Day 132-Two Towns, One Day

July 28-11.7 miles-Kay Wood Shelter to Father Tom Campsite (Cheshire, MA)-AT mile 1580.8

We had a bit of rain last night, but under the tree cover, my tent barely got wet. We got on the trail in cooler and breezy weather (for a change). Of course, I was sweating pretty good after climbing (I guess the humidity was pretty high to start with).

Just a few miles in, we walked into the town of Dalton. The trail goes through the town for more than a mile. Along the route is a trail angel name Tom Lavardi. He allows hikers to camp in his backyard. As we were walking by a kid hollered out asking if we were thru-hikers, and did we want some breakfast? Well, of course! There were donuts, eggs, apples, coffee, and lemonade. 

Garden of trekking poles!

We sat at the picnic table under the tree while a rain storm passed by. Thunderstruck was there too (haven’t seen her for awhile). Siddhartha was there too, but he was still sleeping. 

Eventually the squall passed, and we got back to hiking the rest of the way through the town. 



The ladies who were tending these flowers welcomed us to Dalton. 

Cute little historic house. 

Back to trail, we had to do some more climbing, then descending, then up again, and down...the usual. 

This was huge!

Reaching the top of Cheshire Cobble

First viewpoint

Next viewpoint. Note the high mountain? We’ll be climbing over that tomorrow (starting from Cheshire, the town down below). It looks really far, but really, up and over, will only be 12 miles. 

After the view, Sure Foot headed down as he needed to get to the post office to pick up his new shoes. I took my time, as it was pretty steep at first, and my right knee was really bothering me today (not sure if it was because of falling yesterday, or just the two back-to-back long mile days). I ended up taping it tonight with KT tape. 

It feels more supported with the tape. 

I met up with Sure Foot at Diane’s Twist, an sandwich and ice cream place not far from the campsite. I had baby hotdogs, Gatorade, and a soft serve ice cream cone. 

Aren’t they cute?

Father Tom Campsite is owned by the city of Cheshire, and is just for AT thru-hikers. It is still a bit of a work in process. Right now it has water, a porta-potty (with tp and hand sanitizer!), a picnic table, and trash can. In process is a place to charge devices. There is a house on the property, but not sure about the plans for that. 


We only need to carry a day of food tomorrow, and we might be able to get food at the top of Mt Greylock (but it will be after lunch time). That will make the packs lighter for the climb. I hope my knee feels okay. 









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