7/19/01
At 4:05 a.m. this morning I sat up briefly in my sleeping bag and saw the first early light of day to the east. I was amazed that even from the high vantage point light could be seen so early in the day. The next time I awoke the sun had just risen above the horizon and the scene was indescribable. Because I had been up earlier in the night coughing, I was still tired so I went back to sleep again for an hour and a half. Condor, Phantom and I all left the emergency shelter atop Greylock's summit together. We had a huge downhill descent in front of us with the latter half very steep. Eventually Phantom and I got ahead of Condor who was having some ankle problems and taking it very slow. At the top of Williams Mtn., before the final steep descent into the town of North Adams, MA., the three of us agreed to meet at Friendly's Restaurant in town for lunch. Just before noon we were sitting in a booth studying the menu with hungry eyes and stomachs. All three of us ordered the colossal burger basket, which included a half-pound burger and an extra large order of fries plus a free ice cream sundae. It was a very large meal but none of us had trouble finishing it in short order. As I stood at the front of the restaurant in line to pay my bill, I couldn't resist ordering a double thick chocolate milkshake to go. After all, it had been several hundred miles since the last one, plus this was the last meal we would eat in Massachusetts. Phantom made a quick stop at the grocery store for re-supply and I bought some medicine to help me sleep at night without coughing. We said goodbye to Condor, who is on a much more aggressive hiking schedule and will be ahead of us the rest of the way to Katahdin.
The four-mile climb out of town was nice and gentle except the final 1/4 mile, which was steep and difficult. At 4 p.m. we reached the Vermont state line, where we stopped to celebrate and take some photos. It's great to be back in the Green Mountain State after spending some great times here hiking two years ago with BSA troop 33 and skiing at Killington with webmaster Eric. Once we reach Bennington, VT tomorrow the next 70 miles will feel like home since I was just here two Julys ago. Phantom and I continued on to the Seth Warner shelter where we arrived around 6 p.m. Three section hikers and Ryan were already there when we arrived. After filtering some water we cooked dinner, then secured a nice tent site away from the shelter. It was a cool evening at a higher elevation than we're been camping at since leaving Virginia and for once the mosquitoes weren't an issue. Nevertheless, the chill in the air pushed us to our tents by 8 p.m. where I settled in for some journaling and map study. It's time to think through the strategy for hiking through the White mountains of New Hampshire and I'm contemplating where and when to retrieve my winter gear, which is necessary before entering the Whites, due to their high elevation and exposure above treeline, which is 4,000' this far north. It was another beautiful day for a walk in the woods. Today's stats: low 52, high 82. Bright sunshine. Today's mileage: 13.2; cumulative mileage: 1580.5.
