Date: 2008-07-01
From: Dalton

To: Mark Noepel Lean-to, MA
Miles today: 13.7

Well, back to hiking, but first some tasks to take care of. I got up and packed most of my stuff, and walked over to the P.O. @ 8:30 a.m. My 2 things were in! Score!! I was mailing two things out that I had put stamps on, and Barb, the postal worker, asked (while laughing) why I had put the stamps on the upper LEFT corner of the envelopes instead of the upper right! Oh my gosh! I didn't even notice I'd done that! I'm such an airhead sometimes. I told her I'd been living in the woods too long and we both laughed.I opened the box from Karen and there were some surprises too! So folks, a little insider info here...Karen had 1 day between her last day of class for summer school and hopping on a plane to fly out of the country to teach another course for another college. In that 1 day (and it was a crazy one for her) she not only managed to go to the outfitter to buy me more bugspray and some energy shots, she also found the time to make me AND individually wrap my favorite brownies! Wow...what a woman! Thanks SO MUCH sweetheart!I also got my last set of maps and guidebook. I saw Mt. Katahdin in writing today for the first time. It's still too far away for me to focus on, but it was exciting to see the last section of my book.So I went back to Java Juice, which makes awesome breakfast burritoes and iced mocha. I ate some breakfast and the I made a phone call to Wendy, a sort of manager with the Shamrock Inn. I explained to her what I thought was going on, and she said they actually knew it was happening, but were collecting proof. She apologized for the issue, and we hung up. There...deed done, my conscience is clear.I went back to my room, finished packing and headed out @ 10:30 a.m. I wasn't sure if I'd stop @ the Crystal Mtn. Campground 5 miles out or shoot for the shelter. It depended upon how I was feeling.It was a beautiful day, low humidity which really helped decrease the mosquitoe problem, and about 75 degrees. I got back into the woods and started a drawn out (up and down and up and down) climb up Crystal Mtn. About 2 miles up, there was a huge shopping bag full of trail magic..all kinds of food, batteries, and grapes. I enjoyed some grapes and left a thank you note in the bag. What a great surprise.Just before reaching the campground, Tupperware came hiking towards me. I was surprised to see him, since last I saw him, he and Hearts were on Mt. Everett with me and they were headed another 7 miles that day. He was slackpacking southbound today so we talked for a bit. Just such a cool guy, but he showed me this awesome pic he took of a snake with a huge bulge @ its head from having just eaten a toad! He got to see this, and he was excited. Glad to see I'm not the only one that gets excited about the wildlife. He was kind enough to give me a liter of water so I wouldn't have to go off trail to the campsite. Like I said, nice guy.I moved on and it was only 12:45 p.m. when I reached the campsite, so I decided to get to the shelter (half way up Mt Greylock) tonight. I was feeling strong.I got to the top and headed down towards the town of Cheshire. My knees are hurting a bit on downhills, so I'm trying to be gentle with my steps and take my time. I got to Cheshire and you hike right by Diane's Twist, an icecream and hotdog joint. Well, I HAD to stop. Diane was sitting outside so we went in, and when I found out they served mini hotdogs, that was it. I ordered 3 of them because I've been craving hotdogs for 2 weeks now. mmmmmm, they were there and suddenly they were gone. Not sure where they went, but I had ketchup on my face, so I suspect I inhaled them.So after Cheshire, you hike up a bit, through a rolling field and then you're @ the base of Mt. Greylock, the tallest point in MA @ 3,491 ft. There were storms forming, but I watched the clouds and could tell they would be moving away from me, so I was happy about that.I started climbing, which @ points wasn't so bad, but then it would be for a bit. On the way up I met The Crush (VA) and Pusher (CT) who were slackpacking south as well. Did I miss a memo here? Why is everyone slackpacking but me?Despite the climbing, I felt strong, more like my usual self than on any other day since my mental meltdown.I rolled into the shelter @ 5:45 p.m., which was great for not leaving town till 10:30.One man his here, Paul, and I think a few more people showed up just now. Don't know, I'm camping downhill from the shelter.I set up camp, got water, hung my food (but not before enjoying another brownie), and then walked back up to the AT to call Karen. It finally went through.I'm pretty tired now @ 8:26 p.m. It's going to be a cool nite in the 50's, so I'll need my knit cap.Tomorrow I summit Mt. Greylock and start looking to VT probably the next day. So exciting.....Oh cool, an owl just sounded. And, I had a message on my phone fromWendy @ the Shamrock Inn, asking if I could write what happened down. I called her back and she gave me some info, I said sure.So I'm falling asleep, it's time to say goodnight.~Certain