I hiked out of Kent this morning after camping in town. Kent is in the running for being the most expensive trail town. This town is home to three boarding schools as well as being a popular vacation spot for many New Yorkers. It's the birthplace of Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane as well as home to notables like Henry Kissinger. Unfortunately, not everyone in town likes hikers. The Kent laundromat has a "no hikers allowed" policy. The owner has taken offense to naked hikers hanging out at the laundromat while their clothes are getting washed. When the only set of clothes you have are the ones you're currently wearing, how else are you supposed to do your laundry?! So I hiked out in the morning and camped right outside of Salisbury. At 32 miles, this is my biggest day so far.
Thurs 7/31
I hiked into Salisbury with Sloth, Southbound, and Skippy and spent the day in town. We resupplied at the local grocery store and played cornhole outside the outfitters.
Back on the trail, we hiked 5 miles to Brassie Brook Shelter just past the 1500 mile mark.
Fri 8/1
I hiked across the Massachusetts border in the morning.
The mosquitoes were in abundance today. They loved me a lot but he love was unrequited on my part to say the least. I hiked 23 miles to Tom Leonard Shelter.
Sat 8/2
I walked into Great Barrington in the morning, went to the grocery store, ate a large pizza and a box of strawberries, and hitched back to the trail. I hiked 21 miles to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Today was the first time for me doing back to back 20s.
Sun 8/3
The caretakers at the cabin made everyone pancakes and I enjoyed a swim at the pond in the morning. Fog was still covering the water and the mountains surrounding it. After the swim, I hiked out with Sloth, Southbound, and Skippy. We met up with Rob Bird so that we could spend the next couple days with him and be slackpacked through the rest of Massachusetts. We slackpacked/ran to Cookie Lady's house where Cookie Lady gave us cookies. 11 miles for the day. We went to Old Country Buffet for dinner and stayed with Rob Bird, who had a camper outside of Dalton.
Mon 8/4
We slacked 19 miles to Cheshire, passing the hostel of Thomas Levardi. Rumor has it that Tom has a thing for young boys and likes to watch hikers shower at his house. We thought we could have some fun with it. Skippy and Southbound took their shirts off and sat down in Levardi's yard. We were now the Powerpuff Girls. I was Bubbles, Southbound was Blossom, Skippy was Buttercup, and Sloth was The Professor. Apparently, our plan worked as Tom, ignoring the other hikers, brought us out blueberries, yogurt, iced tea, and garden fresh veggies!
Tues 8/5
Today we slackpacked 14 miles up and down Mt. Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. At 3491 feet, this is the highest peak since Virginia. This is the mountain that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick. Because apparently this mountain looks like a whale. There's a veterans memorial on the summit.
Since we were being slackpacked, I was on a time constraint. I ran up and down the mountain without really getting to enjoy it. It started raining when we got down and we all went out to eat at a local diner. I slept on a cot in Rob Bird's van.
We hiked into Vermont. It was muddy.
We camped right before bennington, passing the 1600 mile mark. 19 miles for the day.
Thurs 8/7
I hitched into bennington in the morning and had breakfast at the Crazy Russian Girls Bakery.
These Russian girls were crazy! They made me bagel with garlic, chive, and black pepper cream cheese. Then I stayed there and ate lunch. I got back to the trail around 2pm and hiked 17 miles. I passed this cool fire tower along the way.
Had this been a clear night with a campfire to illuminate the trees and tower...
http://thru-at.com
Fri 8/8
Today I hiked over Stratton Mountain. It was on this summit that Benton MacKaye was inspired to propose the creation of the AT.
Not a bad view from the top.
At the bottom, was Stratton Pond.
Here I jumped in and went for a swim. I hiked 20 miles today and camped Spruce Peak Shelter.
Sat 8/9
We hiked 3 miles down the mountain and got a ride into Manchester Center in the morning. Jeff, the owner of the Green Mountain House Hostel, was at the trailhead and offered us a ride. We ate at a place called "Up for Breakfast." I stayed at the hostel with Grandma Pepper and several other hikers.
Grandma Pepper was the hiker formerly known as "Not Yet." It's not unheard of for hikers to change their trail names. Sloth, for instance, now has an umlaut, i.e., Slöth. The hostel was very nice. For $25, a hiker gets a bed, shower, laundry, breakfast, and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. And guess what? Jeff is from Northeast Ohio, just like me!
Jeff drove us back to the trail. I started hiking but didn't make it very far until I found Sloth, Southbound, and Skippy camping out next to the trail. These guys didn't want to get up.
This is Miriam.
When we were ready to go back into the woods, this lady offered us a ride.
She told us dirty jokes and then danced for us! Best hitch ever!
Mon 8/11
We hiked up Bromley Mountain. Some hikers had told us about an alpine slide down the mountain. There was a gondola at the top and to get to the slide, we had to follow the ski slope down about half a mile. We found the slide rode it down several times. It was fun! Each time we took the ski lift back up.
Here we are at the top of Bromley.
I hiked on to Lost Pond Shelter by myself as the others stayed up at the ski patrol shelter all day. 15 miles for the day. I saw my first porcupine tonight.
Tues 8/12
I enjoyed an afternoon swim at little rock pond.
Wed 8/13
I hiked 3 miles and hitched into Rutland. I stayed with the Twelve Tribes back in Virginia. Well, they have another community here in Rutland where they have a deli and hiker hostel. With 40 hikers here tonight at the Yellow Deli Hostel, there were many familiar faces, several of whom I haven't seen for months.
Thurs 8/14
I took a zero day here. Many hikers do work for stay at the hostel. I swept and mopped a little bit in the morning. Skippy and I walked over to the rock gym later in the day.
Fri 8/15
Breakfast is provided each morning. We had eggs with brown rice, tomatoes, and onions. We had fresh fruit and yerba maté. These people drink maté in massive quantities. The twelve tribes is one of the biggest distributers of maté in the country. We took the local bus to Killington and hiked southbound 20 miles so we could stay one more night at the hostel. We hiked over Killington Peak, the second highest peak in Vermont.
In the evening, the group had their "gathering" which is a religious ceremony followed by a huge dinner and some Israeli dancing. Today we passed the 1700 mile mark and have less than 500 miles remaining.
Sat 8/16
Sloth, Southbound, and Skippy hiked out in the morning. I stayed for another day.
