Date: 2017-09-08
From: Wilbur Clearing Shelter

To: Tom Levardi's house
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

9/8/17 Day 101 - 20.7 milesWilbur Clearing Shelter to Tom Levardi's houseThe alarm went off at 6:00 and instead of hitting the snooze button, I just turned it off completely. Slept till about 6:45 and got on trail by 7:30. Not sure why I still do that because I really don't get good sleep after the alarm. First up this morning is the remainder of the climb up Mt. Greylock. It was a nice cool clear morning but the sides of the trail were wet from the rain last night so my legs and feet get soaked again on the narrow sections of trail. There's a tower at the top of Mt. Greylock but it wasn't open yet and besides, there were awesome views from the base of the tower. The clouds were below the top of the mountain and looked like a sea of white. Incredible! I didn't plan on hanging around here long but then I saw Bascom Lodge. They had a little cafe and COFFEE!!! I resisted the temptation to have another breakfast mainly because the prices were ridiculous but I was OK overpaying for coffee. They had wifi here as well so that was a nice bonus. I was also a little relieved knowing that the huge 2500'+ climbs are over for me.  It was on to the Cheshire Post Office to pick up my resupply box that Lisa sent me. Unfortunately I got there 5 minutes after they closed for lunch so I had an hour to kill before I could get my package. No big problem really. Actually it worked out better because I was able to charge my phone and battery bank in the lobby and I was also able to eat lunch at a bench across the street. Also got to talk to some locals who were passing by and had some questions about my hike. As soon as the PO opened up I went in for my box. All I could think of was how heavy it is and I'm going to have to carry this uphill out of town. It was packed with goodies that I ate immediately and Lisa had even put a Christmas tree air freshener in there for me - Ha Ha.  Back on trail by 2:30 and on to the next town of Dalton. When I got to the trail head I met a local guy named Jeremy.He was looking at the map on the bulletin board. He asked how long I'd been on the trail and was shocked when I told him since May 8th. He had just moved to the area recently and had no idea about the Appalachian Trail. It's still fun answering all the questions people have.  The trail goes right through the town of Dalton for about 2 miles so I had a nice level road walk.   There was a campsite listed in town as Levardi's. It's actually the home of Tom Levardi. He's been letting AT hikers camp in his yard for 37 years!!! You have to knock on the door and get permission and then he goes over a list of rules. Mainly just being considerate of his neighbors and not making a mess of his porch. He has water and a power strip to recharge your devices. I was the only one here for the night and got set up pretty quickly. I was looking forward to eating some of the weight out of my heavy food bag. As I was boiling my water for dinner, the neighbor peeked over the fence and asked if I like quiche. I HATE to say no to food but I explained to her how heavy my food bag was and that I was trying to lighten it. I felt like I was cursing myself for not accepting a food offering and that the trail would punish me later on. Just as I was heading to my tent for the night, Tom came out of the house with dessert!!Cake and ice cream - no way I was turning it down. 20.7 miles even with the long break this afternoon is pretty good, I'll sleep good tonight.