Goodbye, Vermont! Hello, Massachusetts!

Last night it felt like I was sleeping on a boat on rough seas rather than in a hammock. We stayed warm and dry, though. It felt good to have put in a 14-mile day.

This morning, I was glad to see that the weather improved because it had been slippery walking on the wet leaves all day yesterday. We passed into Massachusetts, where the Trail winds through the Berkshires for 90 miles. For the first miles, we continued walking through the green tunnel, up and down along ridgelines. When we reached East Mountain, we walked along ledges and had a great view of the countryside to the west and a town to the east. We took a quick break and then continued along the ridge through Clarksburg State Forest and began to descend down to the town of Greylock.

When we reached Greylock, the Trail went along Massachusetts Avenue for a short time, and then turned and took us across a bridge over the Hoosic River and then a pedestrian bridge over MA Route 2, Mohawk Trail. Towns are always tempting, and this one offered a grocery store and a diner, but at this point in my hike I have one focus: home.

Almost immediately after we left the town of Greylock, the Trail started to climb toward Mount Williams, the first peak in Mount Greylock State Reservation in the Berkshire Mountains. The ascent was gradual for about a mile, and then it climbed steeply 1,500 feet up a ridge for a little over a mile to an unnamed peak. At that point, the Trail turned eastward past Wilbur Clearing Lean-to and took a steep descent down to Greylock Mountain Road, after which it climbed steeply again to the top of Mount Williams (elevation 2,956). We weren't done yet. Another steep descent down into a saddle, followed by a steep climb almost to the top of Mount Fitch (elevation 3,110 feet). One more shallow climb down and another steep climb up, and we had finally reached the peak of Mount Greylock (elevation 3,491 feet), the highest mountain in Massachusetts.

We stopped for lunch at the top of Mount Greylock. It's a strange combination of commercial (there's a lodge and a ski trail) and commemorative (there's a 93-foot-high Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower in memory of World War I Veterans) and historic (Herman Melville supposedly said the shape of the mountain was his inspiration for writing Moby Dick). The spiral staircase leading up inside the Veterans Memorial was definitely more than I wanted to tackle after hiking here, let alone Forest. Instead, I sat behind the memorial, ate lunch and enjoyed the view, while Forest (guess what?)...napped.

Photo Credit: Geoffrey Coelho Photography

After lunch, we hit the Trail, which dropped down to two trailhead/parking areas and then climbed and followed the ridge over four peaks comprising Saddle Ball Mountain. I liked this area better because it was quieter; Mount Greylock still attracts tourists at this time of year. I noticed that there was greater variety in types of trees here, which was refreshing. As we descended down from the last peak we came to Mark Noepel Shelter (Mile Marker 607.2). I collected water, fed Forest, made my dinner and set up camp. Another 14-mile day was completed, and I was ready to sleep.

Congdon Shelter, Lake Hancock and Seth Warner Shelter

I was determined last night to get on a regular schedule that would keep me pushing toward home. My new cell phone alarms are 5:30 for coffee, 6:30 to pack up camp and 7:00 HIKE HOME! Forest seems well-rested and ready to go, too. Part of the reason I stayed put yesterday was to give him a break to rest his paws; the day before he had done a lot of gravel road walking. Today looked like it was going to be rainy and muddy.

After we left camp this morning, the Trail began an immediate steep climb from about 1,200 feet up Harmon Hill to about 2,100 feet in less than half a mile. For about 3 miles, we followed ridges with minor changes in elevation and crossed three streams. When we reached the Congdon Shelter (Mile Marker 582.8), we took a quick break to collect water. Then we continued down the Trail, which followed a series of streams and passed Lake Hancock, where we stopped for lunch.

Back on the Trail, we started climbing up and down another unnamed peak (elevation 2,844 feet). At the bottom, we passed a small pond and then hiked over two unnamed peaks before starting the ascent up the highest summit of the day (elevation 3,026 feet). The descent from that peak took us to the last shelter in Vermont, the Seth Warner Shelter. Just past the shelter was a stream from which I was able to collect water before I set up camp for the night and made dinner. A thunderstorm was rolling in and it was chilly and windy, so I set us up with the tarp closed in tight and climbed in to get warm. The next two days are supposed to be a little nicer.

Back to the Bennington Trailhead

I was up by 7 this morning because I had a lot to do before I checked out of the Catamount Motel. I had to unpack my resupply package and redistribute things in my pack. Then, I had to download the next section of Guthook maps for Massachusetts to my phone, figure out my next resupply stop beyond the one already set up and let my wife know what that would be. When she asked me how I was feeling today, I said, "Ummmm...like coming home. Duh!" Yeah, I can be a smartass sometimes.

