Pittsfield, MA (USA)

Up early again (no alarm needed)! When I was waking, I realized I'd gotten texts from Eileen in the middle of the night. It turned out that she didn't actually see me at the race, despite what I thought were direct glances at me all three times! I was able to text with her for a bit before I got ready, which was nice. When I went outside, I was shocked - it was so chilly this morning! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the cooler weather - but I was feeling very lucky that I had anything warm to wear when I got outside to find temperatures in the 30s again (0600). Ate breakfast at McDonalds in Pittsfield (0605) and then drove south from Pittsfield on US-7/US-20 and decided to take MA-183 into the October Mountain National Forest lands (looking for gravel road access). Without cell signal, the best I could do was to find a campground (they did have a map but it wasn't tremendously helpful). Decided to get back on the pavement and drive to an easily locatable trailhead on US-20 (Lee/Becket town line). After hiking from the parking lot down to the AT (probably a few hundred yards), I started NOBO (0645). I could hear the very loud traffic on the nearby Mass Pike for about the first hour - but once I crossed Becket Mountain, it got pretty quiet. It was nice to be on a ridge but there were no view points at all during my hike. I crossed multiple snow mobile tracks (some looked very new) and enjoyed the mainly flat terrain for several hours. There were (as always) some places where there was mud, roots and rock fields but I felt energized enough that they didn't bother me. Came close to a few bodies of water but didn't feel any mosquitos all day (nice). I came around a corner near one lake and was startled to see another person. He obviously felt the same way because he ducked anxiously behind a tree and only continued towards me after he peeked around to see what I was. He told me then (laughing) that he had just passed a moose track and had been expecting to see one any second. My broad-rimmed hat, dark colored clothes and, perhaps, lumbering frame caused him great distress... After we exchanged pleasantries, I continued on - encountered another hiker (much more oblivious to the possibility of nearby wildlife) shortly afterwards but kept going. Wanted to make sure I could hike in from the other direction without too much distance so turned around at a County Road south of October Mountain Shelter. By this point, the overcast was giving way to a bit of sunlight - however, the temperatures never rose above the 50s. I loved it - barely built up a sweat despite my pace. On the way back, I saw many more (~10) section and day hikers and at least one Thru Hiker (maybe a flip flopper or running really far behind the main group). Almost no chit chat at all, though - wanted to get to my car without much delay, dreading the long drive home and forecasted bad weather on the way. Finished up my hike by 1145 (after almost 11 miles). Got cleaned up and ready to drive. On the road (westbound in US-20) by 1215. Brenna called and we chatted for a long time. I used MA-102 to get to US-7 and then drove down to Great Barrington and got on MA-23. This road turned into NY-23 and I followed it until reaching the Taconic Parkway. From there, used I-84, I-81, I-83, US-15, I-270 and I-495 to get home. The rain started in the Scranton area and continued until I reached Frederick. Got a gas fillup at Loves in Jonestown (PA) at 1633. After being warned by one of those highway electronic signs that there was a major accident on I-81 near Hershey, I got gas to the north of the I-78/I-81 merge and then avoided the traffic jam by driving through Fort Indiantown Gap. As I finished the drive, I got to talk to Mollie on the phone again. Made it home by 1900 (whew). Was sad that I had to leave the Berkshires (and the Fall weather) but I can't be too greedy about having awesome hikes... Hope to be back soon! AT Today = 5.30 miles / G.T. AT = 1188.02 miles