5 Days In Mass

I hiked for 5 days this stretch. It was great. I had really good weather my bag wasn’t too heavy the bugs weren’t too bad. It was a little warm but I managed to stay pretty well hydrated even if eating was a little difficult. (no appetite at the end of a hot day) I did however have some odd cravings for (all of them salty) cheese wiz, French fries, and crackers.

I had to get off the trail 2 days early because I began to have an allergic reaction to the moleskin and medical tape I had been using to protect my heels from further blisters as I continued to break in my boots. The skin on my left foot just above the heal started to crack and peal and get very red. I decided to get off the trail immediately and deal with my foot instead of letting it go and face another 1.5 to 2 week delay. (note: This is what I initially thought the reaction was to however since I now have blisters, bumps and redness all around both ankles I am going with a Allergic Contact Dermatitis Caused by a reaction to Nikwax Base wash.)

After cleaning and attending to my foot last night plus getting a full 12 hours of sleep it looks much better.(note: later in the evening is when I noticed the widening of the affected area on my feet. Depending on the severity of the rash as it continues to develop the schedule that follows will probably change.) I will return to the trail on Saturday or Sunday to start leapfrogging around between the towns of Dalton, Cheshire, and North Adams. In these leaps I will be going for 2-3 day stretches and packing minimal food. So I will have an even lighter pack and should be able to really get my mileage up.

Sometime at the end of next week I’ll pack up the remainder of my food and head for the Mass/Connecticut border to start the long trek South with the fall.

Since it gets dark by about 7 pm I’ve been reading a lot. I wanted to ask for book suggestions from everyone and maybe for books from you all. If you want to send me a book it should be paperback, fairly dense, small letters and challenging content. I find I can get through a regular light-read mystery novel (300-400 pages) in two nights. I’d like a book that would last more like 4-6 nights but not some heavy tome that I will resent the weight of. Also, you need to be cool with never getting it back as I will probably leave it for the next hiker. I have ordered a few books already they are as follows:

Stiff

The Coming Plague

Guns, Germs and Steel

Blink

If you would like to add to my reading list, all books should be sent to Flying Goat Farm That way I don’t end up overloaded.

I took a couple pics while I was out and about.

Milkweed

Benedict Pond

The A.T. Runs through this pasture Cows and all.

It's not the prettiest part but the AT runs over I 90 on a foot bridge. I noticed it when I drove from Ohio to NH a little over a month ago. As I passed over it the cars below honked their support. (I suppose they could have been honking in disapproval but I choose not to believe that.)