MASSACHUSETTS
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A short 10 mile day with a re-supply in Williamstown, Mass right before the Vermont Border but some great views in that 10 miles, especially at Mt. Greylock
Very cool "On Golden Pond" scenery
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Beautiful view from the top of Mt. Graylock.......and great coffee and donuts at the Lodge!
VERY CLOSE TO VERMONT.......! See you on the next page!
A 17 mile day with water being fairly plentiful
Short 11 mile day with rain on the way. Check out the Trail Magic water!!!
Came across these home made walking stick from a local Trail Angel.....Very cool!
Some totally awesome views right out of the gate
MacGyver taking it all in
Hallowed Ground
MacGyner and I found a real nice spot to relax for a few minutes
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Some welcomed flat land and very cool walk thru the woods....and corn fields!
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MacGyver making sure we are headed in the right direction on our way to the Birkshire Lodge in Becket, Mass. on Day 21....with a zero on day 22!! Check out the place we zeroed on the PLACES page)
Day 23 after our zero was a good one, hiking 15 miles, while reaching a milestone. 300 miles so far!
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Some cloudy but awesome views.....and Survivor just plugging along.
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Whoever painted these blazes must have been also sampling the wild mushrooms in the area!
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Our favorite Orange Popsicle Lizard.....dont tell me you have never had an orange sicle???
Picture perfect 15 mile day with some fantastics views on our way to Dalton, Mass to stay at the famous Tom Levardi place. Check it out on the PLACES page.
Weather continues to get cooler but was still a very good day to hike. 14 miles today with a nice break in Cheshire and camped at Mark Noelpel Shelter.
Great views from the top of South Twin Mtn!
Okay....starting on June 21st we decided to do a bit of "Platinum Blazing" at the AMC Huts. It was not the plan at all in the beginning for various reasons.....but the bad weather we are experiencing and lack of camp sites in the Whites; it made a lot of sense :)
Stayed at the AMC Highland Center June 21st and it was quite a place......and we celebrated MacGyver's Birthday!
On day 11, on the way to "Lake Of The Cloud" Hut, we had some good views around, of, and on top such mountains as Mt. Webster, Mt. Jackson, Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Franklin.....and a pile of snow!
Day 12, June 23rd's highlight was summitting Mt. Washington. Its legendary for having very unpredictable, sometime dangerous weather but we hit it on perfect day...and definitely perfect compared to what we have already been thru in New Hampshire!
From the summit of Mt. Washington to the Madison Hut (where we stayed tonight) was only another 6 miles but the rock scrambles down were brutal...but the Hut they had Veggie Pot Pie for dinner!
Day 13, June 24 we hiked up, over and down Mt. Madison! Pics to follow shortly but let me just say that this was one of the toughest descents so far. Jagged black rock proved very difficult! Made it to Gorham for the night...thinking about the pending "Wildcats" ahead!
Day 14, June 25 we did the Wildcats. That first day wasn't too bad but that did change! This is MacGyver and I enjoying our first summit......forgot to mention that the Wildcats had 4 summits! But also, some good views
Stayed at Craford Notch Hut after the Wildcats for a much needed, inside a building, rest! Also met NOBO Thru Hiker "Big T" from Mississippi.
Well....the weather had been generally bad the whole hike; but things got much worse the next days (June 26 and 27).....dangerously worse
This is not a picture that we took (because we were too busy trying to stay alive!) but almost like one of the crossings we made (but ours was in deeper rapids). We crossed a flooded Rattle River several times with one crossing getting worse than the other. Made us pause a bit.......
June 27th we slipped and limped, soaking wet to U.S. 2 in Gorham and stayed at the Barn Hostel managed and owned by Paul. But about 2 miles or so before we reached U.S. 2 we passed by the Rattle River Shelter....and it looked like this....
Of course, our initial reaction, cold and tired, was "What Kind of Long-Distance Hiker" would violate so many unwritten rules of hiking etiquette!!!
Then we found out that those staying in the shelter (for multiple days at a time) were AMC trail volunteers and State Park staff helping out to shore up the trail as best they could during the unprecedented flooding that was going on.
MY TOTAL APOLOGIZE for jumping to conclusions without know the facts. Thank you for what you do!!
Okay...coming back to The Barn Hostel.....MacGyver and I fell in love with it at first glance! Growing up in the 60's and early 70's, this Hippy vibe that we saw and felt, made us feel right at home :). In fact, I think I stayed at a place like this when I hitchhiked to Southern California in 1972! :)
Best laid plans??