Day 1

Ramius and I did not get out of Williamstown, MA, until about 2pm or so. We wished Elyse safe travels and immediately started working on packaging meals and packing up our packs. We left the inn (Williams Inn, which was an alright place to stay) at around 12:30pm. We took a cab to the post office and sent packages to Killington, Johnson, and North Troy. After that, we had to walk the ~2.5 miles to the Pine Cobble trailhead. This part of the day was miserable - the heat, traffic, and uphill walk were all aggravated by the sheer level of exposure to the sun.

After arriving at the trailhead, I sat down in the shade and made a few last calls - I don't plan on making any more until I reach Journey's End and will rather rely on text messages if they're required. Part of what I am looking forward to on this trek is a sense of solitude and remoteness.

Eventually, we started making our way along the awful Pine Cobble trail. I refer to it as such due to its steepness and rockiness. This 1.5-mile stretch was deeply concerning and mildly discouraging. My fears left me, however, when the trail met up with the AT for another 1.2 miles before we were greeted with a sign marking the beginning of the LT and the Vermont-Massachusetts border. 

I should have mentioned earlier that it had been thundering all day and the that cabby had mentioned possible tornado watches in the evening. This is significant because before we had even arrived at the Seth Warner Shelter (2.8 miles north), it started to rain, thunder, and lightening like mad. I quickly put up the tent - keep in mind we were already hopelessly soaked at this point - and we clamored inside. Ramius, who has never liked any kind of rain, trembled for a time before I pulled out the sleeping bag and hunkered down with him.

Thus, I am now writing here, the Wee-Guy fast asleep, and getting some weather info from Elyse - it seems it is supposed to rain straight until Thursday, with a 2-hour window between 7 and 9am without rain. I figure we will head to Seth Warner at that point and wait it out, though Elyse promised to wish the Rain Gods away - so who knows?

-A

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Miles Traveled: 7.8

Miles from CA: 270.5

Miles from MA: 2.0

Total Miles Traveled: 7.8

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