Date: 2004-05-08
From: US20 (Lee, MA)

To: Grange Hall Road (The Campbells) 
Miles today: 16.3

Log entry 98Start Time-0945End Time-1515Morning Weather-sunny and warmAfternoon Weather-more of the sameEvening Weather- it was about 68 degrees with low relative humidity inside the Campbell¢s home.Breakfast-Raisin Bran, doughnuts, apple juice (typical continental stuff)Lunch-candy bars and oats and honey bars (typical hiker stuff)Dinner- Pork loin, potatoes, carrots, and onions done on the grill with bread, salad, green beans, and a killer rhubarb and strawberries dessert. (typical spoiled hiker stuff)Trail Description- besides a simple climb out of US20 up Becket Mtn most of the trail was very flat. The trail itself was very muddy, rocky, rooty (RUDY!! RUDY!! RUDY!!) in spots and overall very difficult to make fast time as you would expect by looking at maps. Massachusetts is a great state; actually all of New England is rock-out-cool.People- Roy, the ¢Cookie Lady¢s¢ husband. Then later ¢Scamp¢ (Sally) and ¢Greylock¢ (Dave) who picked me up at Grange Hall Road.Animals- a big ole garter snake but nothing else remotely dangerous or poisonous as I was hoping for.Money- 20 bucks for a cab (I am in the wrong business)Biggest Complaint- paying 20 bucks for a cabNarrative-As usual all my gear save for my tooth brush was packed up and I ate a quick breakfast and was ready to hit it. Mike, who runs the motel, was not able to get me a ride back and I didn¢t feel like trying to hitch as it seemed like a dismal chance so I called up the one cab company in Lee and the man drove up less than 5 minutes after I called.Once back on the AT the day went by fast. The climbs were mild and the walking was for the most part easy. The roots made things a little sketch but not impassable. I missed my first shelter though. Somehow I walked right past October Mtn lean-to, or the side trail to it at least. So when I got to West Branch Rd I was a little confused. But a few seconds with my map made it obvious where I was and I pushed on to Pittsfield Rd where I picked up my food drop from the Cookie Lady. I didn¢t get to meet her but I talked to her husband Roy for a while and called Dave and set a time to meet him at Grange Hall Rd. I figured I could do the 7 miles in 2 hours so I set the time at 1500. I forgot that I still had to pack up my food drop. So by the time I said goodbye to Roy and packaged my ramen noodles it was 1330. Oops, 1.5 hours to do 7 miles. It was one of those ¢hopeless-daunting¢ type feelings. But I figured that either I would be late or really late so I ¢gave it the weed¢, ¢hauled the mail¢, ¢put it to the wood¢. It was all going so well until I reached a pile of pine stumps and a sign which said, ¢Beaver flooding, AT flooded, follow ribbons for temporary re-route¢. At least it didn¢t say. ¢Beaver flooding, AT flooded, turn back for Georgia in the meantime. Have a nice day¢The re-route took me all over the woods and I have no clue how much time I lost or how many extra tenths of a mile I did. It wasn¢t too bad, maybe an extra .2 or .3. Once I got back on the good old AT I decided that my strides still weren¢t quite long enough so I ran. Up and over Warner Mtn. A nice vista. And I came bouncing down the mountain at 1510. Dave and Sally said they ¢just got there¢ but I wonder. I was happy to be there but a little miffed about being late. If a man isn¢t good for his word, what¢s he good for? A short ride to the Campbell quarters where I had a wonderful shower and browsed the ¢www¢ for a while before dinner. Dinner was fabulous. Homemade meals are what its all about. After dinner I chatted with Dave and read up on the White Mtns. Those should be fun. Only a couple more weeks!!!