Connecticut turned out to be the buggiest state and we also saw a ton of tiny frogs and Massachusetts was wonderful! I tented for free for 2 nights at Great Barrington and hikers could spend $5.00 to have access to a shower, pool and sauna. I had done 18 miles and was starting to get shin splints so I took the hint and stayed. To get into town I did what I'm dubbing a hiker hobble hitch since my feet were sore. I got trail magic going in and more going out. The person who gave me ride offered to buy me dinner and I got a giant slice of chocolate cake on the way back to the trail.
Two days after zeroing in Great Barrington, I zeroed at Upper Goose Pond Cabin with Windwalker. This place was a bright red, two story cabin that had a caretaker who was absolutely amazing. There are people who volunteer a week or more of their summer to work here. They serve the hikers pancakes and coffee in the morning and the people working there the week we arrived also served us a wonderful dinner. It was an irresistable place due to the company and the beauty. We could canoe out on the pond, all of those who had arrived the same day we did ended up drawn into the vortex as well. I got to play the word game Snatch with the family taking care of the place and have a good time with everyone.
I hiked with Windwalker through Dalton and Cheshire and over Greylock, but since Massachusetts is mostly a blur after the cabin I'll move onto Vermont. Vermont was the state where I was introduced to a rodent problem. The mice and even the squirrels would get into food bags. My food bag was hanging in a tree like most nights and, this was a couple days before reaching Manchester Center, Vermont, there was a hole in my bag right where there was a Peanut Crunch Clif bar. The following night, there were mice in the bag and I stayed up all night listening to the party they were having in there. By this point we're only 3 miles from town so I didn't fret. I was given some oatmeal in the morning and I just carried the bag to the road and threw it away, food and all the moment I got into town. Joker, another hiker I had met in Virginia, and I had hitched in together and then ended up staying the whole day in town hanging out at the McDonalds and of course for me this day included shopping for more food and a new bag to put the food in. At the end of the day, we and 2 other hikers hike 3 more miles out of town and cowboy camp on the Bromley ski lift. Cowboy camp means that you're just using a sleeping pad and sleeping bag with no tent. We slept under the stars and it was windy enough up there that night that dew wasn't a problem. Joker stayed up the whole night and woke us all up in time for the sunrise which was gorgeous and which we had planned to do, so no harm done.
Thanks to some south bounders we met on top of Bromley, we all have a plan to arrive in Rutland, Vermont to see what the 12 Tribes Yellow Deli is all about. We heard from them that if we arrive on a Friday they'll serve us dinner as well as the promised breakfast. Well, it turned out to be another vortex. I stayed 3 nights. Hiked 17 miles back to the Yellow Deli one day, then zeroed yet again, then finally managed to get on the trail by 11:40. That day I put in 18 miles by 6:30, in part due to the fact that this was my original plan before I had left late, but also because it was raining and chilly the whole day. Luckily I had added good protein mix with a bit of coffee in it to get me through, so I wasn't starving myself exactly.
The next day I do six miles and meet a friend in Woodstock. I end up taking a nap after how exhausting the last few days had been; I didn't sleep well in the Yellow Deli due to how hot it was in the bunkroom there. My friend helps me slackpack another 21.5 miles after having caught up on my sleep. Slackpacking is when you blend in with all the day hikers. You just bring food, water and maybe an extra layer in a day bag. After the visit I finally enter New Hampshire home of the White Mountains!
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