October Mountain State Park, Massachusetts
(Just off the Massachusetts Turnpike at exit 3):
What is my “AT” challenge?
After hiking Old Speck Mountain and meeting thru-hikers “Tetherball” and “Moose” going from Georgia to Maine, I caught the AT bug. I’m hooked. I am now a card carrying member of the Appalachian Trail Conference based in Harpers Ferry, VA. I’m looking to “bag” each of the 14 states of the AT. This late August morning we pack six extra granola bars to give to any thru hikers we meet. For we day hikers, this section of the trail has a convenient parking area not 100 yards from where the AT crosses Route 20 near Lee, Massachusetts.
New to trekking sticks, Hannah scoffs at their usefulness. As gifts from Mitch and Paula, she’s willing to give them a go. Michelle Ray in How to Hike the AT claims that a lot of weight and impact are removed from the knees when using trekking sticks. After thirty years of road running, we and our knees need all the help they can get. Immediately the trail ascends to Becket Mountain, some 45 minutes away, which works up a decent sweat. Different from the stone-infested trails of Maine, the mostly dirt trail is easy on the feet. The canopy of hardwoods makes the trail almost entirely tree-covered and protects us from any sun. Mosquitoes and black flies are never an issue. It feels like hiking, not climbing, as the AT does in many places in Maine.
Hiking the entire 2179 miles of the AT is out of the question for me. Let me count the reasons why. One, I don’t like to sleep on the ground or deal with any sort of overnight camping. Two, the thought of carrying a 40-pound pack makes me weary. And three, a glass of red wine after a warm shower is my idea of how to end 3-4 hours of hiking. Yet as we hike today I wonder what sort of “AT” challenge might I choose? Our daughter Robyn’s “AT” challenge was completing US Army boot camp. Hannah’s caring for Robyn when she had childhood leukemia was one of hers. But what in my 60s will be my “AT” challenge? The jury is out. I hope to discover it in the year ahead as retirement beckons.
We hike the ridgeline easily and descend after three miles to Finerty Pond, an idyllic 300-yard long body of water. As we head back to the trailhead, I am conjuring up a subtitle for this hiking review – “Nary an AT hiker.” And yet, not ten minutes later, a twenty something red-bearded, bright shorts-wearing hiker comes into view. “Patch” is his trail name. It comes from a beard that before taking to the trail was patchy, but is not after nearly five months on the AT, and all the patches on his pack from states where he’s hiked. He’s upbeat, loving life, and energizes us both after our two hours of hiking. Delighted, we give him our modest “trail magic” granola bars and he tells us of his blog: http://walkingforart.wordpress.com/ He’s raising money for arts experiences for at-risk youth in North Carolina. Twelfth Commandment of the Trail – If you meet an AT thru hiker who is raising money for a worthy cause, donate what you can.
Pumped over this encounter, we return to Becket Mountain and leave the rest of the granola bars in the trail register box for other thru hikers. Reading the register, we see that “Peaches” got up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag. She wrote, Day hikers can kiss my ass. Ouch. We close the book and are glad it was not she whom we met. The trekking sticks help the descent and Hannah admits they help with the down hills.
Becket Mountain/Finerty Pond hike rating – Excellent
As always when hiking, know thyself, thy limits, and the conditions. Be prepared.
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