Date: 2009-07-18
From: Mt. Greylock, Bascom Lodge - Trail Mile 602.5

To: Seth Warner Shelter - Trail Mile 589.3
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

Day 28[Watson & Holmes arrived.Received a photo captioned: "A last taste of Massachusetts!"Also received a photo welcoming the traveler to Mass. captioned: "... or, rather, Goodbye!!" (Watson & Holmes are northbound, and now in VT!)And another photo captioned: "Camp cooking - SAW Man enjoying a grilled Spam'n'Cheese burger on a toasted bagel. "Her journal entry:]Seth Warner Shelter, VermontBreakfast burritos are one of my new favorite foods, at least the way Fly-By makes them. Yum!!Didn't sleep very well last night. Was alternately hot and cold in turns, then itchy or sore or whatever. The mimosas that FB made to accompany the burritos helped a bit, though.Took a while to help clean up, then sort and pack my resupply, and the rest of my gear. We left around 10 am in the second shuttle of slackpackers, driven by Rob's friend John. First stop was at the 23 mile mark so HardCore and FB could run pack-less back to the Birdcage. I got a quick look at the slope they would be going up and we would be going down, with pack. Ouch. All too soon (or maybe too late, as it's already 11 am!), John drops us off at Greylock's summit. We skip the tower this time, but do take a minute to feed H, get water, and chat with DD. We start down, and quickly up again. The trail ranges along a ridge for a bit and tops a second mountain. Nice views, at one of which we see Greylock the caretaker again.We pass the 23-mile slackpackers who warn us about the steep trail ahead. They're right! H of course has no problem, but with the mud I ended up on the ground more than a couple times. Luckily my tent (strapped to the bottom of my pack) offered a bit of cushioning. Finally we're down, into town, and quickly out of town. It already feels like a long day because of the late start, the mud, and having a pack again but we've only gone 7 miles. We sit for a few minutes on a bench in the sun and have a quick snack (Crunchy Cheetos for me and chicken strips for H - YAY!) before heading back into the dank woods. There's a campsite a few miles up and I plan to at least stop for a break and early dinner, but when we get close I check the guidebook and realize it's only another 2 miles to the MA-VT border, and then 3 miles to shelter. We can manage that, and I really want to be able to say that in my first 4 weeks on trail I covered 4 states!Halfway up I'm close to regretting the decision (see picture of rocky MA terrain) but refuse to double back. At least these rock fields have had the benefit of a few hours' partial sun this afternoon, so they're not AS slippery as the ones we just came down. Half a mile along the ridge top and we're at the border. There are three signs -- 'Welcome to Massachusetts', 'Beginning of the Long Trail' (look it up), and 'This section cared for by the US Forest Service and the Green Mountain Club' -- but no mention of Vermont! I guess a south-facing picture of the 'Welcome to MA' sign will have to do for my scrapbook.Funny note: L-Train notes in the register that whenever she returned to school in VT, upon crossing the border into the state would roll down the windows, take a big whiff, and say "it smells like home." Well, it does. Not home (which for me is NJ/NYC), but the air somehow smells sweeter and we immediately notice there are many fewer mosquitoes. Woo-hoo!!Off we go with about and hour an a half and a short climb to the shelter. It's not so bad a day, after all.At shelter we find a fun group: Hot Sauce (whom we met a few days in - she was off trail for a while), Stretch & Tin Man (both NJ boys from Freehold), L-Train, the Trio, and a few weekend hikers. Hilarity ensues (see picture of TT dancing around the pine branch in the fire - it lit and sparkled like the Eiffel Tower at dusk), followed by good food (see picture of SAW Man's Spamburger with cheese on a toasted bagel). Or maybe it was the other way around - hikers know food always comes first!Bed time doesn't come soon enough, and I'm asleep as soon as I crawl into my bag. Good stuff.42° 46' 20.1" N 73° 8' 14.03" W, 2224 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop