Date: 2013-08-10
From: St. Mary's Hiker Hostel, Cheshire, MA

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: clear sky

I slept well last night. When I awoke, the sky was glowing pink through the windows of the fellowship hall. The clouds were outlined in electric pink lines and the sky swirled in a palette of pastels. We were in for a beautiful day! I was motivated to hike, so I was on the trail before 7 a.m. There was a bit of road walking to get through town, and every telephone pole had an American flag hanging proudly, one right after another. They seemed to go on into infinity. I appreciated the small town patriotism. I ate an apple and trail mix as I started the climb up Mt Greylock. There was some early morning pasture walking. The grass was moist with dew and remnants of the previous day's monsoon. Everything felt so clean and fresh and alive. The air was cool, and it carried with it fresh scents of balsam and spruce. I wanted to wrap myself in it and take it with me.The ascent was easy and soon I found myself beside a small pond. The water was so still. The trees and sky and clouds mirrored themselves. I stood on the boardwalk of half-cut logs beside the water, the edges of the water leaked below the boards. The rain had filled the pond to the brim. There was a small cabin across the way. I imagined Thoreau holed up in a place such as that when he wrote Walden Pond. I was grateful to see this scene at this moment. A moment of perfect serenity. If I had hiked the day before it would have been a jittered confusion of rain and splatter. But not this morning.The top of Greylock was swarming with people. Bikers, cyclists, hikers, motorists all converged at the top. The air was cool and crisp with gusts of wind that snatched hats off of heads and knocked leaning bikes over. I went into the lodge to see about a cup of coffee. I got distracted by the postcards. A tourist came up to me with his digital camera. He asked if I knew these people. He showed me a picture of Sqeptiq, Flatfoot and Jacinda (a section hiker I'd met back at the hostel in Cheshire). I said yes. He said that an ambulance had just taken Jacinda away with a broken arm. She'd slipped on one of the boardwalks. Damn. It made me cringe. A hike can end that suddenly. I headed to the cafe, but a large group of people got to the counter before me. They were all ordering lunch. I didn't have the patience to wait. So I visited with Pressure-D. He was sitting at a table enjoying a coffee and a muffin. Lucky guy!I grabbed my pack and walked out to the big glass-topped monument. I sat in the grass and pulled out my lunch, delicious giant Reuben sandwich I'd gotten the day before. I talked with some other hikers and watched the tourists mill about. It always feels a little surreal to climb a mountain only to find it swarming with people. Where did they all come from? I looked out at the vista. The air was clear and you could see for what seemed like hundreds of miles. There was ridgeline after ridgeline of tree covered mountains. I could see a wind farm far in the distance. Massachusetts has represented itself well on the AT. I headed down Greylock, careful and cautious on all the boardwalks. The wind was swishing the leaves around in the trees. Occasionally the trees would groan unnatural sounds. I stopped for a moment to take it all it. I swore that the trees were singing. It was magical and enchanting. I could almost make out the tune. And suddenly Splash appeared, strumming his ukelele. I laughed. And I was a little relieved. I wasn't going mad. I really was hearing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." He sat down on a rock, and we talked for a little bit. He has to be one of the most positive beings to ever walk the Earth. I'm glad to be in the same "bubble" as him right now. I bounced down the trail after our encounter.There was a pretty steep down coming into Williamstown/North Adams. I was afraid for my knees, but they did pretty well. At the bottom of the hill, there was a laminated sign telling hikers about the "Hikes to Bikes" program. Four bikes were available for hikers to borrow so they could more easily get around town to get their "chores" down. Too bad I didn't need anything. But I certainly appreciated the thought! I crossed the road, the river and the railroad tracks and started heading up the next hill. The trail cut through someone's driveway and beautiful garden. I was admiring the flowers when I heard a voice calling from behind a screen door. Did I need water? Why, yes I did. A guy emerged. He said he was trying to figure out what sign to put out to offer hikers water from his spigot. He also said that I was welcome to camp in his back yard if I was tired and wanted to stop for the day. I thanked him but declined. I had flash backs of the Cookie Lady's flowerbeds. The trail followed along a beautiful clear stream for a long time. There were cascades and perfect soaking pools. But I was on a mission. I was so close to the Vermont border. I saw two girls coming in the opposite direction. I recognized Garden Girl and Star Face. I hadn't seen either of them since Virginia. I was so happy to see them. We gave each other hugs and congratulated each other for making it this far. The field is thinning out, and so you are so happy to see familiar faces that are still going at it!Soon I came upon a sign, Welcome to Vermont! Less than 600 miles to go. There was a trail register to sign and a big muddy expanse to walk across. Vermont is also known as Vermud. It immediately became apparent how it got this nickname. The trail turned into a muddy, soggy, sloppy mess almost immediately. My boots had stayed relatively dry and mud free up until that point, but this was soon to change. I avoided the mud where I could, but occasionally my foot would slip off a rock, or I'd misjudge a puddle. Next thing I knew, I was shin-deep. Thank goodness I had the leg-gaiters on. They kept my socks and legs relatively mud-free.I got to the shelter around 7:30. It was starting to get dark. I went down to collect some water, and when I came back Pressure-D was walking up. We've got the place to ourselves tonight. We talked for a bit and had some laughs. He and his wife had spent some time at this shelter when they were first married. I watched the last rays of lemon-yellow light shift to dark. (the evenings' light has been distinctly yellow as of late. I'm not sure if its the leaves or the light rays themselves). A few stars are out. It's a quiet night. No insects or frogs or birds making a peep. I guess they are tired too. Great day. Thanks, AT!