Appalachian Trail - Day 103 - Old Seth Warner Shelter Site to VT Route 9

Day: 103

Date: Saturday, 05 August 2023

Start:  Old Seth Warner Shelter Site (AT Mile 1607.5)

Finish:  VT Route 9 (AT Mile 1619.0) but staying in Bennington.

Daily Kilometres:  17.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2671.3

Weather:  Warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Chips, ice-cream.

  Dinner:  Cheeseburger & fries, ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - rib still sore, shoulder chafing; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5:00am to a foggy dawn.  It is noticeably darker later in the mornings now and we need headlamps until 5:30am.  Like setting up camp, packing up has become pure routine, with us going through the same sequence every day when we are camping.  The first 30 minutes packing/dressing is done inside the tent, then it takes another 30 minutes to take down the tent and pack our rucksacks.  The whole process can be done without a word being said and very quietly as was done this morning when there were some others camped nearby.

We were hiking by 6:00am with a little over 11 miles to go to the VT Route 9 crossing, our goal for the day.  We had booked a motel room for two nights at a motel popular with hikers and the manager said he will pick us up if we phone him from the top of Harmon Hill, about two miles short of the highway where there was no phone reception.

Eleven miles sounded comfortable, but the trail had other ideas.  The forest was dank and the trail wet and boggy peppered with roots and rocks.  Occasionally there were narrow boardwalks across the swampiest sections.  Everything was slippery and it was often impossible to judge the thickness of the mud or find a way around it.  Julie, in her running shoes, occasionally sank in well over her ankles.  There was some cursing.

Our average speed was less than 2mph and we fear this will become the standard for the remainder of our journey.

On the plus side, the weather was good, there were only a few mosquitoes, and we passed some lovely peaceful ponds.  We took a break halfway to the highway and phoned the motel owner from the top of Harmon Hill as promised.  He said he would pick us up in 70 minutes, which seemed more time than necessary given we only had 1.7 miles to go, but the descent from the mountain was very steep and rocky and it took Dave nearly all of the 70 minutes to get down.

When we reached the road crossing, we found some "trail angels" offering "trail magic" to thru-hikers.  We said we were waiting to go into town and felt bad taking any of their goodies, but they insisted that we do.  We drank, ate and chatted until the motel owner turned up and drove us into Bennington.  The motel is fine, and cheap, but not ideally located, so we had to make do with what we could find in the adjacent gas station for lunch.

Later we walked into the centre of town for dinner and collected our clean laundry from the motel owner, who had done it for $5, on the way back to our room.

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail - Day 102 - Mt Greylock to Old Seth Warner Shelter Site

Day: 102

Date: Friday, 04 August 2023

Start:  Mt Greylock (AT Mile 1594.3)

Finish:  Old Seth Warner Shelter Site (AT Mile 1607.5)

Daily Kilometres:  23.8 (Ascent 2759'; Descent 4049')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2653.5

Weather:  Warm, humid and mostly overcast with rain in the late afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muffins 

  Lunch:  Fried chicken pieces, pasta salad

  Dinner:  Turkey sandwiches 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles and a sore rib; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really 

Lowlight:  None really 

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The breakfast muffins at Bascom Lodge were very tasty and we could have eaten more.  After saying goodbye to some other hikers we knew who were also staying at the Lodge, we set off hiking about 8:45am.  There had been a very loud thunderstorm and some rain around 4:00am, and more thunderstorms and rain were forecast for throughout the day but, at the time of leaving, it was just foggy, damp and cool, with no views.

It was a day of two parts.  The morning was spent on the seemingly never-ending descent from Mt Greylock to the Hoosic River on technical slippery trail through gnarly conifer forest with few views.  It was slow hiking with Dave also complaining that his injured rib was making it hard.  A minor highlight was passing the 1600 Mile mark.  We are now meeting quite a few southbound Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.  They generally start later to allow the northern rivers and streams that are swollen in the spring to subside.  It's always a boost to think they have about 1600 miles to go while we now have less than 600 miles to go.

The afternoon was spent climbing away from the Hoosic River on sometimes rocky and slippery trail with many boggy sections that had to be carefully worked around.  Other parts were relatively easy walking, and a minor highlight was crossing the Massachusetts-Vermont border.  We now just have the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine left.

