Day 119: Will work for food

Hiked 17.2 miles, staying at Bascom Lodge.

The rain continued all night and into the morning.  It took me a little bit to motivate to get going knowing I had to step out into the pouring rain.  The rain graciously paused long enough for me to tear down my tent and get underway.  I stopped at the Cumberland Farms down the street to get a Gatorade and hung out with Yimmy and Pacman there chatting with the locals.  I ran into Kokpelli as I was leaving.  He was in an angry mood as I guess he has been having a lot of trouble finding places to stay that allow dogs since crossing the Mason-Dixon.  As nice as it would be to hike with a dog, it is complications like this that I'm happy I don't have to deal with.

Walking through Dalton

Cool fungus

Mt Greylock is supposed to be one of the best vistas we will get for a while.  With the weather being rainy and cloudy today I decided to do a short day to Cheshire where there is a church that lets hikers sleep on the floor.  Then I would summit Greylock the following day when the weather hopefully clears.  Getting to Cheshire meant going up and over Crystal Mountain.  The climb wasn't bad but the continuous rain made it slick and muddy in places.  On the way down I stopped at The Cobbles which is a viewpoint on the far end of the mountain.  Even though Greylock was in the clouds, the clouds were high enough that I still got a nice view of Cheshire and some of the far ridge line.

9 AM photo

Looking down on Cheshire from The Cobbles

The trail goes directly through Cheshire as well.  I went to the church to check in and found Fiffer and Pacman already there.  As I sat there though all of a sudden the sky cleared and the rain stopped.  I decided to take advantage of the suddenly sunny weather and the fact that it wasn't even noon yet and keep going.  So I left the church and went to get lunch to see if the weather held.  While eating I saw Cash and Booboo go by and flagged them down.  They are hiking with Booboo's brother who is slack packing them.  As I was catching up with them CodeWalker and Violet walked up and we relaxed on the steps of the food vendor.

Violet and Codewalker, and yes Violet is usually this happy

Walking through Cheshire

The weather continued to hold so I decided to move out and at least aim for the shelter that is partway up the mountain.  When I got there the weather was still good and I decided to go all the way.  Mt. Greylock is significant because it's the first time over 3000 feet since Virginia.  It is also the first sustained climb of over 2500 feet that we've had in a long time.  It is also the highest point in Massachusetts.  I leapfrogged with Cash and Booboo a couple times on the way up.

Looking down from Greylock

To the right of the above photo

When I reached the top it was foggy but clearing.  There is a huge tower built on top to commemorate those who served in World War I.  It was built in the 1930s and has an observation deck.  Unfortunately the tower is currently under renovation so I couldn't climb up the inside.  The view from the top is spectacular though.  I could see five states from the top.  I could see a lot of Vermont and even the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Because of the way the trail loops around into New Hampshire this means I could see almost 250 trail miles ahead!

The tower on top of Mt. Greylock

Bascom Lodge on top of Greylock

There is a lodge at the top with a bunkroom that is reasonably priced and I decided it was a great place to finish the day.  I mean how often do you get to sleep in a bed in the tip top of a 3500 foot mountain?  Dinner was not included but I decided to splurge and get food there.  There is a single seating with randomly assigned tables which was neat because I got to meet some really interesting people.  Being the only thru hiker staying here everyone wanted to chat with me too which was fun.

I am here

The tower is designed as a lighthouse and is super bright at night

The meal actually cost me more than my lodging but it was sooo good.  Like with any expensive restaurant though the portions were small, not up to thru hiker requirements.  At the end of the meal I cautiously asked the waitress if they had any extra that they were going to get rid of anyway.  To make the story short I got to hang out with the wait staff and cook after the guests left and eat three more portions of dinner in return for sweeping the floor and helping to clear the tables.  Just getting to hang out and talk to the people who run the place was really interesting and getting to eat $96 worth of food for free was a fantastic addition.