5/28/17 – Minerva Hinchey Shelter – 15 miles

Pretty nice day to hike….I kept moving all day today to avoid getting caught in the afternoon rain, just a few drops and I’m nice and dry. Tomorrow will be a different story. Rain all day and I have to go 14 miles and most of it is uphill! I don’t have a choice on this one. Pics today… Carin practice field. Getting ready for the whites above tree line. The other is me at little rock lake, a young man was taking pictures and took one of me.

5/29/17 – Pico Shelter – 17 mi

Terrible Terrible day to hike… soaked to the bone all day, had to keep moving to have any warmth. But I need to be in Killington, VT tomorrow so put one foot in front of the other… for 11 hrs. I had to pass on the last 2 shelters and keep moving since rain clouds were moving thru them at elevation. Pico Shelter has 4 walls and a door, I got lucky! Thanks Stu for trying to meet me at the suspension bridge, you only missed me by 8 hrs. Thank you for delivering my food drop… sorry we missed! The pic today… Rutland Airport. A suspension bridge and the water flow under it… I’m out of my wet clothes and into my dry, but I’m still freezing… It’s sleeping bag time!!

5/27/17

Good weather today, lots of bogs to hike thru though… mud mud mud, and it wasn’t easy to avoid it. That basically meant wet feet all day. Still hiking alone but in one 5 min period I saw at least 15 hikers… then they were all gone! I took a few pics today… The over the shoulder view shot, a personal favorite. The next a bog walkway…step off and sink in 6 inches. The last is in the shelter with a family I had seen a week earlier. The brother tore up his knee and is off the trail. The trail is beautiful but takes no prisoners. I took another fall today, a hard one. I laid there for 5 min to check my bones, all was ok. I’ll know more in a day or two if my toe turns black.

5/26/2017

I spent today trying to get around town to resupply, get to the outfitters and do my nasty laundry. While it’s raining! If you think it’s easy getting help when you look homeless…I can tell you it isn’t…I had one lady actually run from me, lol. It’s a sad commentary but it’s true… I consider myself a charitable person and a good steward but this feeling really opened my eyes.
Anyway, after 4 hrs I had my errands finished and I’m back to packing it all. Have to get back on the trail in the morning, rain or not.

Only pic today says yum better than I can.

5/25/2017

My overnight was uneventful… I’m sure it was because of the expert anti-bear tactics… It’s truly amazing how dark it can be at night without any light sources like a city or the moon or stars…. It was so dark you couldn’t see your hand! I’m on the edge of town tonight watching it pour rain…. A good call if I say so myself! So today was my Nero day which means low miles (near zero). Tomorrow will be my first Zero day… I’m overdue. I’m glad it happened on a rain day… Hiking in the rain is no fun and brings an added dimension of danger with it; the rocks, roots, and leaves all become ice slippery. I tried to get a pic of the mountain tops but you can’t see them thru the rain and fog or the screen!! Tomorrow I will resupply and stop in at the local outfitter for a water bag since mine sprung a leak, get a new rain jacket since mine sprung a leak, and I think a chocolate shake!! Yum

5/24/17

I had no intention of doing 20 mi. today and my feet aren’t happy!! The shelter I planned to stop at had no water so, on to the next which is empty so extra bear prevention in effect.
The pic is of the sunrise l mentioned…nothing exciting for this morning. The hike was just stress so no pics….sorry. I’m tired.

P.S. I’m taking a nero tomorrow and a zero the next day…..I have some healing to do…it’s supposed to rain all day anyway….

5/23/17

Beautiful day to hike today! Spring is moving north over me and everything is blooming. Today I entered into an area that has no road crossings or anything else for at least 50 mi. It’s between Bennington and Rutland. Its the longest stretch without a water source so far, 10 miles and when it’s mostly uphill… you need water!! I actually hiked with a very nice lady for 4 miles today and I never shut up!! LOL. Trail name Flicker, Photographer. The pics today is of me in the shelter getting ready to free the Cracken (taking of the boots)!! The other is from inside the shelter. The sunrise is supposed to be awesome from this shelter!!

5/20/2017

Got off to a pretty good start although it was a bit late…I planned to stop in at the top of Mt. Greylock…highest point in Ma. There is a lodge there that opened this morning so I had breakfast there…first customer of the season…eggs n fruit…perfect amount to get me going 2.5 miles into the day… I’ve held up because of a foot bruise that I wasn’t going to mention but once I got here I couldn’t go another 5 mi to the next shelter… I think I’ll have to shorten my days for a bit so it can heal…we will see. Back on the trail in the morning. The pics are a glimpse of N Adams from on high and the other is the monument on top of Mt Greylock. Time to sleep it’s past hiker midnight!

5/21/2017

Back on the trail at 8am… I caught a ride to the trail which was 3 mi that I didn’t have to hike. The guy had a pair to hiking poles in his trunk and he pulled the end off one to replace my bent one. He just asked me to send it back when I finish…..deal! You really do see the best of people when you least expect it. People are amazing… like my friends back home! I crossed over to VT. this morning… 3 states to go! The second pic is my abode tonight… It’s supposed to rain tonight and it looks like I’ll have to hike in the rain to my resupply point in the morning… It’ll be a nero day for me, probably only 5 mi if it’s raining. I’ll try to wait it out. Oh the last pic… yes it’s the trail !

5/19/2017

I was happy to be in a shelter last night….it poured rain with lots of lighting… I expected the only camper to come inside but she did not. My plan was to hike the 2.5 mi into Dalton Ma. for breakfast which I did…I ordered 2 small pancakes and 2 eggs with diced ham…….. The pic shows what they brought me….LOL. I ate half of it…. The morning pic is what I see when I look out of the shelter at 5:45 am. The pic of my bent hiking pike was the result of to much breakfast food… The last pic if of my evening lodging for tonight….should be a chilly night. I’m sharing tonight with a couple from eastern mass who are out for two weeks…very nice. And a young man who thru hiked last year and has given me good info for hiking the Whites.

​5/18/2017

Well, the shower was for nothing. I reek again after 10 min on the trail this morning. Started out with a 3 mi climb… Today the gnats were out in full force following my special scent on every climb. Once I made the summit and there was a tiny bit of wind, they went away. The pic is of my most valuable possession today… a bug net. Gnats now, horse flys next, and then the hoards of mosquitoes…. You know you wish you were here!! I saw what I thought might be trail magic today, a cooler by the road about 300 yards off the trail…. It was just people selling eggs. I didn’t realize that it was also the location of the cookie lady, I didn’t see the sign on her house.. I missed it! Everyone goes to the cookie ladies house… oh well! I did about 17 miles today since I made the first shelter by noon, 8 miles. I didn’t want to waste the rest of the day just sitting….17 hurt but I’m here. I’ll try to get more pics but it was so hot hiking today it was all I could do to just get here…whew !!! Still hiking alone but see an occasional friendly in the shelters….

5/17/2017

I treated myself today to a shower and a cheeseburger and a real bed !!! It’ll be over way to soon…! Today it was hot, it really took it out of me just to do 13…. only pics today are of a styles crossing at a barb wire fence…not one you want to hurry over. The other is of me…Clean!!