Saturday June 28 -
Woke to another beautiful day. Slept well in the Mont-Bell bag on the Therm-A-Rest Z-Lite pad. I used my clothes bag wrapped in my fleece jacket for a pillow which was surprisingly comfortable.
View from the inside of my Big Agnes Lone Spring UL2. I slept with half of the vestibule drawn back.
Breakfast was two helpings of oatmeal with almond slivers and freeze dried blueberries in a freezer bag. Coffee this trip was Starbucks Via. These single-serve packets are much better than the way I used to do it which was using Folgers coffee bags. With those you have to carry out the wet coffee bag and the wrapper. Via is just a very small wrapper. It is also strong enough that if you wanted a warm up you can just add a bit more hot water without losing much of the flavor or strength. A nice, warm breakfast.
I left the camp around 10:15 to hike the Hopper Trail to the Appalachian Trail (AT) and summit Greylock. Nice hike that took about 50 minutes from the campground including stops for birds and pictures.
The Hopper Trail heading up to the AT.
White blazes! Hello, AT.
AT heading to the summit.
Pond near the summit along the AT.
Monument on the summit of Greylock.
Bascom Lodge.
Spent some time people watching and enjoying the lovely day on the summit. I poked around a bit and found this shelter that we apparently missed in 2013.
It's called The Thunderbolt Shelter and it is what appeared to be a warming hut and emergency shelter for skiers. Inside is a massive multisided fireplace which is evident by the big chimney coming through the center of the roof. Set diagonally between each firebox are good sized platforms that one could presumably sleep on.
Unfortunately I did not get any shots of the platforms, but here is the massive stone chimney.
I headed back to the campground via the Overlook Trail which hooks up with The Hopper Trail.
Nice hike with some good ups and downs. I was alone for the most part, but did run into a couple kids and their Dad as I approached the overlook.
Overlook trail overlook.
It took me under half an hour to get back to the campground. This is the old gatehouse at SperryRoad Campground which is usually not manned now. Lots of informational postings and a box where one can place a request for firewood which the rangers deliver usually in the late afternoon.
I spent some time gathering firewood for the next couple nights, then headed up to The Ledges to have some lunch.
I used the picnic table nearest the ledge and boiled up some water to rehydrate my
Dr. McDougall's Pad Thai soup. Also had a vegan cinnamon bun bar and water.
After lunch I went back to camp and just relaxed a bit. More campers arrived, but the sites are nicely spaced and there really is no intrusion. I was looking for something to do, so I reorganized the stones around the fire pit to make it more efficient and reflect the heat to the front by stacking the rocks differently.
By placing the rocks to the back I find there is better airflow which also helps to push the smoke up and away rather than all about and usually back into my face where I am trying to relax and stay warm by the fire. It really worked quite nicely.
I shared the camp site with a small American toad who would show up now and then. At night it would hop up to the edge of the fire pit and seemed to be staring into it, enjoying the warmth.
Had a Katmandu Curry meal by Backpackers Pantry which is another win for the dehydrated meals. Enjoyed the fire, peace and quiet then crawled into the tent for another wonderful sleep. Loving this tent.
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