Mark Noepel Shelter to North Adam, MA

Day 12

Friday, May 12, 2017
Mark Noepel Shelter to North Adams, MA 2
9.6 miles

This was our earliest day starting at 6:30. Foxtrot got up at 3:30 and left so he could see the sunrise in Mt. Greylock.

We made it to Greylock ourselves mid-morning. The highest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 ft! We've been in anticipation of this mountain for some time. The road that leads to the summit is still closed to traffic, the AT crossed the road several times as we went up. The climb is not very difficult. The only signs of life at the top were two men with a white truck, working on the stone tower, a tribute to the state’s war dead.  In season, you can climb the 89 steps of the  tower for awesome views, but not today.   Unfortunately, Bascom Lodge is not opened for the season either. We always seem to appear on the scene before seasoning openings. 

The descent into North Adams was second only to Pt. Clinton in steepness, it just wasn't as long. The lower we got, the warmer it was and the worse the black flies were. We donned our head nets and sprayed on the Deet, which was only effective for a little while. Long sleeves and pants were the only deterrent. 

We came into town around 12:30. The trail comes out onto Phelps Avenue and crosses over Main Street. We turned right and went down a block to the community center where our vehicle was parked.  Once again, it  it was so good to get to our truck.

We immediately went to Olympia Family Restaurant for lunch, then drove to Manchester Center, VT, our next stopping place.

The Econolodge in Manchester Center is about 3 miles from the trailhead. It is an old hotel, but nice enough. The king bed was comfortable and the room was clean.  Breakfast included waffles and oatmeal along with pastries, juice and coffee- a lot better than the last Econolodge we stayed in at Lee, MA.  I think we might have been they only room they rented. Obviously a slow season right now, but the desk clerk said they usually have lots of thru-hikers.

We had dinner at Zoe's Double Hex Fine Country Cooking Restaurant, wonderful grilled fish.

 

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.