On the summit we were also greeted by the national meeting of the Black Flies Society
I'm not one to be inclined towards participating in the art of doing nothing, but on this trip I am. I'm not one to procrastinate, but it can be an effective tool out here from time to time.
I went to bed at 10:45PM last night, but I was, of course, awake at 5:45AM this morning. I had no inclination to go for a walk today, but I did anyway.
After packing up, eating breakfast, saying good bye and thanks to Tom, and getting some coffee, Cookie and I were walking north at 8:00AM.
The trail out of Dalton leads you up a nameless mountain. Cookie and I were feeling sluggish this morning so we took our time completing the climb. Towards the end of the ridge line walk there's a spot where you can see Cheshire, Massachusetts and Mount Greylock. This spot is called Cobble Rocks. The view reminded me that Greylock was 1,600 feet taller that my current point on the trail.
When I rolled into Cheshire, which the trail goes right through, I stopped into Diane's Twist for a Pepsi and some chips to go along with my regular lunch.
Afterwards it was time to climb Greylock, the tallest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet. The climb up was long and persistent, there were several times where I thought I might be near the top only to discover there was yet another point to ascend towards.
On the summit of Greylock I was greeted by the summit tower, which had an impressive view of the surrounding terrain. This summit also marks my first time above 3,000 feet since Shenendoah National Park in northern Virginia. Cookie and I hung around the summit a bit. When we first arrived, Time Traveler and two sections were preparing to descend towards town. On the summit we were also greeted by the national meeting of the Black Flies Society.
At 5:00PM we began our descent towards the lean-to. The descent was steep at times and went uphill as well.
I rolled into the shelter at 6:30PM completely exhausted, 20 mile days are starting to become a lot harder. After doing some math Cookie pointed out to me that over the last seven days we walke 149 miles. That seems like a long way to me.
After resupply tomorrow I shall enter the state of Vermont, the only New England state I have not been to.
Another day in the books.
Good night, and good luck.
Kirby
Ga>ME 2008.
