Date: 2013-08-18
From: October Mountain Shelter

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: clear sky

One of the big things I've forgotten about being the first person out of the shelter is just how many spider webs there are out there in the morning. It seems like every spider likes to put their webs straight across the AT in the evening, and makes traveling in the morning akin to walking into a field of clotheslines. Luckily, the most they'll do to you is make you feel disgusting, sticky and like you're Elijah Wood's stunt double in Return of King (that big spider scene in the end. Or you might look over your shoulder and find a big old spider just hanging out there, along for the ride.Hey buddy. Just hitching a ride. Proceed to freak out.Dalton Mass was my lunch and water stop today. Tom Levardi was leaving his house when I was walking in and greeted me warmly. Tom graciously lets hikers camp in his yard and is now the only trail angel/hostel left in Dalton. Last year when I was here I stayed with Rob Bird, who is now down in Erwin, TN. Rob still remains one of my favorite trail people of all time, because he was without a doubt, one of the most giving people I've ever met. The Birdcage was a hiker haven (or heaven) and provided everything from physical rest to mental rehabilitation. Rob has always given some of the best advice to hikers, and is willing to take the time to listen to your problems. I was lucky enough to see him down in Erwin again this year, but for the life of me, Dalton felt empty without him there. I took the time to walk to his old house. I sat down out in front and just reflected for a little, remembering the moments I spent there last year (4 days) and what Rob Bird would say to me now if he were still here."Get walking back to Maine. You'll make it and things will work out. Call your family, your brother. They'll help you. And if they can't or won't, you call your friends. You'll find what you're looking for. Now come on, get some Bird love and get outa here."No Rush, Stryder and Icarus were also at Levardi's, along with Whisper's mom. Whisper apparently was down with the flu, real stuffy and not feeling too hot. But her mom was slacking people in the area and it was lovely to meet the mother of such a wonderful lady. Whisper and Mailman are definitely one of my favorite trail couples out here. One of the great things about the top of Massachusetts is that you head back up to the long ridge lines that you had back in the south. You get to walk on the spine of the world it feels like, with sharp drop offs on both sides and just the trees and sky above you. As we get a little farther north, the trees start disappearing as well and you're left with just the sky and the air rushing around you. I ended up on the top of the ridge line at sunset and spent an hour snaking back and forth between the east and west sides of the ridge while I headed to the shelter. This produced a wonderful effect for me - any time I went back to the east side, the sun would dip below the ridge line out of view and it would get dark. I would than come back up to the west and get a sunset all over again. The bright reds, oranges and yellows of the sunset were vivid in comparison to the dark blues and purples of the night sky. Just Beautiful.