Stretch – Days 96 to 106

Starting July 20

Day 96: 20.6 mi (1569.1)

It was a pretty easy day to get a bunch of miles in. I stopped by the water and swam at Upper Goose before I made my way out. The Cookie Lady was a great stop and I made my way to Dalton for some food and rest. I stayed at Tom Levardis.
$19 food, $12 drinks, $5 shower

Day 97: 0 (1569.1)

I was easily convinced to take a zero in town. The motel was booked up the day before so we couldn’t stay but it was available this night. Now clean, with freshly laundered clothes and a nap under my belt I started drinking and hanging out with J-Rock, Backtrack, Meatstick and Smiles.
$13 food, $3 laundry, $8 beer, $17 motel

Day 98: 13.9 mi (1583)

Easy day out of town to the shelter. We stopped at an ice cream shop and Basswater Grill. I need to stop spending all my money.
$6.50 beer, $14 food, $3 ice cream

Day 99: 9.6 mi (1592.6)

Today we hit Greylock and unlike most viewpoints, I was able to see this one on a nice clear day. We made it to North Adams and got some eating and bowling in, camped behind the YMCA and it was a good night.
$12 bowling, $14 buffet, $30 resupply, $12 beer

Day 100: 14 mi (1606.7)

Now that I know I’ll be able to go dig before the end of August pretty easily, I’ve slowed down a bit. Yesterday to bowl, today to make sure I hit a hiker feed early the next day. It’s been getting cold at night and I should probably try to get my cold weather gear back sooner rather than later.

Day 101: 18.7 mi (1625.4)

Yeah, I’m still taking it easy. Today there was a wonderful hiker feed from the Green Mountain Club and it was very appreciated. The trail was gorgeous today and the even the shelter I’m staying at has a great view.

Day 102: 22.9 mi (1648.3)

After a rainy start the day turned out to be beautiful and I made my way up Stratton Mountain. The shelter we stayed in had a stove and Smiles made a fire so it was toasty and comfortable. Every shelter should be that cozy.

Day 103: 22.6 (1670.9)

I woke up to the long trail hiker in the shelter making a ton of noise for 2 hours straight. Banging her boots, stomping and getting her things together in the slowest yet loudest possible way.

I made my way to a nice spot, Little Rock Pond and even swam on the way there. It didn’t really end up being a bad day.
$5 shelter

Day 104: 23.7 (1694.6)

I thought I had all the time in the world to make it 19 mi to Killington to see the sunset. I took the canoe out at Little Rock, swam at the gorge and spent quite a bit of time at Qu’s Whistle Stop with Smiles. It wasn’t until I was closer that I realized that it was about 4 miles farther than I thought. I tried to rush but missed the sunset by 40 minutes and ended up obviously hiking in after dark to the shelter. I did find Backtrack though after a few days apart.
$24 food

Day 105: 8.2 mi (1702.8)

I did a short day because I planned my mileage poorly to get to Rutland to stop at the Hiker Hostel at The Yellow Deli. The hostel was amazing and the people running it were really nice. Everyone should stop here even if it’s just to take a shower and get some food.
$50 resupply (whoops! I went overboard), $35 two restaurants, $2 bus fare, $2 laundry

Day 106: 15.4 mi (1718.2)

I made it back out to the trail for some rain. I stopped with Backtrack and a group we know that are slackpacking at a shelter and napped the rain out. I decided to cut my day a little short because of lost time and made it to The Lookout. It was the best decision to make. Backtrack and I had this awesome place to ourselves and this time I got to see a great sunset. I went from crabby to excellent mood.
$2 bus fare