Date: 2004-07-23
From: stealth campsite at The Cobbles

To: Bascom Lodge at Mt Greylock 
Miles today: 9.4

It drizzled a bit before I got out of bed. By the time I was to get up it had stopped and my tent was thankfully dry. I packed up and made scrambled eggs with bacon bits. I do not usually cook for breakfast, but the folks sent some powdered egg dishes in my last mail drop. It was pretty good, and nice to have a warm, "real" breakfast for a change. Thanks Mom and Dad! It was still cloudy and threatening rain all morning. I stoped by the post office in Cheshire, MA to mail back some maps and to look around for Lobstah and Dragon Slayer. No sign of them. By the time I reached Mark Noepal Shelter for a break it started to sprinkle again. I put on my pack-cover and took off hoping to make it the 3+ miles to Mt Greylock before it opened up. Unfortunately it was not to be. It really started coming down when I was about halfway there. I got soaked. I knew I had to climb all the way to the top of the mountain so I didn't want to get my rain jacket all sweaty. Also by the time I contemplated donning my rain jacket I was already soaked. It was not too cold as long as I was hiking, but with the wind it was a little chilly. No problem, I'd just dry out at Greylock. I got there and the place was crawling with hikers seeking refuge from the storm. Tyson, the Roman Noodles and a handfull of others were there. Mt Greylock is the tallest mountain that we have seen in a while at 3,491 feet. We were just walking up into the clouds. The trail was a stream as I neared the top. Bascom Lodge is a place where hikers and such can stay the night and get a meal. I dried off a bit and put on a dry shirt. Waterproof boots are waterproof from the inside out as well, so I had to pour the water out! The snack bar was open, but I need to save some money and get some weight off my back, so I just made my own lunch. Lobstah and Dragon Slayer finally made it after hanging out in Chesire all morning. We hung out eating and waiting for the rain to stop. It stopped and a couple of hikers took off only to have it start up a few minutes later. The staff was nice enough to put our wet clothes in the dryer for us. By the time it was done it was still just cloudy white outside the windows. We decided that we didn't have time to get to our original destination and the shelter closest was almost too close and ! would only serve to get us wet again, and not add any mileage that we couldn't make up tomorrow. That's our story and we're sticking to it. We decided just to stay and head out in the morning. It was just $10 for a bunk in the hostel (garage) and we could hang out in the common room at the lodge by the fire as long as we wanted, and use the showers. We met a bunch of hikers, some thru and some section hikers, and nice people all. A nice couple from Florida even gave me a left-over half of sandwich since the kitchen was closed. Thanks guys! All in all, it was a nice place to get dry and wait out the storm. Well, time to get on over to the garage, where the hiker trash are kept! I need to get some sleep so I have at least have a chance of getting up early in the morning. I hope it clears up by tomorrow so we can make up some miles.