2021 Aug Section Hike- Day 1- Long Mountain Wayside(us60) to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

  It's been 2 years since our last section hike, work schedules, global pandemics, etc...have finally aligned and we're back on the trail. We got a late start, I picked Advocado up at work and we started heading to the Central Virginia portion of the AT.  As Advocado now has a gluten allergy, our standard stop at subway won't work. Instead we got her a gluten free pizza. 

Our late start plus stop for pizza meant we didn't hit the trail until after 10pm. No problem, we turned on the headlamps and hiked an easy 1.8 miles down to the shelter. 

Weather forecast looks like it will be hot during our trip 93-95 down in the valley. Sure...it's a few degrees cooler up on the mountains....but it will still be hot.. We will see how this goes...

2019 Summer Hike- Day 32- Seth Warner Shelter to VT9/Bennington, VT

Date: July 17

Total Miles Today: 11.5

Total Miles this Summer: 393
Total Trail Miles: 1193.4

We awoke to a dry campsite. We packed up our gear, and just as we were leaving, it started to rain.  Time to hike in the mud.

This is the work of some very industrious beavers.

Nice work beavers.

We had a couple climbs, but they were not too difficult. We also followed this beautiful stream for a bit. 

We stopped for lunch at a shelter  I'm roasting a sausage and taking a picture of Advocado who is taking a picture of her ramen. This is why we have social media.

Midday naptime.

The rain stopped during the nap.

And then it started back up.

We spent most of the day hiking in mud or on slick rocks. Sometimes both at the same time. Most of the time it was raining. 

Almost to our destination, where Laurie will meet us and take us to food and lodging. A wet, muddy, day, with a tricky downhill on wet rocks at the end. 

We had to wait about 40 minutes for our ride, which gave me time to wash my shoes, feet and legs in the cleanest mud puddle of the day. Only when hiking does  washing yourself in a parking lot mud puddle seem like a pleasant opportunity. 

"Clean" and cooled off from the rain, we were picked up and went into town for some good food. Later, we drove to our Airbnb rental. A very wet day that should have been easy, but was made more challenging by the rain.

Summer 2019 Hike - Day 31- Mt Greylock to Seth Warner Shelter

Date: July 16

Total Miles Today: 13.2

Total Miles this Summer: 381.5
Total Trail Miles: 1181.9

Sunrise on Mt Greylock

Breakfast in the Lodge

We reluctantly left the Lodge a bit before 10am...a very late start.

Time to descend.

With a late start, and the day getting into the 80s, we were dragging early.

We took a break at a shelter and cooked some sausages. And then took a nap.

We eventually got moving again...it's early afternoon and we have only hike 3 miles. We still need to descend from Greylock and climb up another Mountain. 

The descent down Greylock was harder than climbing it due to the heat. Both of us were moving slow.

We made it to the bottom, but I didn't think we could go much further.

Trail Magic! Cold sodas, Gatorade and snacks. We sat down in the shade and rested.

Revived, we had the energy to hike through town and through someone's yard. Seriously, the AT goes right up their driveway, through the yard, and into the woods.

We entered the woods and came to a beautiful, ice cold stream. Sage wisely decided to hop in.

That did the trick. Between the trail magic and an ice cold soak, we were revived and ready to hike. 

We powered up a big climb.

And entered Vermont! Another state complete. We really enjoyed Massachusetts.

Vermont immediately hit us with mud. Ahh..Vermud....I've heard of this state by reputation. Sometimes, there were rocks so you could hop over the mud.. sometimes we just plowed through the mud. The tricky part is not loosing a shoe.

It seems the character of the trail changes at each state border. When you cross from Georgia to North Carolina, the trail goes straight up. Pennsylvania to New Jersey, the rocks largely go away. New York was rocky and difficult, and Connecticut had lots of smooth fast sections interspersed with occasional challenges. 

We rolled into the shelter just before dark, and in the coming days, we will get to find out just what Vermont on the AT holds for us. 

Summer 2019 Hike -Day 30 Crystal Mountain Campsite to Mt Greylock- (Bascom Lodge)

Date: July 15
Total Miles Today: 12.3

Total Miles this Summer: 368.3
Total Trail Miles: 1168.7

Our destination for the day: Mt Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts and close to the Vermont border. From the top of Greylock, we will get our first view of the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

The day started with a standard breakfast of oatmeal with Little Debbie Nutty Bar on top.

We started hiking and passed another little pond. 

The trail was fairly easy. Massachusetts has alot of smooth trail, I like it. 

Overlooking Cheshire, MA. We will hike down to the town in the next few miles.

More sidewalk/roadwalk. Fast, but it hurts your feet. I miss the squishy pine needles.

Monument to a guy.

He made a big cheese.

Very pretty little town

Very pretty Iced Americano. We made it to the Shell Station / Dunkin Donuts and settled in to the relax and charge our devices.

Next stop, the Dollar General..a very common resupply for AT hikers. 

Then it was back to the trail. Time to climb Greylock. 2500 feet of elevation gain...should be fun.

We took lots of breaks, it was a cool day and there was a breeze. The climb was mostly smooth and gradual..much easier than I expected.

With about 3 miles left to the top, we stopped at the Mark Noeple Shelter and took an afternoon nap. Nice shelter.

After the shelter I noticed the trees were shorter due to the elevation. 

The final part of the climb up to Greylock was not too difficult and we enjoyed the scenery.

One last push and we are up.

The summit of Greylock. And next door..  

Bascom Lodge

Made it. Time to check into the AT hiker bunks and take a shower.

Seth Warner Shelter is our destination for tomorrow. Don't think it will be as nice as the Bascom Lodge.

Sunset from My Greylock.