Date: 2016-08-10
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Dalton Mass
Miles today: 0.0

Entry written on Sept 1st from PA. The shelter I was in had a group of section hikers going north and a Nobo German thru hiker. The section hikers were very nice, but got up at 4 to hike to the summit of Mt Greylock to watch the sunrise. At 5-5:15 or so it started to rain hard with a storm that continued into the afternoon. Instead of getting a nice sunrise from the summit the group most likely got drenched before they reached the lodge. So, it was just the German Nobo and me at the shelter. He was very nice, extremely thin and a chain smoker. We both got up around the same time, maybe 5:40 or so. 20 minutes later, Sphagnum PI came by bundled up in her rain gear. She was a cute Nobo who had tented nearby and was looking to get out of the rain to eat breakfast and pack up her gear. She was a botanist (hence the name), so I asked her if she liked pitcher pants - she lit up and said yes and I showed her on the map where I saw the cluster of plants two days prior at Sucker Pond. Eating breakfast, I talked to the two Nobos for about 30 minutes, packed up and was on the trail by 7:30. Late, but it was still raining hard and I left the shelter wearing my rain jacket. I had only 14 miles to hike into Dalton and I decided to take my time hiking at a medium pace. I had a 2000' descent down through Cheshire followed by a 1200' climb up and over Crystal Mtn and finally a 900' descent to Dalton. With the hard rain, a number of sections of the trail had turned into a stream, but since the soil was somewhat sandy, it drained well, markedly different from Vermont. If I was still in Vermont, I would be walking through a black muddy soup of a trail. Walking along, the forest was pretty dark from the tree cover and cloud cover, but I was lost in thought and none of it seemed to affect me in anyway. I passed a few young Nobo guys on my way down into Cheshire and they let me know that they left a pile of beers on the trail just short of the first road getting into town. I thanked them, and passed on by the beer when I got that that spot moving on into town. Cheshire was a nice small town. A few of the streets had be decorated with American flags hanging from street lamp posts and it was quaint. It was still raining lightly when I was passing the town post office, and I stopped in to take off my rain jacket. It was too warm wearing it and the rain appeared to be letting up. The walk from Cheshire to Dalton is a 9 mile up and over The Cobbles followed by Crystal Mtn for about 1200' and a 1000' descent into Dalton. The grade was gradual on both sides and it was a pleasant walk through a dull forest. I did pass a nice beaver pond along the way, a lovely forest nymph named Tinker day hiking north with bare feet. She said that she hiked the trail north a few years back and liked coming back to hike sections here and there. The forest at this point was predominately beech trees and there was a spicy, earthy smell of decomposing beech leaves which covered the forest floor. Just before getting into Dalton, I passed another Sobo on the trail - Bent, a 35 year old who would later become one of my Sobo hiking friends. Walking down through the last patch of forest before getting into Dalton, I heard a crack followed by a thud, just 20' behind me. A branch had broken off and fallen on the trail just where I had walked. I turned around and said "well, good afternoon to you too" speaking to the tree. In Dalton there is about 1 1/2 miles of road walk. I was headed to Tom Levard's place, a local who reportedly supported thru hikers. By the time I got to Tom's house the rain had stopped and it was getting steaming with the sun starting to take command of the afternoon. I found Tom to be unfriendly, didn't feel welcome at his place and decided to find another place to stay.   There was a local motel close to the post office where I had my mail drop pickup and called them to make reservations for two nights. I was planning on a zero tomorrow. The gal running the Shamrock Inn was named Laura and was very nice and helpful. The walk over was about 1/2 mile back into town and was greeted by her noisy little dog when I got to the motel. I got there in time before the post office closed and picked up my mail drop for the next leg of my journey along with another pair of shoes that Signe sent me. This next pair were low ankle shoes and would breath better in the warm weather. There were a few other hikers at the motel too, we talked for short while before I walked over to a nearby tavern for dinner - a cheese burger with fries and a cold beer. Leaving the tavern with a little sunlight left in the day, I was tired and ready to call it a day.