Date: 2016-06-28
From: Main St & School St, Cheshire, MA - Mile 1,577.5

To: MA 2, Hoosic River - Mile 1,592.2
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a homecoming of sorts. Beth and I climbed Mt. Greylock as our first day hike just a few years ago. Gordon, our friend at the gym, recommended this mountain. I chose the trail that day and really messed up. We hiked "Greylock In The Round", a 16.9 mile hike. Stupid, stupid Rob. Each step taken in the final hour that day was painful for Beth. Both of us were sore for a couple days. It was way too many miles and the terrain featured a water crossing, a spectacular waterfall, and enough climbs to make for one memorable day that we "fondly" remembered today. Then there was the memory of hiking with our daughter Anne and her fianc© Pat and his Dad too. Somehow Pat got the wrong impression about the length of that hike. He asked me just an hour and a half into the hike if it was almost over. I sadly had to tell him the hike had barely begun and then I got us lost that day so we hiked an extra mile. We've hiked Greylock with Beth's sister Lynn too. Today's climb was from a completely new direction though. We were both surprised that today's climb was easier than we had expected. The climbs were distributed and there were somewhat lengthy flat stretches that enabled us to catch our breath. The trail up to Greylock consisted of fine pine needles that surrounded the anchored rocks. At times the sweet pine smell was strong. We lucked out on the weather. When we placed one car at the summit this morning we needed the most windshield wipers on to cut through the fog or mist. It looked to be a bad day weather wise, but that changed as we started and soon we were glad that the day wasn't any warmer and we frequently let each other know when we felt a cooling breeze. My thoughts today were filled with concerns for other hikers who have their own trailjournal blogs. Last night, I learned that the thru-hike for the Two Peas just ended after Moonbeam broke her femur and had to be taken off a nearby mountain after a fall. I learned tonight that her surgery was successful. Last night, I read a long-awaited post from Rocketman & Princess. It has been a number of days since news came of their seeming near-death experience due to hypothermia overtaking them in New Hampshire's White Mountains. They intend to write more about that experience but at least I learned that they are out and about assisting the hiker that first came to their rescue. Then there was Slipknot, who somewhat jokingly, said he was glad he was carrying 5 days of food on his back or else he feared he would've been blown off the mountain that was close to the location Rocketman & Princess encountered their problem. Beth and I talked plenty during today's hike but my mind returned to these hikers and thoughts of others out here like us. We got a fresh reminder of just how quickly an accident can happen as we came across 3 fit men. One was holding a bloody paper towel on his nose, saying that one of his buddies had punched him before admitting that he had just fallen on a rock I was stepping on. We had a number of friends hiking around us today and gathered for a cold drink and food at Greylock's summit in Bascom Lodge. Spirit of 76, Teach, and Steady were there as was Tuna Roll, an ex-military guy who I've now seen and spoken with the last several days. It was an energetic group who were feeling good about the climb. Teach & Steady and I decided to complete the Greylock descent in the afternoon since the bad weather forecaster for today wasn't to arrive until early evening. Beth saw Teach & Steady at a road crossing and heard that the descent was tough. Steady sounds like he is experiencing an overuse injury similar to my knee problem so the descent must've been painful because it involved some steep rock steps and boulders. I feel fortunate today that the hike was done in good weather. I hope my hiking friends remain safe. For those of you who were Hill Street Blues fans, I hope we can all heed Sergeant Phil's closing roll call saying "Let's be careful out there."