In between the morning and afternoon we passed through the outer parts of the town of North Adams and detoured off the trail for half a mile to a large supermarket where we bought some lunch and enough supplies to last us through to midday tomorrow when we reach a road crossing and will detour off to the town of Bennington for a day off.  We ate our lunch sitting on the concrete walkway near the supermarket entrance looking like a couple of derelicts - muddy, smelly, hungry and not caring what people thought.

We had hoped to cover a few more miles before camping today, but the word was that tent sites would be hard to find, so we got water from a stream at 5:30pm and then walked a little further to the site of an old (removed) shelter where we knew there were some tent sites and camped at around 5:45pm.  To that point, none of the rain forecast for the day had arrived, but we could hear thunder rumbling for the last hour or two of the afternoon so were anxious to get the tent up before rain arrived.

Sure enough, just as we began erecting the tent it began to rain.  We quickly got it up and then got everything inside, including ourselves, and ate dinner there.  The rain didn't last for too long and it is forecast to clear soon.

Appalachian Trail - Day 101 - Crystal Mountain Campsite to Mt Greylock

Day: 101

Date: Thursday, 03 August 2023

Start:  Crystal Mountain Campsite (AT Mile 1582.0)

Finish:  Mt Greylock (AT Mile 1594.3)

Daily Kilometres:  21.5 (Ascent 3389', Descent 1873')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2629.7

Weather:  Mild and mostly sunny in the morning, cool and cloudy with some rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Lodge

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast sandwiches, ice-creams 

  Lunch:  Hot dogs, cookies/cake.

  Dinner:  Potato & leek soup, chicken chasseur, profiteroles.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles and a sore rib after a fall; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Despite the long climb up Mt Greylock, it was a relatively easy and short day.

Lowlight:  When we booked a room at Bascom Lodge on the summit of Mt Greylock (Massachusetts' highest peak, 3489', and accessible by road), we envisaged enjoying fantastic views and a glorious sunset, but the weather closed in during the afternoon, with rain and fog, partially spoiling our plans (though it was still nice to be staying at the Lodge).

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke a little earlier and were hiking on a beautiful morning by 6:00am in the hope that we would get to the summit of Mt Greylock before forecast afternoon storms and rain.  We had a room booked at Bascom Lodge at the summit for the night.  It was expensive for a room with shared facilities, but Dave had stayed there on his 1986 AT hike and thought it was something special to do.

The early hiking was easy, though Dave did manage to stumble and fall, landing on a sharp-edged rock with his ribs, pile-driven by the weight of his pack - it only hurts when he walks and breathes.  Although we crossed a couple of outcrops, there were no views until we detoured a little off the trail to Cheshire Cobble (1694') which overlooked the village of Cheshire, our destination for breakfast.

We reached the pretty village soon after 8:00am and walked through the streets to a highway where we detoured a quarter of a mile to a Dunkin' Donuts attached to a gas station and enjoyed breakfast before buying an ice-cream to eat on our way back to the trail.

The climb to the summit of Greylock wasn't too bad, spread out over seven miles, especially when we had a break at a shelter about halfway up, and we reached the top around 1:30pm.  We were too early to check in to our room, so we dumped our packs outside the Lodge and took in the views around summit area as well as climbing to the top of a tower built as a memorial to those lost in the 1914-18 (1917-18 war to the Americans).  The views were good, but not great because of a haze.

After lunch in the cafe and a chat with our French-Canadian thru-hiker friends who arrived mid-afternoon, we checked into our room and showered.  By this time the weather had deteriorated significantly with a cold wind and some rain.

We ate the expensive dinner provided on Bascom Lodge, telling ourselves it was a one-off, before retiring to our room for the night.  The continental breakfast included with our room isn't available until 8:00am, so looks like we will be having a sleep in.

Appalachian Trail - Day 100 - Finerty Pond to Crystal Mountain Campsite

Day: 100

Date: Wednesday, 02 August 2023

Start:  Finerty Pond (AT Mile 1561.2)

Finish:  Crystal Mountain Campsite (AT Mile 1582.0)

Daily Kilometres:  33.5 (Ascent 2940', Descent 2910')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2608.2

Weather:  Mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Hot dogs

  Lunch:  Pop tarts/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Chicken cheesesteak sub/chicken & bacon sub, ice-cream 

Aches:  Dave - left knee sore; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  When we reached the road crossing where we planned to have breakfast, six miles into our day's hiking, we found two former AT hikers (brothers who completed the trail over three years) just setting up to provide breakfast to any passing thru-hikers.  We had cold Cokes to drink, some donuts and a couple of hot dogs each while chatting to the interesting guys and another young thru-hiking couple who turned up.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Another fairly unremarkable day's hiking apart, perhaps, from the culinary side.  We were lucky enough to get breakfast provided by some "trail angels" (see above) and then we passed through the pretty and well-kept village of Dalton late in the afternoon and bought a hot meal for dinner at a sub shop, followed by an ice-cream as we walked out of town.

