from? i stopped and looked up and noticed that the entire sky was a dull gray. they didn¢t look like rain clouds, but i think i remember hearing somewhere that it might rain later today. well, at least i got to see the sun for a few minutes this morning. that is all i need to get me through the day. a little sun, a little luck, and the grace of the good Lord.by the time i reached the war memorial on the top of mount greylock the temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up. i took a break and took some photos at the summit anyway. i had the whole mountain to myself. that is the nice thing about being out this time of year. i don¢t have to deal with the crowds. there is a parking lot and a lodge on the summit of greylock, so i can imagine that during the summer months it can get quite crowded. not today, though. just me and the wind.just south of mount greylock i passed over saddle ball mountain. this is the second tallest mountain in massachusetts and also the first mountain above 3,000 feet north of the shenandoahs in virginia. this is the first time that a northbounder will climb a mountain above 3,000 feet in over 600 miles. or, this is the last time i will climb a mountain above 3,000 feet in over 600 miles.a rather pleasant descent took me to the town of chesire- eleven miles from where i began my day. i looked at my watch and realized it was only eleven o¢clock. forget the old saying that says ¢twelve miles by twelve o¢clock.¢ i¢m starting a new saying and it says ¢eleven miles by eleven o¢clock.¢ that seems to make for a pretty good pace. i walked to a gas station that was near the road crossing and bought some snacks. the guy working inside said that i was crazy for wearing shorts in this kind of cold weather. i tried to explain that when i was out walking, i was plenty warm. he didn¢t understand what i was saying, and he really didn¢t understand how it was that i was buying some ice cream on a stick. what can i say? i do like the ice cream. especially the good humor brand chocolate or strawberry ice cream on a stick.after my ice cream on a stick, hostess fruit pie (i really can¢t seem to get enough of those things), and gatorade, i resumed hiking at 11:30. nine miles would put me in the town of dalton, where i would take my next break. i made a goal of reaching dalton by 3:00 so that i would have time to take a break and still have plenty of daylight to reach the shelter, which would still be three more miles away. a short climb took me to a place called, the cobbles, which are marble outcroppings that provide views of chesire and mount greylock. from the cobbles, the trail followed a bit of a ridge most of the way to dalton.i was walking along through the woods, enjoying the afternoon. it was still cloudy, but hadn¢t started to rain yet. that is good. of course, that wasn¢t the case for long. around 12:30 i thought i felt something wet hit my face. was that rain? nope, not rain. it was snow. a little snow flurry at first. just a few, scattered here and there. not too many, not too often. rather sporadic snow flurries. very small, very light. after a few minutes the snow got bigger and size and more frequent in its pattern. i put my pack cover on my pack and kept hiking. the snow was big, but still dry, and coming down hard. i walked by gore pond, which was completely frozen over and covered in a blanket of white. it was quite nice to look at. a winter scene. finally.i realized that the snow was making too much noise to be snow. of course. that is because it would appear as though the snow was switching over to sleet. very well, then. i will just continue to hike in the mostly sleet, but still somewhat snow mix. this was great hiking weather.the snow completely gave way to the sleet, which started to slowly accumulate. sleet is actually quite loud when it falls. i continued to hike and started dropping towards the town of dalton. as i came down to the lower elevations, the sleet gave way to a cold rain. that figures. i knew i couldn¢t escape the cold rain forever. it was 30 degrees and raining when i reached the streets of dalton. when i reached route 9 in dalton, i walked to the cumberland farms convenience store. it was 2:30. twenty miles by 2:30. now, that¢s what i¢m talking about. if everyday could be like this, then i¢d be getting somewhere.i went inside and bought a very large hot chocolate. the woman behind the counter asked me if i was hiking. she couldn¢t believe it when i told her that i was. she started trying to talk me into quitting and coming back in the spring or summer when there are other hikers on the trail. she said that if i would quit, she would buy me a bus ticket home. she would even drive me to the bus station. she said that i should be at home for thanksgiving, not out on the cold trail by myself. i told her that if she¢d made the offer a week ago, then i probably would have taken her up on it.the rain was pouring and didn¢t look like it was going to let up anytime soon. i stood inside and drank my hot chocolate, while watching the rain. the minutes ticked by. the rain fell. the woman behind the counter continued to try and convince me to get on a bus.the next thing i knew it was 4:00. i really didn¢t want to hike three more miles in this mess. the cold rain. it will get me every single time. now, what was it those guys that i stayed with back at the cooper brook falls lean-to in maine said about dalton? think man. think. is there a hostel here? is that what it was? maybe, but i can¢t remember. dalton. something about dalton. of course. there is a hostel. if i go to the shell station and ask for a guy named rob, then he will put me up and my house. it sounds so secretive.i decided to try and see if what those guys in maine had said was really true. i said good-bye to the woman behind the counter and walked out into the pouring rain. it was almost dark. i walked down the street to the shell station and the attendant that was pumping gas asked right away if i was looking for rob. i told him that i was. he told me that i could go inside the garage and wait, and that he¢d be inside shortly to call rob. i went inside where it was very warm and waited. i polished off a bag of mom¢s cookies while i waited.the kid that worked at the station came inside and called rob. when he told rob that there was a hiker in town, rob asked if he was shitting him. rob didn¢t believe him. the kid said that he was serious and hung up the phone. he told me how to get to rob¢s house ¢the birdcage- and sent me on my way. a few blocks away i found what i was looking for. those guys in maine weren¢t kidding.as soon as i walked into the yard, rob opened the door and told me to get in out of the rain. when i stepped inside he told me to drop my pack and get my boots off so i could get into a hot shower. he said not to bother digging through my pack for dry clothes because he had some i could wear. he said the important thing was getting me into the shower and getting me warmed up. i told rob that i hoped i wasn¢t putting him out or anything by showing up so late in the season. he said that was nonsense and hurried me along into the bathroom.after a long, hot shower, i emerged very warm and fully refreshed. i went to put my wet clothes into the washing machine and when i returned to the kitchen, rob had a bowl of hot chili waiting for me. are you serious? this guy is too much. i couldn¢t stop thanking him. and, he couldn¢t stop telling me it was nothing.rob and i had a nice talk over dinner. he wanted to here all about my adventure. he showed me his photo album of all the thru-hikers that had stayed at the birdcage this season. it was neat seeing people who i¢d met during my first couple of weeks on the trail. the two guys that told me about this place where in there. rob says that i am the 276th hiker to stay here this year. rob also showed me the photo album from last year and it was great seeing some of the hikers that i met and hiked with when i was on the trail last year.i asked him how he started putting up hikers and he said it was very much like me. he was working at the shell station and he saw a hiker walk up to the motel next door. the hiker walked inside and walked back out a few minutes later. he put his backpack on and started walking back towards the road. he hadn¢t gotten halfway across the parking lot when the bottom dropped out and it started pouring rain. rob called the hiker over and told him he could wait out the rain in the garage. rob ended up sending the hiker up to his house to get a hot shower and some food. the hiker ended up spending the night and hiking out the next morning. a few days later another hiker showed up at the shell station asking for rob. rob put him up as well and it just kind of took off from there. rob doesn¢t advertise. it has always been by word of mouth. he also won¢t let anyone pay him. the birdcage is what a hostel should be like. and, rob is what a hostel owner should be like. he is obviously in it for the love of the hikers. there are too many hostel owners that may have been in it for the hikers at one time, but have been blinded by the money. now, they¢re just into it to make a buck and that is just too bad.rob as been a most courteous host. he has treated me just as if i am a regular season hiker. tonight i get to sleep on a bed called, the cloud, because it is so soft.