The Cookie Lady 1563.8 to Father Tom Campsite 1582.1 (18.3 miles, 556.7 total miles)
My phone alarm went off this morning at 4:45 AM just like the day before, but this time I was not ready to get up. There was rain still falling on my tent, and I was tired from the last 21 miles I’d hiked. I figured I would just get a late start and hope for the best.
It had been a cold night, but I had slept very well all bundled up. Around 6AM I heard Jedi talking about how the mileage to the resupply had gotten a little messed up, and we might have to cut the miles back to 14.5 today. I was very happy about that, however we settled on just over 18 miles for the day. That way we could re-supply first thing the following morning, and it was still better than the 23 we’d had planned.
Jedi, Neon, Speedgoat, Riveter and Piñata were already packed and out by 7:30. I was a bit slower, and by the time I was done eating and ready to hike it was 8AM. It was a very chilly morning, in the 50s, and I had forgotten to take my shirt off the tree that I had it hanging on to air out during the evening, and it ended up laying in the grass wet all night.
It was tough to put that shirt back on and take my puffy jacket off. With my soaking wet shirt on and the wind chill I was shivering, but Baked Potato let me use his jacket while I ate breakfast. Wizard, Platinum, and Quarter Tank were still at camp when I left, and the whole Cult was planning on meeting in Dalton for lunch about 11 miles in.
I warmed up as I hiked, and the terrain was pretty easy for the day. The ridge stayed nice and flat from the day before, and the only thing was that there were a lot of roots and rocks to walk around. I felt better hiking in my Hokas again, with the new insoles, and I had wrapped my left ankle and tendons in KT tape after the rough day they’d had in the boots yesterday.
Unexpectedly, the skies cleared a little and weak sunlight filtered through the trees while I was standing and chatting with a couple day hikers who were super nice and wanted to talk gear. After 2.8 miles, QT, Platinum, and Wizard caught up with me at a road crossing while I was drinking some Crystal Light.
I hiked with them for the next 6 miles to Dalton, so they were able to help me keep up a quicker pace than if I’d been by myself. Because Plat is still recovering from an injury, they didn’t go so fast I couldn’t keep up, which was nice.
It was 12:30 when we got to town, Tater and Piñata were the only two still at the sandwich shop. Everyone else had hiked out. A whole discussion ensued about hiking the 18 vs the original 23, since the campsite might be full. We were all hangry and got some food, and tried to figure out what the plan would be. Piñata said we’d do the 18, and hiked out shortly after we got there.
I let my feet rest, and the double tape I’d put on my left ankle seemed to be helping. I wasn’t limping as bad so far. I ate a ham sandwich from Baked Potato, and bought a piece of coffee cake, and some coconut iced coffee from the shop next door. I lay on a bench in the sun, taking a cat nap and savoring my shirt being dry for the first time in two days.
We took a long break, and around 2pm Platinum and I hiked out, while QT and Wizard stayed behind. QT wanted to get ice cream back up the trail, and Wizard was going to get a ride to Cheshire, where we were going to camp. He took our tents to set them up ahead for us as well.
I hiked the last 8.7 with Platinum, which was really fun. It was her first full day of hiking back on the trail, and today was the first time I hiked with her in general. We had some great conversations about a variety of topics, and the miles flew by, as we hiked up the ridge, along it, and down into town.
We stopped once for water, near Crystal Mountain Campsite, and saw only one other hiker while we were out. His name was The H Monster, and he had thru hiked SOBO 20 years ago, and was out for a little hike. We had a good chat, and he even gave us a couple tall pale ales from the Berkshire Brewing Company to pack out.
It started to rain during our last mile or so, and when we got into town I broke out the umbrella. We walked through the cute town of Cheshire, and found the rest of the group minus QT under the large party tent that was set up at the campsite for a concert tomorrow.
We were staying at a place called Father Tom Campsite, run by the town of Cheshire. It included electricity, port-o-potties, lots of room for tenting, Gatorade, and a water spigot. QT arrived very soon after us, and Wizard was nice enough to order Chinese food for everyone. My tent was set up by him under the big tent, out of the rain, which was a wonderful surprise.
We spent some time redoing the itinerary, and we had five more big days ahead, but a nearo on the sixth day. We also had a nearo and two zeros still planned for the 4th of July, so the big days wouldn’t feel too bad with that to look forward to.
With the new plantar fasciitis insoles in the Hokas, I had a much better day of hiking, and being with other people all day really helped. I feel confident I can make the miles coming up as long as the insoles keep helping, and it’s awesome to have some exciting stuff to look forward to, along with the beautiful trail that is Massachusetts and Vermont.
I have hiked 95% all of Massachusetts through the end of New Hampshire, so it’s fun that this is all familiar to me and I know what to expect. I also can let the group know whatever knowledge that I have about the parts I’ve been to before. At the same time, I’m getting to experience cool new places I missed last time, like The Cookie Lady and the town of Cheshire.
A gentleman named the Polish Hermit stopped by around 8:30pm with some trail magic of protein bars and energy drinks. He saw me laying out my clothes to dry for the night, and offered to wash and dry them and bring them back. I couldn’t say no to that, and he even offered to bring a couple hikers back to his cottage to sleep in a bed and have a shower. It was super sweet of him, though everyone was quite settled in by then.
My hiker hobble and limp is actually virtually nonexistent for the evening, which is amazing considering I could barely walk on my left foot after I hiked to Great Barrington. I asked my fortune cookie if I would have a successful thru hike (I always ask it a question) and my answer was “You will soon feel a renewed sense of optimism for the future.” The highs are high and the lows are real low, but it all balances out to the experience of a lifetime in the end.