Greylock

“When am I gonna learn it’s in the journey where I’m gonna see there’s no destination” – Martin Sexton

Didn’t get to sleep until late last night, I think it was the late afternoon coffee in Dalton. Woke up with the birds, who start up at five these days, and rolled over as usual. Finally got up expecting it to be 6:30 but it was 8:30, a super late start for me. Five miles down into Chesire, which was no Dalton. Picked the microwaved sandwich with the most calories at the Dunkin Donuts in the Shell station. Such is life, that was a treat for me. The iced coffee was pretty good though and got me a little boost on the climb out of town, which started through a corn field. The rest of the day was a long steady climb to the highest point in Massachusetts: Mount Greylock.

Herman Melville saw Greylock from his window and thought it looked like a whale. Henry David Thoreau climbed to the top of Greylock and thought it would be a cool experiment to live a simple, back to nature lifestyle. A few years ago I ended up at a trailhead on the shoulder of Greylock with my then girlfriend. Her vegan cowboy boots weren’t up to the task, and we really didn’t know what we were getting into so we turned around after a few hundred yards. But that was the day I decided to get into hiking. The girlfriend lied, cheated, and left me for her coworker, but Greylock remained. Mountains stand passive and indifferent, they were here before us and will be here after we’re gone. Though they too slowly erode. We place our focus on the summit while all the life happens on the sides.

Apparently you can just drive to the top of Mount Greylock (didn’t know that the last time I was here.) It’s always weird when you’ve earned your way to the top through sweat and your own two feet and pop out of the forest at the summit to find couples and families who just took a car. The impressive lighthouse war memorial was under repair and surrounded in scaffolding. Still, the views were epic, with wind turbines on the next ridge line and North Adams down in the valley below. I met Safari, who just got started in Connecticut, and I got to play the grizzled veteran giving the new guy advice. We got burgers in the lodge there, which were great but did not help me close out my day doing another four miles to Wilbur Clearing (599.9 to the top.)

Talking to Safari I realized that today is my four month anniversary. I thought I’d do this trip in six months max, but with all the time off having fun and resting the ankle that’s not going to happen. I’m getting to the good part now, New Hampshire and Maine are right around the corner, but I’m probably going to slow down in there. I’m tempted to push through tomorrow but everything hurts and I had my heart set on a good nearo and rest in Wilmington. The budget also might be an issue going into month seven. Health insurance is so freaking expensive! I’ve been in the woods for four months, is Bernie Sanders still around? Whatever, I’m making it to Katahdin, and then I’m doing Pennsylvania and Jersey even if I can’t do town days anymore. Goonies never say die.

Here’s Mount Greylock from the Cobbles, that’s Chesire and the Hoosic River below. Can you see Moby Dick?