#NST-MST2015

[hikertrash101]

June 7th, 2015                          Pratt - Pak

Day Eleven: When I woke up there were day hikers admiring my bear bag and we spoke while I ate breakfast.  I would talk with countless people all day long.  it was officially the weekend.  I really enjoyed my conversations but was pressed for time. I was to meet Rachel at the Northern most terminus at 6PM.   The trail walked a wonderful ridge-line for a few miles - short but with good views. Windblown was a Xcountry ski place that people hiked on the weekends,  It was alright but I was more of a fan of the “Skyline” section of the trail.  Halfway through the day I walked by a most interesting home.  It was a “cord construction” home with a gambrel roof among other interesting features.  The home owner was outside and i asked her about her home.  She was more than happy to chat and called me over.  Her husband came out and was even MORE happy to chat.  They built their home by hand and were very early to talk with.  I only wish that I had the time to talk for longer. Hell! They were great people and i would have loved to help them with their yard work for taking the time to speak with me.  They were free of any apprehension and it was very disarming.  Over Burton and Holy Peaks I had only to go over Pak and North Pak, but when I called Rachel she was done hiking Grand Monadnock and on her way home.  I had her meet me at the summit of Pak and we drove home.  I will return to hike N Pak and finish the Wapak before the summer is over. 

[hikertrash101]

June 6th, 2015                         PART 1 - RT 2 - MUDDY POND SHELTER

Day Ten: Yet another good day.  I stopped and filled up water at a nursery and headed to Muddy Pond.  When i got to Muddy Pond I found a fat engorged deer tick on the back of my thigh and cut it out.  I rested and enjoyed the shade. I really liked Muddy Pond. 

[hikertrash101]

June 5th, 2015                                   PART 2 - MT WACHUSETT - RT 2

Day Nine: After filtering some water I made haste to Old Crow Hill and RT 2.  crow Hill was GREAT! I’d actually heard of it from some climbing friends in the past and I now see why they raved about it.  As far as Massachusetts is concerned there aren’t too many places like that aside from the Berkshires. It was garnished with mountain laurels and they all started to come out.  There were ledges and vistas for all of an hour.  When I finally got to RT 2 I stopped at the Village Inn for a beer and “salmon BLT” (Which was incredible) I talked with the manager who used to live in Ashland OR. She was more than happy to chat trail talk and give me advice.   After I licked my plate I set up in the woods just beside RT 2 and battened down for an entire night of freak rain. 

[hikertrash101]

June 5th, 2015                    PART 1 - BLOOD SWAMP - WACHUSETT MT

Day Nine: It was a great day! Barre Falls Dam seemed like a great place to spend a day playing frisbee golf. and the walk aside from that  Finally a mountain and what with it being a Friday there were actually people to talk to!  I walked the majority of the way up the mountain with an old Navy Vet which is always nice, and when I got to the top there were lots more people to speak with. This includes a group of three older women who were full of questions and before they left told me that i should stop at the Wachusett Village Inn on RT 2. 

[hikertrash101]

June 4th , 2015

            SWAPSCAPES

Day Eight: I managed to get a ride back to the trail thanks to my brother-in-law but was only able to hike about four miles before dark.  

[hikertrash101]

June 3rd, 2015                          THE DAY OFF

Day Seven: After about a 13 mile day I called my sister to come give me a lift for the night so that I could shower, do laundry, and figure out what to do about the food situation.  I was at a gas station which would normally be a fine resupply, but not for the kind of food I needed and not for the cost.  My phone was dead but I used the plug at the Mobil to charge my phone and get in touch with my sister. When I got home I took care of everything including purchasing a bug suit.

[hikertrash101]

June 2nd, 2015                 MASSACHUSETTS 

Day Six: I was never aware that south eastern MA was so rural until I walked thru it.  The day started off damp and ended with rain but while walking I was safe from the rain. The complaint of the day would have to be the apple orchards.  They were long since abandoned and grown in with thigh high grass.  It was the perfect habitat for deer but also deer ticks..

[hikertrash101]

May 31st, 2015              NST 3/4 COMPLETED

Day Four: It was a rainy. I saw other NST hikers and had planned to hike into MA but with the rain I wound up camping early. The forecast was for four days of rain and in hindsight it would have made more sense to hike until 7PM like as was planned. 

[hikertrash101]

May 29th 2015                           COLLAPSE

Day Two: Everything had fallen apart. Trevor's body wasn’t holding up and he had to go home in the middle of the day. John had shot ahead and by the end of the day had decided to go home the next morning. The falls were pretty cool. Got to jump off a bridge! At the end of the day I called Trevor to be sure that he hung the bear-bag resupply that I'd left in his car. "Yeah I hung it and it should be fine."

[hikertrash101]

May 28th 2015 -           NST 1/4 COMPLETED

Day One: The North South Trail was alright. There was nothing super challenging aside from some asphalt assault form excessive road walk and an unruly number of mosquitoes. All’n all it was 21ish miles in great weather so no legit complaints here. 

[hikertrash101]

MM Trail (Part 2) May 23rd 2015 Buffam Falls - Northside Trail Mt Holyoke State Forest Long day. Long long day.

[hikertrash101]

MM Trail (part 1) May 22nd 2015 Rattlesnake Gutter Rd - Split with Frost Tr S or Orient Mtn. The trail here is horribly blazed thanks to Cowls "Tree Farming" Log Co. They have removed all of the blazes which lead to us back tracking for 6 miles and ending the day 7 miles short of our target mileage. Chris had an issue with his knee and the sun was setting so we ended just short of Buffam Falls.

[hikertrash101]

Homemade maps for the NST and MST are finally done!

[hikertrash101]

My New Pack! Happy to announce that I will now be hiking with an HMG 3400 this year!! Going lite!!  I’ve wanted a HMG pack for forever and couldn’t be happier!

[hikertrash101]

I consolidated info from the web to make a comprehensive map for the first week of June :)  (This is front and back)