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.