Date: 2012-06-28
From: Mass Rt 2

To: Mass Rt 2
Miles today: 0.0

Not really the town day I had planned, but I did ultimately get everything achieved that I needed to, so I guess I'd call it successful. I woke early this morning after a restless night. My first thought was to get a second night in the motel, but alas they were sold out. The Howard Johnson is right next door so I called them, also full, then I tried every other motel and hotel listed in my hiker guide, not a room available at any of them. I spoke again to the manager at the motel and he agreed to call me if a room became available. As that was the best I could do I looked over the maps. There is a campsite 3 miles south of town on the trail, but it is 3 miles of steep trail up. I still had a lot to do in town and the weather forecast for hot with scattered thunderstorms was not encouraging. I didn't want to leave town for a campsite with a leaking tent and possibly have to camp out in the rain. The hardware store in town should have the supplies I need to reseal the tent seams, but without a motel room, I had no idea how I was going to actually get it done, and I didn't really want to carry sealant and brushes etc. up the steep hill in the heat of the day either.I packed up as best I could given that everything was in disarray. I still hadn't even done my laundry, which absolutely had to be the first thing on the to do list, as I was still wandering around in my camp night gear, a very mismatched ensemble of boxer shorts, t-shirt, jacket, and bright pink polka dot socks. Fortunately the laundry was close by. I washed literally everything I wasn't wearing, and then changed into freshly clean hiking clothes in the laundry bathroom and washed and dried the night gear too. I even threw my sleeping bag into the dryer for a few minutes to fluff it up a bit and get it smelling fresh again. Next stop was the pharmacy for a refill on vitamins, etc., then onto the hardware store. The staff there were great. They had the denatured alcohol I needed for my cookstove, and not only did they provide it by the ounce so I didn't have to buy an entire can, but they didn't charge for it either. They said they get a lot of hikers in, and like to help out. Then I told them about my need to create a concoction of clear silicone mixed with mineral spirits to seal the tent. They had obviously never heard of such a thing, but again, when I said I only needed an ounce or two of mineral spirits they came out with a can for me to help myself free of charge, and a container to put as much as I needed in, and a little pot to mix it in. So for the price of a small tube of silicone caulk and a cheap paintbrush I had everything I needed for the repair. Next came the true magic, when I said I needed somewhere to put up the tent and create and apply the mixture and hang out for a couple of hours while it dried, they showed me to a grassy area behind the store. There was a mixture of sunshine for the tent to dry in and shade for me to hang out in too. Perfect.By the time the sealant had been mixed, applied and dried enough that it wouldn't get all stuck together when I bundled up the tent to get it back in the pack it was 4pm. I was nice and rested, but it was HOT out. The thought of the mile plus walk back to the trail, plus the 3 miles up to the campsite was daunting. I also still had a bit of last minute grocery resupply to do. The store was on the way out of town to the trail, and it would be cool in there to break up the heat of the roadwalk, but I still wasn't anxious to do it. I even called around the all the motels close to me again, just to check that nothing had come open. It hadn't.So off I walked to the grocery store. Amazingly, as I reached the store, across the road was a motel and it had a vacancy sign outside. I didn't recognize the name from any that I had called that day, but figured the sign just hadn't been changed and it would be full like everywhere else in town. I did my shopping, sat outside in the shade and repacked everything again in hike mode. As soon as I stepped out of the shade into the full sun I knew I was in trouble. It felt even hotter than when I went in the store.Spotting the vacancy sign again, and not even wanting to waste the effort of walking across a parking lot on a wild goose chase, I pulled out my phone, looked up the phone number for the motel and called. To my surprise (at the time), they said they did indeed have a room available. It was more expensive than I paid last night, but it was available. I told them I'd be right over. From the outside the place looks OK, but that's where it stops. It's an absolute fleabag motel, and overpriced to boot. It is no surprise at all that it has empty rooms. Given a choice would I stay here? No. But under the circumstances, I'd have had a very bad time getting to the campsite sane in this heat, and at least I have a bed, a/c and a shower. I'm not sure the sheets have been changed in a while so I've thrown all the bedding on the floor and will use my camping gear on top of the mattress. I took a shower. The water pressure was decent and temperature good, though I didn't opt for hot, and I used the one towel that looked like it hadn't already dried someone or something else. I'm sitting here looking at a 13" tv up on a shelf that isn't plugged into anything, is nowhere near a power outlet and on the opposite side of the room from the cable outlet and cord, above a fridge and microwave that are not plugged in and both smell like something died in them not too recently. But, the little a/c works well, it's cold and quiet, albeit that it's secured into the window opening with what appears to be someone's cast off long sleeve t-shirts. The bed is quiet comfy too. Let's hope I can get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow I might risk the shower again, reuse my towel, and get back on the trail and up that hill before the sun gets high. Apparently this is my last 3000' + mountain until Virginia, and the elevation profile actually looks quite flat once I get over it.