Part of my resolve to continue this hike has decreased, but there is one very important reason that motivates me to continue. I have a 5-year-old son. If I were to quit before I finish, I'd be telling him that it's okay to quit and give up. He's watching what I'm doing so carefully; I don't want to lose credibility with him, so I need this hike to be an important lesson for him.

The hiker that had stuck with me since Maine decided this morning that he just couldn't afford to continue any longer. He was out of funds and needed to go back to work, so he hitched to the bus station. I had mixed feelings about his leaving. It was less stressful for me when he was along for the toughest parts of the Trail, in case I needed help lifting or lowering Forest, and knowing he was there was definitely comforting to my family and close friends. I definitely appreciated that. On the other hand, we had been sharing some of my resources, so being back on my own would allow me to plan logistics better (e.g., how long food would last, battery pack life). It sure seems quiet now.

Once I got my pack and the plan for the next section squared away, I checked out of the motel and a member of the staff drove Forest and me back to the Molly Stark Trail Trailhead. A branch of the City Stream ran along the road from town and past the trailhead. It was already afternoon, so I decided to camp along the Trail for the rest of the day to tie some flies, chill out and let my mind wander for a bit. I haven't done that for so long, so I really enjoyed the peaceful afternoon. It was like hitting a reset button for me.

I had forgotten how much I hate camping near roads. Weird, random things always seem to happen. After I collected water and was getting ready to make dinner, someone walked up next to me and asked if I wanted a hit on what he was smoking (it was NOT a cigarette). Pot's legal here and people smoke it openly, but it's bizarre when you're not used to it. I said no thanks, and he walked away. I texted my wife about it and gave a very detailed description of the person and his friend, just because they didn't look like hikers, seemed a little strange and had set up their camp so close to mine. Then, I went to cook my dinner. A few minutes later, I picked up my phone and saw that there were about four texts from my wife, each with increasing concern, and one missed phone call. It seems that my detailed description of two sketchy guys camping near me for no apparent reason sounded like a crime scene, and then my failure to respond to her texts were met with alarm. She was mad at first, but then we laughed about it. Just one more thing she has to put up with when I'm on the Trail. 😱😁

In just 42 miles, I'll be leaving Vermont, entering Massachusetts and moving on to my next Guthooks map section, which covers Great Barrington, Massachusetts, down to the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The states will be going by more quickly now, and I know that will be motivating for me.

Bennington, VT

Because of the rain over the weekend, I didn't make as much progress as I had planned and was low on food by yesterday. I ate half of a meal last night for dinner, and had the other half this morning for breakfast. I always have an extra day of food for Forest, so he had his regular meals. We started out from the shelter at about 9 a.m.

Today's hike began with a fairly steep descent from Glastenbury Mountain, followed by tiring climbs up and down a series of minor peaks. About a halfway into the day's hike, we climbed up Little Pond Mountain (elevation 3,748 feet) and took a short break. I knew I wouldn't be eating again until we reached town tonight, so I didn't want to delay. In addition, we were in a 4.5-mile stretch with no water source.

The second part of our hike took us down the mountain and across a ridge that passed by Little Pond. We continued across several more peaks and then descended gradually to Hell Hollow Brook, where we collected water and took another brief break. Then, we proceeded up Maple Hill, after which the Trail dropped steeply past Melville Nauheim Shelter. I had been instructed to contact the motel we were headed for when we were 1 mile out, but I didn't have a strong enough cell signal. Instead, I texted my wife and asked her to make the call and continued on down the steep path to the VT 9 Trailhead. At about 3 p.m., we were picked up by the shuttle and taken to the motel. A little dog in the office barked at Forest as we checked in and got my resupply package. As always, Forest just ignored it and set the perfect service dog example. After I dropped our gear in the room, I cleaned up quickly and headed out to eat. I was exhausted and dehydrated; I'd be dropping into bed early tonight.

Story Spring Shelter, Kid Gore Shelter and Goddard Shelter

It was raining when I woke up this morning, so I waited a bit to see if it was going to let up or clear. It didn't stop, so I decided to push on, thinking that I would be in town at the end of the day. After collecting water and having breakfast, we left the trailhead. The day's hike began with a short descent, followed by a gradual climb for about 4 miles to the Story Spring Shelter (Mile Marker 559.5).

It was still raining, so we took a quick break and continued on. We proceeded downhill and passed a pond. The Trail crossed two streams and leveled out for a bit, and then began to climb and follow around the side of several unnamed mountains at about 3,000 feet. We crossed several more streams and arrived at Kid Gore Shelter (Mile Marker 564.1), where we collected water and took a break for lunch.

After lunch, we resumed hiking and the Trail began to climb again. We walked up and down across three unnamed mountains, finally climbing to the top of Glastenbury Mountain (elevation 3,745 feet) and past the fire tower. About a third of a mile down from the peak we came to the Goddard Shelter, where I decided to stop for the night. I was wet and tired and missing home.