July 5 - 20.3 / 1,579.9

For breakfast, T and T, Lola, Sunrise, Samurai, and I went to a local coffee shop. I don't know why, but I got a coffee when it was already 90 degrees outside. I also got a breakfast burrito and a pistachio muffin. Both were excellent. I sat there until 10 before heading on. I had a few options for the day on how far to hike. The plan was to do at least 13 and maybe 20. The 13 would get me 2/3 up Greylock Mtn. Greylock is the highest point in Mass. and my first significant climb in awhile. The climb is about 8 miles long.

Once leaving Dalton, Samurai and I passed Inferno. She had taken a day off to stay with family since she is from that area. We hiked the first 10 miles of the day into Cheshire. We knew that it would be a good place for lunch since there is an ice cream and shake shop right along the trail. I stopped in and got a chocolate and pineapple shake. It hit the spot. I got a chance to speak with some nonhikers who were very intrigued with the trail. Moose and Tetherball also stopped by. Moose's grandmother lives in the area so they were just slack packing for the day over Greylock. It was the first time I had met them as I had only seen their names in the shelter logs. The others from the coffee shop ended up arriving as well as Sonic and Inferno. Samurai and I decided we had been there too long so we headed on.

The climb up Greylock was long and hot. The climb wasn't too bad, but I was sweating like never before. We made it to the shelter 13 miles in for the day. Feeling good and knowing we had plenty of daylight left, Samurai and I pushed on. We made it to the top around 6:30. There is a lodge on the top as well as a memorial tower. We checked out the lodge which had just reopened after 2 years of being closed. They had a family style dinner which was to start at 7. We looked into it. This evening it was a gumbo. It looked and smelled great; however, we didn't want to pay $25 for it. We got popsicles instead. They too were a little pricey. We sat outside the lodge enjoying them.

The area was full of people who had driven their cars to the top to check out the tower, the lodge, and the views. One family was already asking Samurai questions. Next thing we know, they are spending the next 30 minutes asking about our trip. They couldn't believe we had hiked this far. Once they left, we spoke with the guy running the lodge. He told us about renovating the lodge and winning the lease for the next 25 years. It was pretty cool to hear what he was doing and what his plans were.

It was now almost 8 and we were still sitting there. We still had 3 more miles to hike before the closest shelter. We climbed to the top of the tower, checked out the views, and headed down Greylock. The way down was slow and steep. We made it to the shelter around 9:30. The two of us set up camp, ate, and went to bed.