Date: 2015-08-19
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton Mass - Tom Levardi's Front Porch
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

I got a good night's sleep and waited around for breakfast. Now this morning there weren't any blueberries as the southbound hiker had decided to eat the blueberries he was given to take to the cabin from the blueberry farm trail angel. Breakfast was great anyway and I stuffed myself with pancakes with maple syrup and drank cups of coffee before hitting the trail again. The trail was pretty easy and fast going. I soon crossed over a foot bridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike/I 90 and in crossing I saw a sign to the left of the bridge saying "Welcome to the Berkshires!" Not long after I crossed a footbridge over Greenwater Brook and up to Becket and Walling Mountains to Finerty Pond. At the pond I found plenty of signs of beaver activity, including trees almost gnawed to the point of falling down. Then it was up and over October Mountain to the Shelter where I stopped in for a snack break. At one point I looked down and saw a brilliant orange spot on the ground next to a tree root. At first I thought it was an orange newt, but as I looked closer, I found it to be the tiniest mushroom that I had ever seen. The stalk was about as thick as a large pencil lead and the flat top was about the same diameter as a pencil eraser. I cruised on over Warner Hill and Tully Mountain before taking a quick break at the Kay Wood Shelter for a snack. There were so many berries and apples along the way I got to give my snacks a break and save them for later. I got confused at the lack of blazes when I first got into Dalton but after looking around for awhile I found one straight ahead on a telephone pole and started walking down Depot street. In front of one of the houses on Depot Street I saw on an upside down green bucket a vase of flowers and a child's note saying "Wish You Well Hikers! With a hand drawn picture of the mountains and the sun smiling down on everything. There was a bucket of cucumbers next to it for the hikers to eat. It is kindness like this that makes my heart overflow with joy and gratitude for all of our trail angels who care for and watch over us. My next stop down the street was one such trail angel - Tom Levardi. He let hikers camp on his lawn and helped with shuttles to different places and even had bikes that he let the hikers use to pedal around town. I met and instantly liked him and he went over his list of rules for the place. Three of the big ones were.. 1. Talk in a quiet voice in respect for the neighbors. 2. Don't overtighten the water spigot handle. 3. Don't cross the street into the neighbors property. If you agreed to follow the rules he'd allow you to stay. I asked if I could sleep on the porch and was given permission to after explaining that I didn't have a tent. I met CC (Chaos & Company, an outgoing hiker who had stayed the night before with Chaos, one of the coolest dogs on the trail. Chaos is a very large, sweet and gentle German Shepherd. I was sitting with CC at the picnic table outside when Tom came out with a heaping plate of mouthwatering juicy burgers! They were the best burgers that I had eaten on the trail and we washed it down with a soda. It was getting dark so CC and I had ourselves a safety meeting before settling down on the porch for the night. I would check the next day for my care package and then move on after resupplying.