WhatTheHikeRx

near Sheffield, Massachusetts

My first Day Hike of the AT (albeit a very small potion of this hike was actually on the AT) is in the books! I opted to go with a shorter day hike as I wasn’t sure what the terrain in Massachusetts would look like as well as giving myself and Tilly some time to adjust to higher mileage.

I arrived at the trailhead/side-road parking at 730am on a holiday weekend thinking most of the spots would be empty….hahaha…I got the 2nd to last spot thankfully. I should have known better. I had hoped to be at the trailhead by 6am but sleep and coffee won.

After signing in at the very odd trail registry (a plastic binder with pages that don’t include if you left safely?? What’s that about Massachusetts?), Tilly and I were on our way…slowly. Very slowly. The first mile was a constant ascent of switchbacks that quiet frankly had me questioning my capability. Definitely thought about calling it quits a bit after the first waterfall but I’m very glad I continued on as the trail evened out and became much more enjoyable.

There are several water crossings on this hike, the first one being before the waterfall and was easily managed by Tilly. I was a bit nervous at first but she just did her dog/dingo jump and off we went. I will say heading up the trail it was a bit hard to find the blue blaze on the trees to see where the trail was located across the stream. On the way back I found it much easier to navigate, then again maybe that’s experience for ya.

More climbing, resting, and making sure Tilly drank plenty of water NOT from a stream. Not much longer a much more significant water crossing came into view. Tilly hesitated a bit on this one, but eventually decided upon a path and waited for me to get on a rock before moving on to the next one to cross the stream. I know many people let their dogs off leash for these types of crossings but honestly I never know what is around the next bend and I would prefer to have a rope to pull on if she gets into trouble. Fortunately, Tilly was a master hiker once again!

Finally, we reached the first waterfall! It was running fast and a joy to behold. Also a good time to get a wet neck gaiter going for the pupper.

We passed a few campers and smelled an amazing fire that was going on at one of the sites. It looked like there was a privy at the camp site as well. It was at the campsite I got the first sign of how close to the AT I was.

0.2 miles later I had to decide if I was a NOBO or SOBO hiker. As Mount Race was SOBO of my current location , we headed in the direction of the white blazes southward!

I was officially on the AT! And not feeling like I was dying. The trail became more rocky, with some slabs and ridges that I was worried would give Tilly some difficulty, but I needn’t have concerned myself and the mountain goat of a Blue Heeler loved every rock and ridge.

It was at this point I met my first section hiker that goes by the trail name of Plainswalker. We had a nice chat while calming our breathing and commiserated over never being able to thru-hike the AT due to health issues/logistics.

Plainswalker and I leapfrogged each other a couple of times before finally coming to the start of Mount Race. I say start because there are 2 spots I would call “false peaks” that have amazing views from a few bald spots on the top of the ridge. Keep going further and the true peak will include a view of an island surrounded by beautifully blue water.

At the peak of Mount Race, Plainswalker and I met 3 hikers heading NOBO (Aloha, Scallywag, and Hollywood if memory serves). We all chatted for a bit and I learned a bit about Sage’s Ravine and a few other AT highlights I hope to enjoy soon!

Also stop and smell the flowers, whatever these pink blooms are, they are wonderful to hike past, so fragrant!

During the decent I was mulling over why I was struggling so hard with the initial ascent. I’m going to blame it on the 6 miles I ran yesterday, my legs were overly tired. I definitely drank enough Gatorade this time, so I didn’t have my normal foot cramps like most other hikes. I also chose this hike to experiment with new hiking boots. Still the Merrell MOAB but I wanted to try the wide version as well as half a size up to see if it would help with my toes on the decent. This was an AWFUL decision on my part. My feet were swimming with room on the way down and hot spots started developing half-way down to the trailhead. I was so glad to get the boots off my feet and into my crocs.

One last note, Tilly had some issues with a few dogs running off-leash on the trail and getting into her personal space; she was not a fan. Thankfully this happened about one mile from the car so we didn’t have to deal with it all day, but Tilly was triggered for the rest of the hike.

Until next time!