Otherwise, the day was very similar to yesterday, with pleasant conifer forest, generally good hiking, though punctuated with lots of short ups and downs and plenty of boggy sections.  Although in the forest for most of the time we did cross several roads and pass near houses occasionally.  Views were scarce, with only Warner Hill (2048') offering a vista to the north including Mt Greylock, Massachusetts' highest peak, which we will climb tomorrow.

After our early dinner in Dalton, we hiked for another couple of hours until 7:00pm when we stopped at a nice designated hikers' campsite for the night.  Also camped there were the French-Canadian couple we have got to know over the past few weeks and Julie socialised with them while Dave wrote the blog.

Appalachian Trail - Day 099 - South Mount Wilcox Shelter to Finerty Pond

Day: 099

Date: Tuesday, 01 August 2023

Start:  South Mount Wilcox Shelter (AT Mile 1540.6)

Finish:  Finerty Pond (AT Mile 1561.2)

Daily Kilometres:  32.5 (Ascent 4052', 4042')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2608.2

Weather:  Mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts, ice-cream 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - multiple niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  A little over seven miles into today's hike we crossed a very quiet rural road near an immaculate country farm house outside of which was set up a farm stall for AT thru-hikers.  It consisted of a small shed with a fridge and shelving inside and all sorts of goodies ranging from ice cream sandwiches to cold drinks to snacks and eggs.  It had power points for recharging devices, a wifi hotspot and a gas BBQ.  Payment was all on an honour system with a price list and a zipped bag to put your money in.  Soon after we got there and bought our treats, several other thru-hikers we had got to know turned up and we had a very social half-hour on the adjacent picnic table comparing trail stories.

Lowlight:  It was largely a very welcome mosquito-less day, but they emerged in their hundreds as we set up camp and we had to eat our dinner wearing our full rain gear as protection.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:40am on a cool morning with relatively few mosquitoes through mostly conifer pine needle-carpeted forest.

Apart from the farm stall (see above), it was a pleasant, but unremarkable day.  The mild weather with low humidity made for enjoyable hiking and the scenery was picturesque.

Again, we were often reminded we were not in the wilderness by frequent road crossings, the occasional residence and some rural views.  We had to cross a couple of valleys on boardwalks and there were plenty of boggy patches to negotiate.

There were also some significant climbs including Cobble Hill from which there were excellent views and we also passed by some lovely ponds.

Around 5:00pm we climbed our last mountain for the day, Becket Mountain, and then descended to Finerty Pond where we found a very nice campsite (apart from the mosquitoes) near the pond.  Strictly speaking, we don't think we're allowed to camp here, but we will "leave no trace" when we leave in the morning.  All in all, we had a good day.

Appalachian Trail - Day 098 - Sheffield-Egremont Road to South Mount Wilcox Shelter

Day: 098

Date: Monday, 31 July 2023

Start:  Sheffield-Egremont Road (AT Mile 1527.2)

Finish:  South Mount Wilcox Shelter (AT Mile 1540.6)

Daily Kilometres:  23.4 (Ascent 2933', Descent 1795')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2575.7

Weather:  Mild and mostly sunny with a couple of showers in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Motel's buffet breakfast 

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & tomato sandwiches 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - some niggles; Julie - mosquito bites.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It was late by the time we got to bed last night, so we slept in, having booked our shuttle back to the trail for 9:30am.  We had the motel's modest buffet breakfast in their dining room and Julie then bought supplies for the next couple of days from the nearby organic supermarket, which didn't have a lot of options.

Our shuttle driver arrived on time and we were at the trailhead 15 minutes later, where we met Grits, the old thru-hiker we first met way back in the Smoky Mountains about 10 weeks ago.  It was good to see he was still going (and he is camped at the same place as us tonight).  At the trailhead we were told there was Trail Magic at a road crossing a couple of miles further on, which we didn't really need, having just gorged ourselves at the motel.  However, never ones to pass up a cold drink, we did stop and also had pressed on us some food.  The Trail Magic was provided by a church organization who apparently do it every day of the week during hiker season.

