“I’m going to close the bathroom door because the faucet drips and the toilet runs,” said Pilgrim.
Pilgrim, Don’s Brother, and yours truly (Banzai) are staying at the Villager motel in Williamstown; chosen for its availability more than its price. Despite the high price of the motel here in the Berkshires it’s not terribly nice place. With some earplugs in I was able to ignore the plumbing issues from the bathroom as well as any potential snoring. I first laid down and put on my earphones to listen to some Townes Van Zandt. 15 minutes later I realized I was suddenly 4 songs into the album and had slept the whole time. I put the music aside and didn’t wake up again till morning. The AT seems to be one long continuous state of exhaustion. If you find energy it’s then time to hike more miles. And on and on the process repeats.
I responded to Pilgrim, “We’ll at least the shower doesn’t leak too. We’ve got that going for us.”
The reality of the AT is that there are usual multiple simultaneous problems ongoing. Last week it was heat, humidity, and bugs. Earlier in the year it was numb hands from cold temps and muscle pain from hiking. Now our legs are machines and Today I’m glad to say the mosquitoes mostly went away and the temperatures were held in check by the cloud cover. But perhaps this lack of bugs was because of our high elevation on Mt Greylock.
Don’s Brother and I are both Seinfeld fans and thus we’ve deemed this “the Summer of George” – the summer that everything goes ones way. Wishful thinking certainly can’t hurt. And considering we’ve hiked this far with no major injuries, perhaps it is our year. Hiking together has certainly helped as we’ve chatted to keep our minds off the hike. We’ve spoken about theology, baseball (the Atlanta Braves), Shakespeare, women, and whatever else comes to mind.
Mt. Greylock had the biggest climb and descent since Virginia. We’re really at good at this now so it seemed like a regular day. We also stopped at the summit where there’s an overpriced tourist restaurant and had sandwiches. (Sammiches, for those who speak “internets”)
We are now less than 600 miles from Katahdin. Some have said “you are almost there.” But that’s crazy. Who would say with 600 miles remaining on a road trip, “we’re almost there?” Now think about walking it!
-BANZAI!!!
