Massachusetts AT Day 2 (4/19/21)

I tend to thrive on social interactions on trail, and so yesterday was a great day as I got to meet so many new and interesting people. Today was harder, as I was alone most of the day.

The day got off to a rough start with a poor night’s sleep. Directly, this was caused by the cold, but indirectly it was caused by lack of skill with my backpacking quilt. A backpacking quilt is basically a sleeping bag without a bottom. Sleeping bags offer warmth through their loft, and since the material underneath you is compressed, it does no good. Therefore, a backpacking quilt simply removes that useless portion, and saves weight. However, The lack of a bottom opens you up to drafts if you don’t secure it right. Unfortunately, because I am still new to using them, I did not secure it right. That led to a cold night.

Once I got packed up and moving, I leapfrogged with Allie and her son a couple times. I decided to take the opportunity to try to re-learn her son’s name in a really clever way. I asked. It’s Owen, by the way. Allie commented that my name was easy to remember because it’s a trail name, but she and Owen hadn’t earned theirs yet. I thought that was a shame, because I had a perfect trail name for Owen. I would’ve named him The Red Bandit, because his red mask made him look like one of those Wild West outlaws.

I do have to comment that the trail builders in Massachusetts were amazing. There were so many things they did well. The trails are well blazed, and the blazes generally tell you where the trail is about to turn in a different direction, which is rare in other states. There’s adequate support in the form of steps and bog bridges where it’s needed, and my favorite thing is that they built switchbacks into the trail. Good luck finding those in New Hampshire.

The early part of today’s hike was fantastic. It climbed the Tyringham Cobble, which as you might guess overlooks the town of Tyringham. They were great views from up there, and after I descended I got to do some of my favorite type of hiking. Not only were there more farm fields, but this time there were stiles leading in and out of them. Oh, and there was also a boardwalk over a swampy area. Really, it checked all the boxes. It reminded me a little bit of the Winooski river in Vermont, which was another section I loved.

After the farm fields, the trail finally re-entered the woods and began to climb steeply again. It was about 1000 feet of climbing in a little under 2 miles, so not terrible, but not great either.

When I stopped for water at one point, a butterfly came over and visited me. That was pretty cool, because it was the first butterfly I had seen this year.

I hiked around a couple of ponds today. The first one, Knee Deep Pond, was kind of cool because there was a large and obvious beaver lodge in the middle of it. Normally beaver lodges are accompanied by beaver dams, but I didn’t see one of those in this case. The second pond, Upper Goose Pond, had its own wilderness area. There must’ve been three sets of signs telling you that you weren’t allowed to camp there. Of course, you’re not allowed to camp anywhere along the AT in Massachusetts except at designated sites, so pointing that out a bunch of times seems extraneous.

Overall, the hiking was difficult today, or more difficult than it should have been given the terrain. I blame my phone. I told it to shuffle the songs on my primary playlist, and it kept making horrible choices that weren’t what I needed at all. It finally made some good choices when I was about done hiking for the day and didn’t need the help anymore. At one point I switched to podcasts, a choice I should have made earlier.

The goal for today was the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge, but to get there I first needed to go over I-90. There were two cool footbridges there that made it easy, but it still seemed surreal being on the Appalachian Trail directly above a major Interstate highway.

When I arrived at the Lodge, the owner was very nice and made everything easy. I immediately began working on my town chores. I grabbed a much needed shower, which is always first priority. I then turned the sink into a wash basin to clean my clothes. I got yesterday’s blog entry posted, and started writing this one. I had five slices of pizza and a root beer for dinner. I almost never drink soda, but hikes are a special exception. I also opened my resupply box and started sorting the food, and worked on charging my electronics.It’s busier than you would think during a hiking town stop.

I think that’s about all there is to report for today, so I will see you for Day 3, and remember that you can’t take flight until you spread your wings.