September 21, 2024 3 min to read

AT Blog: Day 103

Leaving my Parents and Massachusetts Soon

Day 103:

Sleep in a bit, definitely not leaving at 7:30 AM. My parents and I enjoy our morning and I slowly pack up and fill my food bag. I eat pizza, mandarins, coffee and diet coke for breakfast.

We do head out around 9 AM to go back to the trailhead near Dalton. My mom drops my dad and I off and we go ahead and hike. I’m doing Crystal Mountain and the cobbles with my dad, about 7 and a half mile section. Afterwards my mom will meet up again in Cheshire and pick him up as I keep moving. We keep a good pace, but my dad lacks trail legs so we go at a bit slower of a pace than my usual. It’s amazing seeing how my constant hiking for 1500 miles have put me in such great shape.

We get to see Gore Pond together, a glacier pond near the top of the mountain and enjoy the peace and serenity. It is unique to have my dad hike with me in such a different section than Georgia and with fresh eyes. He points out stuff like how the Fir trees are similar to the ones on top of mountains in Tennessee, despite us being at low elevation. He loves seeing the glacier pond, something we don’t see down south. We begin the hike down.

The Cobbles have a good view of the town of Cheshire. Once in town, my mom picks us up and we head and get ice cream together. She also got some money out of the teller for me, as I was running low on cash. That was interesting as the ATMs kept getting her card lodged inside. We eat our desserts and then say our goodbyes. It’s tough on me and them to part, it will be a while before we see each other again but I’m so thankful to the Lord they were able to travel and see me.

The rest of the hike that day is going up Mount Greylock, the first time the trail has gone above 3000 feet since the Shanendoahs in Virginia. My dad earlier made an astute observation about how similar the environment is to the Smokies despite their lower altitude. That’s due to being so far north it’s much colder in the winter.

The hike itself is long especially with a fully weighted pack, with a climb of about 2500 feet. But the end result is worth it. There’s a War Memorial tower at the summit dedicated originally to those who perished in WW1, but later devoted to all wars. It’s an amazing tower with 360° views.

I finish my last few miles going to Wilbur Clearing shelter and stay in the actual shelter as it may rain in the morning. I ran into Serendipity who chatted with my mom earlier while she waited on us. He is from Maine and is through hiking NOBO like I am. We chat about highlights of our trip and eventually head to bed.