Dalton, MA to Mark Noepel Shelter

Day 11

Thursday, May 11, 2017
Dalton to Mark Noepel Shelter
13.9 miles

We were up early and the first ones into Juice n Java when they opened at 6:30. We were on the trail by 7:30.

Standing on the street corner in Cheshire, we met a thru-hiker named Chef when he passed by us quickly and went through town and out the other side in a flash.  We asked about the ice cream shop called Diane’s Twist and were told it is not open yet, so we continued on a little further to MA 8 and stopped at the Chevron station (.2 from the trail) and got ice cream and cokes.
 
My right foot hurt really badly today, after  several days of being pain free. I can't figure out what makes the difference—I just have good days and bad days I guess.

It got warm enough for short sleeves today finally with temps in the mid 50's. 

We arrived at Mark Noepel Shelter at 4:30.  Unfortunately, the water source is down the hill. We were glad to see that no one else was there; we always hope that we are alone at the shelters—it makes for better sleeping.  But we were joined before long by a thru-hiker named Foxtrot. He is from Pennsylvania and he told us that he and his brother, Turkish, started the trail together in early February.  His brother was eager to finish the trail, so he went ahead and is now in Maine already.  Foxtrot, on the other hand, wanted to hike at a more  leisurely pace, so they separated.

We shared our food with Foxtrot and he seemed appreciative of everything we gave him, especially the coffee.  I didn’t see him eat  any of his own food, so he might have been out.  I have read that thru-hikers like to run into section hikers because the sectioners always carry too much food.  We knew  we would be in  town the next day so we did have enough to share, knowing we had plenty more food in our vehicle. 

  

Washington Mountain to Dalton, MA

Day 10

Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Stealth Camp to Dalton, MA
14.3 Miles

Got up at 5:30 a.m.  It is a cold morning in low 30’s.  We had army bags with fleece liners and home made ty-vek bivy sacks so we stayed warm. It’s hard to get out of them on a cold morning though.

We had been reading in our trail guide about the “Cookie Lady” who lives only .1 from the road crossing at Washington Mountain Road.  We couldn’t wait to get there  to see if she had cookies  for us.  Upon arriving at her porch, we were disappointed that it appeared no one was home.  As we prepared to sign the register, fill up our water bottles from the hose, and be on our way though, I noticed movement through the window inside the house and in a short while, an older gentleman came out through the garage with a small basket of cookies in his hand!  Jackpot!  Although he said they had been in the freezer, the cookies were  delicious.  We also bought a coke from him and chatted for  a little while inside the garage because it was cold outside.  It was a refreshing little  break, and especially nice since it was not a long walk from the trail.

It was pretty easy terrain today but the trail is very muddy especially going down into Dalton at end.  As we were walking down the sidewalk going into Dalton, a lady ran up behind us and called out to us.  She offered to take us anywhere we needed to go.  She was a former  2,000 miler who had to stop before finishing the entire mileage because of plantar fasciitis.  After the trail, she purchased her home on this street because it is on the Appalachian Trail.  We declined her offer because we had to walk into Dalton or skip some mileage. 

Continuing on down Depot Street, we passed the home of Tom Levardi who has a good reputation with hikers for his hospitality in letting hikers sleep on his front porch, tent in his back yard, and use his water spigot.  Walking down Main Street we saw Angelina’s Subs and Juice N Java.  We ducked into Angelina’s for a burger before continuing on to Shamrock Village Inn. 

At the Inn we asked to see the room first because we had seen mixed reviews.  The clerk said he would willingly  show us the room and if we decided not to stay we could catch a bus at the street corner and go on down to the EconoLodge somewhere down the street and it would not affect his opinion of  hikers at all.  It was a small room with a queen bed and a musky smell.  But we stayed.