T+44 With a little help from my friends

T+44 (July 12, 2020)

Navigation Report:
Start Point: House of Tom Levardi (mile 1571.9)
Target Destination: Cheshire, MA (mile 1580.8)

Travel Log:
10:00 Meet friends
10:25 Break Camp (mile 1571.9)
10:55 Gulf Rd. trailhead (mile 1573.5)
12:00 Stream (mile 1575.7)
12:30 Power lines (mile 1576.7)
12:35 Crystal Mountain camp (mile 1576.8)
12:50 Gore Pond outlet (mile 1577.5)
1:55-2:15 Cheshire Cobble (mile 1579.7)
3:05 Furnace Hill Rd. (mile 7580.5)
4:30 Cheshire Thru-Hiker Campground (mile 1580.8)

Daily Mileage = 8.9
Total Mileage = 431.6

Commander’s Report:
Today was the day I was preparing for all week. The day I meet up with friends from MA and we walk a section of trail together. Two friends drove out from Worcester, a male / female couple. The woman is a work colleague. We co-authored each others' papers a couple years ago. She came out with her husband. Of the two, she is much more of the hiker / outdoorsy type. He tends to be happier when the hike is over looking back on things rather than in the moment during the hike.

I chose to do the Dalton to Cheshire section of trail today. This is a pretty easy stretch of trail with a pretty good viewpoint toward the end of the hike. I figure that about 9 miles of moderate hills is a better option than for instance, tackling the climb up Greylock (MA's highest peak).

The one thing I requested of them was a roll of toilet paper. I am finishing up what I obtained from Bear Mountain Bridge Motel, way back in NY, and don’t really want to buy a 4 pack or check in to a hotel in order to get a roll. Few people other than friends would play TP delivery service for a person.

To start the hike, we walked through Dalton, MA on the AT and at the other side of town we reentered the green tunnel. It didn't take long before my male companion slipped on a big, wet rock. He fell really awkwardly and landed on his hip and wrist. Afterwards, he seemed quite annoyed with the whole hiking thing, so took off ahead of us seemingly in order in order to get the whole ordeal over in as little time as possible. He's a reminder that those of us who actually enjoy stomping up and down mountains are in the minority.

The first picture opportunity came with the crossing of some power lines (mile 1576.7). Unfortunately, there were no views to be had at this cut in the forest.

​About a mile after the power lines, the trail runs adjacent to Gore Pond, providing a couple of spots from which good views of the pond are available.

​After the pond, the trail climbs up to the top of Cheshire Cobble, a popular view point from which the town of Cheshire and Cheshire Reservoir can be observed.

​It took about an hour to traverse the remaining two miles to the Cobble, so we were making pretty good time. Once we arrived at the Cobble it became apparent why it's a popular place. It's big enough to host 20+ people at a time and the tree-free area wraps around the mountain, providing a number of different views, I took a bunch of pics from here, this is a sampling.

I love a good panorama, and this is about as good as it gets

I told you I took a lot of pics!

After the Cobble is a fairly reasonable downhill to get down into Cheshire. We met back up with the husband at Furnace Hill Rd. He appeared to be nursing his wounds and awaiting our arrival. We called Tom Levardi for a ride back to his place.

Of all the plans I had for today I think I made the correct choices for most of them, but if I had to do it over again I would opt to park their car at the far trailhead. Oh well, crying over spilt milk and all that.

So, we returned to Tom's had a beer and met four thru-hikers spending the night at Tom's. I only got the names of two of them: Tail Spin and Sunshine (female and male, respectively).

After the beer, my friends dropped me back off in Cheshire and I walked to the Thro-hiker camp in town. It's currently under construction (adding water and power), but camping is allowed. They drove up Mt. Greylock.

I'd say "and a good time was had by all", but I'm not sure about the husband. He didn't look to be enjoying himself before the tumble and looked genuinely annoyed afterwards. Apparently, he perked back up with the views from Greylock and a second brew at home.

[Ed. Note: I texted with my friend, all is well. He only suffered some bruising. He went off ahead of us during the hike because he was worried that if he stopped he would be unable to finish.]