AT from North Adams, MA to Salisbury, CT-
Part 1:
North Adams, MA to Great Barrington, MA
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This 83.5 mile 14 day backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail in MA
and CT took place between August 31 and September 14, 2007. I hiked this one
with Tom Stevenson, who led this trip.
Day 0, Friday, August 31st, 2007- Went to work early so I could get an early start on this trip. I left work at 1:30PM and drove to Tom Stevenson's house in Crofton, MD. Had a great Beef Stroganoff dinner and got to meet Tom's family. Went to sleep early as I was exhausted from another hectic week at work. Day 1, Saturday, September 1st, 2007- We left Tom's house at 7:30AM, got some coffee, then drove his daughter Lauren to UMBC near Baltimore, MD. We then started the long drive to Kent, CT. Everything went OK until we hit the NJ border. Then, we encountered massive traffic jams. We wondered why. After awhile, we figured out that everyone was heading towards the Catskill Mountains for the Labor Day weekend. After the Catskill exits, traffic picked up. We got up to speed and made it to the Rocky River Motel in New Milford, CT. We then went to Kent to eat dinner, then returned to the motel for a good night's sleep. Day 2, Sunday, September 2nd, 2007- Challenging first day. We had to start the hike 6 miles south of where we were supposed to. It was a combination of a wrong road name (County Road versus Mill Road) and either an incorrect distance from VT100 or the fact that we just couldn't find the trail. After over an hour of searching, we decided to have our shuttle driver Dana drop us off in North Adams, MA for the start of the hike. Thanks, Dana for your patience. We then started a 3 mile up to the Wilbur Clearing Lean-To. We were going to stop there, eat a meal and push on. But we were so tired from the climb up Mount Prospect that we stayed at the Lean-To area and camped. The Lean-To itself was occupied by Williams College students. They were all very friendly, took pictures of us and shared food with us. Tomorrow: Mount Greylock, the high point in MA definitely. Cheshire, MA maybe. Day 3, Monday, September 3rd, 2007- Got an early start. Today we hiked over Mount Williams and Mount Greylock. They were both tough. Most facilities on Greylock were closed due to a 2 year remodeling going on. We debated whether to hike an additional 3.5 miles to the Mark Noepel Lean-To or 8 miles to Cheshire, MA. Mark Noepel Lean-To won. We shared the shelter with about 10 Williams College incoming freshmen. Again, they were very nice and interesting to talk to. I hope that they are quiet tonight. Day 4, Tuesday, September 4th, 2007- Ended up being 15 people at the shelter last night- 10 Williams College students, 4 section hikers and 1 southbound thru-hiker named 'El Presidente'. We all said our goodbyes and set out at the usual time of 7:45AM. We hiked an easy 5 miles to Cheshire, MA. I got my maildrop. Tom and I both sent some stuff home. We then ate lunch at an ice cream place in town called Diane's Twist. Then it was decision time. We were beat from the huge ups the last few days. We called the B&B in Cheshire and left a message about availability. We waited a half hour, then started hiking south through town. As we were about to leave the town limits the B&B owner called. There was availability, the rate was right and the B&B owner said that she'd pick us up in town. So we hiked back into Cheshire where we ate lunch, waited about a half hour and were shuttled to the Harbor House Inn B&B. The owner was very nice to us and showed great hospitality. Day 5, Wednesday, September 5th, 2007- Great hiking day. The B&B owner drove us to Dalton (we will have to make up the 9.3 miles from Cheshire to Dalton next year). We then did an 11.8 mile hike to the October Mountain Lean-To. Only a few ups this trip. Mostly level or down. Temps were in the mid seventies and sunny. We had some Princeton University freshmen at the lean-to area tonight. However, they brought a tarp and tented away from the lean-to itself. Tomorrow, only 7 miles to Lee, MA and, hopefully, a motel. Day 6, Thursday, September 6th, 2007- 7 rough miles. And the motel was closed! However, our alternative destination was worth the extra few miles. Upper Goose Pond Cabin, where we bunked, is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. This is a bunkhouse that overlooks a beautiful lake. The caretaker Kevin, along with his sidekick and helper Hal, were a hoot! They had sodas and beers as well as various snacks. They said that we'd have Blueberry pancakes tomorrow morning. I'm glad that the motel was closed! Day 7, Friday, September 7th, 2007- 1 week to go. We've done only about 34 miles and have about 70 more to go at this point. Upper Goose Pond was a blast. Kevin made some great blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns. There were 5 of us hikers bunking in the cabin and over 50 Williams, Princeton and Yale students tenting nearby. We started out around 8:00AM and did 7 rough miles to Tyringham, MA. Then, another 1 mile road walk to the Cobble View B&B. Nice place. We took showers, I got my maildrop, we ate and then we went to bed. Not sure where we'll end up tomorrow. We'll see. Days 8 and 9, Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th, 2007- Had a good breakfast at the Cobble View B&B. Then the day got rough. We had an all morning up to Mount Wilcox. Then it started raining mid afternoon when I reached the South Wilcox Shelter. We made it to MA23 near Great Barrington, MA expecting a motel .2 miles east. Again, there was none. I will contact the ATC to advise them of the shortcomings of their data book and companion. So we tented in the rain that evening. I was about a quarter mile south of MA23 and Tom was 1.8 miles south of MA23 or .2 miles north of the shelter. It was a rough and wet night. We had done over 13 miles on Saturday. It rained all night and the next morning. So we hiked to the Tom Lenard Lean-To and just took the day off resting and drying off our stuff. At this point, we pretty much decided that since we weren't making our miles, we would cut the hike short at Salisbury, CT. Part 2: Great Barrington, MA to Salisbury, CT>>
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Rocky River Motel, New Milford, CT By Mike Calabrese
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