Walking through Massachusetts: The Trek

7/6/26

8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; 11.3 miles

There is no early departure today, as it is a low mileage day. There just aren’t any shelters/campsites that line up well for hiking 15 miles a day. So today was short and tomorrow is long: 18+ miles planned. Luckily, it’s supposed to be below 70 degrees.

Today was cooler and windier, which was great for keeping the bugs at bay (it had bugs yesterday!). Some hills today, but not too bad. We stopped at the Wilcox North Shelter for lunch. I finally caught up with Marathon John, just a mile from Shaker Camp. He seemed almost to take delight in telling how he stepped on a wobbly rock and fell into a mud pit (wish there was a video!). I’m not sure how I would have reacted if it had been me. Anyway, Marathon returns to Toledo tomorrow; We will miss him here. I will also part ways with “Marmot”. I’ve been camping with him for most of this week. Domino is also at camp tonight, as is Quaker (as in Quaker Oats).

Saw numerous Red Efts and toads today. Of course, the birds sang to me all day, as always. My favorite is the Wood Thrush.

8/6/26

6:30 am – 4 pm; 18.9 miles

He broke camp (that’s cowboy speak) and headed to Cobble Hill. At the top was a grassy field with a bench. Sitting next to the bench, not on it, was a cute little rabbit, who jumped, but not too far. He or she even posed for a photo.

Shortly afterward I passed Marathon John for the last time. I will miss my recent riding companion as he goes out of his way for a bit.

Shortly after… I saw my first AT bear! He/she was running down the hill away from me, but it was definitely a bear…score!

Fortunately, the rest of the day was pretty easy. We stayed at the October Mountain Retreat.

9/6/26

7:00-12:30; 12 miles

It’s not a terrible hike, it’s pretty quiet except for one or two random hills. I swapped past Birdman on and off a few times. Beautiful fern fields, like Pennsylvania, for fragments.

I went into town and chatted with Tom Levardi (a hiker-friendly local guy) and Birdman, at Tom’s Porch (a great guy and friend to all the hikers). I checked into a seedy motel (I need to plan ahead better), then had lunch and did laundry (my least favorite chore in the city). Shower, dinner, preparation for tomorrow and homework (this blog). It’s time to pack up and crash. Mount Greylock awaits Friday.

06/10/26

8:30am – 3:30pm; 11.7 miles

Cumberland Farms for coffee, egg sandwich, and yogurt parfait, since the fancy coffee shop didn’t open until 7 a.m. Well, I probably saved a few pesos.

I chatted with Ms. Acorn as she headed out of town. She is camping on the beach (Lake Ontario), my favorite place (it brings tears to my eyes).

Still a good trail from Dalton, with some vertical gain, just to wake up the legs.

Then down to Cheshire, MA. We stopped for a chocolate shake and Powerade as it was a little warm…83 degrees.

Continuing on, short walk out of town and then UP! And boy was it humid! I was sweating like a garden hose. It was mainly uphill until we reached the Mark Noepel shelter, more than 2 hours later.

Shortly after, «Pony» appeared. We chatted and hung out. Turns out his grandfather is only 5 years older than me… WTF?! I didn’t need to hear that, ha.

3.1 miles to the top of Mount Greylock in the morning. Waiting for good weather!

06/11/26

7:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.; 18.9 miles

We left the Mark Noepel Shelter and headed towards Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. Windy and foggy, which didn’t bode well for the views. Coming out of the woods about an hour and a half later, conditions had not improved. I briefly checked Bascom Lodge, nothing happened there. Next, head to the memorial tower, which offers views of the Green, Adirondack, and Catskill Mountains, on a CLEAR day. No, not for me, so I didn’t bother climbing the steps to the top. Well, maybe another day. I managed to take a great photo of the tower.

Then it was down, down, down (miles) to Williamstown, MA. Suddenly, it was HOT. But lo and behold, at an AT kiosk in town, there were coolers filled with drinks, food and essential items… I was saved, for now. A lady came up and said it was 90 degrees… What are you saying?!

in the oven

I hit the local Stop & Shop for a quick resupply and then got back on the trail. From town, the trail went UUUUPPPP, for miles. To add to the fun, there was a sauna. I must have lost 5 pounds from sweating so much. This was a bad day to put in big miles. One bright spot to this day was crossing into Vermont, the Green State! Oh!

A long time later (an eternity!), I finally arrived at Seth Warner’s shelter, completely exhausted: what a beautiful day of walking. I met “Coach” at the shelter and we had a nice chat. Then I fainted!

06/12/26

8:30 am – 4 pm; 13.5 miles

This morning it rained a little while I was packing at camp. Luckily I chose to sleep in the shelter. The coach was also taking his time, so we chatted some more. Then the rain stopped and I started on the road.

They were pleasant temperatures to begin with. I passed a beaver pond or two and then the trail went more down than up, including a long rocky descent to Route 9 near Bennington.

Around this time, it became another sweat fest. However, now I was hiking the AT AND Vermont Long Trail. The two trails share more than 100 equal miles. So I had that to lift my spirits.

I ended up “dispersed” camping near Porcupine Lookout, as my mileage was sufficient and I didn’t want to hike another 5 miles or so to get to the next shelter.