Date: 2007-06-24
From: Mark Noepal Lean To

To: MA/VT line
Miles today: 13.7

B-r-r-r-r it was 44 degrees when we left the shelter. Nippin hin hiking shorst and t-shirt. The remaining climb up Greylock was remarkably easy. Maybe I'm finally getting my trail legs, albeit a bit late. Greylock, Massachutetts' highest point, was brigh and sunny with fantastic views. To the north, Stratton Mt. in VT was visible and one could almost see Boston. The Greylock monument is a light house with a beacon that, reportedly, can be seen for 70 miles. We didn not linger long as the brigh and sunny weather was accompanied by a 20-30 mile wind. That, added to the brisk temps, hastened us along the way. Just down from the summit was Thunderbold Shelter, a stone structure built to accomodate skiers in years past. There is no skiing on Greylock now but the shelter in meant for emergency use. It would have been a great place to stay overnight if it were permitted.On the way down, on Mt. Prospect, there was a fantastic view of Williamstown, my destination with Williams College and other locl landmarks clearly visible. There are certainly some very large homes in Williamstown. I'm told there is "old" money there. After that last good view we encountered what I call a "tuck and roll" hill. If one stumbles, be sure to tuck and roll and it may be possible to roll all the way down. It was the steepest decent of this leg of my journey. Into North Adams we go, a final meal as a group. We knew there was a Friendly's restaurant so we headed that direction picking up another hiker, Wilma, along the way. When we got to Friendly's, we noticed a hiker's dream next door--an all you can eat Chinese restaurant. (Only $5.00)Lot's of variety and very good food. After chowing down, we went to Friendly's where all but me got ice cream in some form. I was full enough.Wilma was headed for Boston to meet family and had been offered a ride so she gave Bird her bus ticket to Boston. It was a good deal for both.Up we headed to the Vermont line only 4 miles away. The VT line is just a little bit farther than my exit point on the trail and makes for a better ending place. Another easy climb. At the state line we celebrated my completion of the AT with pictures and hugs. One part of me was happy, another part wanted to keep hiking as there is nothing to compare with walking in the woods meeting the challenges of the trail and enjoying the company of others. As we lingered, a man came RUNNING up the trail with a Camelback pack on. He got on the trail in Cheshire and was RUNNING to VT 9, a distance of 35 miles. It seems he is training for a 100 mile race in the Canadian Rockies. An people say that AT hikers are nuts!Alas, it was time to say farewell to Retro as he will walk on. Bird and I turned back south to find the Pine Cobble Trail to take us down the mountain into Williamstown. On the way down we met some college students and a professor headed for the summit, quite a happy group. Halfway down we met two women taking thir first break on the way to hike the Long Trail. Three-quarters of the way down, we met a man who had just started asking how far to the shelter. We had concerns for this man as he was overweight (considerably) with a pack larger than me, tilted to one side and he looked exhausted after less than 1 mile. He, and the girls, had a good climb of 2 miles then 2.5 miles to the next shelter and it was already 5 pm. Who knows what happened to them. A seasoned hiker would have no problem but would still arrive at the shelter after 7 pm. Best wishes to them.Down the mountain we were able to hitch a ride into Williamstown's outfitter and saved our feet a couple of miles. The outfitter allows tenting behind the shop. It was delightful as behind the tenting area was the Green River. It was cool and worked well for washing the trail dust from our bodies. Bird loves the cold so he found a pool and totally immersed. Not this kid. A cold, wet bandana and feet in the water were enough for me.Dinner was in a nice place across the street, good food but could have used a bit more spice. After dinner we went for a walk around town. One would think we had walked enough during the day. Guess not. We located Williams Inn where we would board the bus in the morning and found another ICE CREAM SHOP! It was a nice evening.