New England

Hi! I am now in Massachusetts, and only 28 miles from Vermont!! It is crazy to think of how far I have come. The start of my hike, in Harper's Ferry, was one month ago today. Since the start I have walked 546 miles total, and have 619.5 left until I reach Baxter Peak, Katahdin, in Maine. Tonight I am in the Shamrock Village Inn. This is my first hotel room stay since the beginning, and I am really enjoying it! Trying to remember the last time I had a real shower. Don't think less of me, because I do clean up every few days, but the last real shower I had before today was in Unionville, NY 11 days ago. The shower today was AWESOME.

The trail since Salisbury has been great! Elevation is getting steeper, and the weather is getting warmer. The last two days I have begun hiking around 5:30A to get the majority of the miles out of the way when it is cool outside. The shelters in New England are called Lean-to's, but are the same thing as a shelter. Riga Lean-to is where I stayed on July 2nd. Having stayed in Salisbury all afternoon to finish a book, I was graced with a gorgeous sunset from atop the Loin's Head on the way to the shelter. Riga Lean-to, which sat on top of the ridge, faced directly east with a view across the valley. This provided the perfect opportunity to see sunrise, something I had not yet woken up early enough for, but was easily viewable from my sleeping bag at Riga. July 3rd was nice, and I hiked with my friend Josie Wales for the last time probably. He is going a bit slower at his own pace; sad to part ways with him. That day I was again graced with awesome views as I hiked up Race Mountain. The night was spent at Tom Leonard Lean-to, where I had new company and a visit from a porcupine in the early morning. Grin and I woke up to this very loud scraping sound at 4:45A. Shining my light around, I realized a porcupine had crawled into the lean-to and was chewing on the wood, perched halfway up the wall and three feet away from Grins bunk! Grin hadn't woken up by the sound, so I yelled at him (the old guy can sleep through a tornado I guess because it was LOUD). He finally went away at the flash of a camera. So much wildlife around here!

July 4th I hiked out to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It is a bunk house for hikers with a porch, kitchen, lounge room, and a dock on the pond. The water felt great, and it was the first time I had gotten a swim on the trail so far. Today, I had motivation to get here fast because of a hotel reservation here in Dalton, MA. I guess I planned food just right because I ate the last bit this morning, and walked into town with nothing but a baggy of drink mix to eat. Midway through the hike today I came to an infamous house at Pittsfield Road, home to the Cookie Lady. Marilyn Wiley, "The Cookie Lady," has been making cookies and handing them out to hikers for 20 some years now! A great stop on the way for someone who had finished all their food at breakfast.

I will be crossing into Vermont in 2 days! I'm looking forward to hiking with a friend soon. I think Dow is joining me this weekend; a Philmont staff friend. It will be great to see a familiar face! Anyways, I'm going to go relax some more and enjoy the AC while it lasts. Thanks to all the followers, and I will talk to some of yall soon! I will be making some calls later today and tonight. I don't have good cell reception at the hotel for some reason, but will be going to the wal-mart tomorrow morning. They are bound to have good reception right? Anyway, thanks again and I hope you are all doing well. Miss home, Knoxville, and friends and family :)

Sam the Kid