By the time we left there it was 10:45am and we clearly weren't going to get a lot of miles done today.  Although the early trail was flat as it crossed a valley, we were soon climbing again onto a forested mountain.  This part of Massachusetts has been settled for a long time so, although the trail could often have been passing through wilderness miles from anywhere given what we could see in the forest, we often suddenly emerged onto a road or by a field with houses visible in the distance.  In the forest there were frequent gnarly climbs that slowed us down, but also long stretches of quite walkable trail in the pretty pine-needle-carpeted conifer forest.  There was also a lot of muddy sections which could not be bypassed.

At one road crossing, someone had left out water, energy bars and two freeze-dried meals.  We didn't need any extra meals, but they were more appetising than the noodles Julie had been able to find at the organic grocery this morning so we took them and left our noodles!  We are becoming quite mercenary when it comes to Trail Magic.

After three fairly long and arduous days, we decided, while having our late lunch break, to set more modest daily goals for the remainder of the trip so we don't feel so pressured.  It has been harder to crank out the 20-mile days in the last week or two - maybe because the trail has been more difficult or maybe because Dave is becoming bone-weary and hiking more slowly.  Anyway, with likely less than seven weeks to go and well inside our rough schedule, we can afford to take a few extra days.

With that philosophy in mind, we camped near a shelter around 6:30pm, just as a rain shower finished, comfortable with our meagre 13.4 mile day.

Appalachian Trail - Day 097 - US Route 44 to Sheffield-Egremont Road

Day: 097

Date: Sunday, 30 July 2023

Start:  US Route 44 (AT Mile 1507.6)

Finish:  Sheffield-Egremont Road (AT Mile 1527.2)

Daily Kilometres:  31.1 (Ascent 4452', Descent 4462')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2552.3

Weather:  Mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs

  Lunch:  Pop tarts & trail mix

  Dinner:  Hamburger & fries, ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles; Julie - mosquito bites.

Highlight:  Walking the Mt Race Ledges on a beautiful clear day with splendid views across Connecticut and Massachusetts was special.

Lowlight:  Once again the hiking was slower than anticipated and we ended up hiking much later than hoped.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our host of last night, Ben (a retired airline pilot), cooked us scrambled eggs for breakfast before driving us back to the trailhead at 7:00am on a cool clear morning.  The storm of last evening had brought a cool change and humidity was low for the first time in weeks. It was wonderful to hike without feeling overheated and being bathed in sweat.

After road-walking a mile or so, we reached the trailhead for the climb up Bear Mountain and found a cooler with soft drinks left there for thru-hikers and helped ourselves to one each - a good omen for the day.  Then, as we climbed up the mountain in the forest, we noticed even the mosquitoes were few and far between. The contrast with yesterday was marked and very welcome.

The climb up Bear Mountain evoked memories for Dave of climbing the same mountain about 25 years ago with his then 9 or 10 year old son, Aaron, who sadly passed away almost exactly two years ago.  It was poignant to meet a father and his young enthusiastic son climbing the mountain as we made the very steep gnarly descent.

The good views from Bear Mountain, soon after which we crossed the border from Connecticut into Massachusetts, were surpassed by the excellent walk along the Mt Race Ledges (see above) which followed.  It really was a special day.

Along with the views went a lot of very slow climbing and ascending on rocky and often wet and slippery trail.  Overall, the trail was also very wet, with frequent boggy patches, large puddles and water flowing down the path, the consequence of lots of recent rainfall. (Sadly, we read yesterday that the body of a missing thru-hiker had been found in Vermont, apparently the victim of drowning while trying to ford a creek two weeks ago following heavy rain.)

The climb up Mt Everett was particularly arduous and slow, fortunately offset by more great views, and we realized we would be lucky to reach out goal, Route 7, from where we planned to hitchhike into Great Barrington where we had a motel room booked.  We continued on, hoping the hiking would become easier and faster, but it did not happen.  The final descent from the mountain ridge was exceptionally slow so when we reached the valley floor we decided to get in touch with a hiker shuttle driver who agreed to pick us up at a minor road crossing, two miles short of Route 7, at 7:15pm.  The last couple of miles to the shuttle was through boggy mosquito-infested forest which made us doubly glad of our decision to get the shuttle.

We checked into the motel in Great Barrington around 7:30pm and bought take-out dinner.  We will have a sleep-in tomorrow morning then buy supplies for the next few days, before getting shuttled back to the trailhead.