Day 59: Slackin’ it with Jon and Smackin’ Down on a Mocha Fribble!

Summary
June 23rd

Crystal Mtn Campsite to Mt Greylock Summit

NOBO mile# 1585.9

Tolmann’s daily mileage 13

Tolmann’s total mileage 562.2

Terrible night sleep: sectioners up late last night with a fire and cutting it up with a SOBOer. I tried using my MP3 player, but turned it off before the hilarity had run its course. There was also a little “boom” at a regular interval of maybe 20 minutes or so ALL NIGHT! Also into the morning. 

So I just kind of dozed most of the night. 

I got up a little after 5am, when it became clear we were having showers/rain. So I got myself contained in the tent, had some granola for breakfast, then got packed up. In this situation, the tent has to be held for last, obviously. The rain actually wasn’t too bad; mostly getting stopped by the canopy of the trees. Still, it was good practice. I was saddled up and on the trail by 6:24. It rained off and on for a little while, which kept the phone/camera covered and put away for most of those 5-ish miles. There were a couple lovely ponds in the first hour’s walk. The elevation profile promised a mostly downhill trek, but there were a couple of climbs mixed in, including the one that led to Cheshire Cobbles, a beautiful overlook of the town of Cheshire, and Mt. Greylock beyond. 

Since I was meeting Jon in Cheshire at the place RT 8 crosses the trail at 9:30, I was aiming to be a little early, so as to have time to stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Shell gas station just up the road from the trail. I had some coffee and a breakfast sandwich, then went back to the trail to wait. I checked my phone and saw I had the ringer off, and that Jon had indeed tried to reach me. I called him back; he had needed confirmation that I was on RT 8. He was only a short distance away, at that point, so I kept my eyes open while I noodled on the uke. I saw him drive by, so I called him again to tell him he’d missed me. 

Then he was there, and we started getting ourselves ready. I was a little concerned that he seemed overpacked; he claimed he had no more then 20 lbs. In my opinion that was 10 lbs heavier than I wanted him carrying. But he was determined to carry it. I had pulled out my little day pack, put two liters of water in it, my rain coat and fleece and some odds and ends.

As we started climbing, it was quickly clear my plan to slack-pack up and over Greylock was overly ambitious for Jon, so I reiterated with him that we could meet up with his mom on the summit, and he agreed with no hesitation. He was also coming to the conclusion that even the summit might be aggressive. So I called Debbie to let her know of the change of plans. 

So we took our time as we climbed, Jon resting when he needed. Still, it was a very pleasant visit, with plenty of time to talk. I hadn’t seen him since I had started my trek, and this was a good opportunity to share the hiking experience with him and to get the time I had missed with him on Father’s Day. 

Around 1:30 we got to the Mark Noepel shelter where we ate the bologna sandwiches Jon had made and carried up. He also had yogurt, and Deb had also made biscotti, so we had some of that for dessert.  

We took maybe a half hour break for lunch, then started again. I should have watched Jon more, but was thinking we needed to move more quickly, because the day was clouding up and darkening and the wind was picking up; there seemed to be a storm moving in. 

So I kept us moving a little faster than we had gone in the morning, and it was taking a toll on Jon. I think he was getting frustrated by our not covering the distance faster, while feeling like he was pushing his limits. 

 We got to a little pond, and we were seeing a lot more people, so it was obvious we were getting closer to the summit.  But the last stretch was a climb, and was really more than what Jon had left. I tried to encourage him, but in hindsight, should have left him to take it at his own pace.  When we reached the summit, he found a place to sit, and was pretty quiet. 

Both of us being at the top, and seeing Debbie, I kind of thought all problems were solved. We took some pictures, then walked to the car and began our ride back to the other car, and to the motel. 

I tried to engage Jon in conversation, but he had gone silent in the backseat. Next thing I knew he was vomiting into some napkins, and it became obvious that the hike had hit him hard. When we reached the other car, he was determined to drive, but Debbie ended up going with him to drive. 

By the time we reached the motel, he seemed much better, and after he had showered and changed clothes, he was up for going out for dinner. 

So I got cleaned up and changed, too, then it was off to find a place to eat. Debbie had noticed a Friendly’s restaurant, and was craving something from their menu, which got Jon on board, so we ended up at Friendly’s. It occurred to me that this was the home of the Fribble thick shake, and I was sold (did I mention my “drinking problem” before?).

After dinner, Jon had said he would be more comfortable driving home than sharing a motel room with his mom and dad (understandable), so, now that it seemed like he was indeed feeling better, I thanked him for his company and apologized for pushing him. He said he had had fun despite getting sick; I hope that is true! Then he left to go home. 

Deb had brought my guitar again (yay!), so I had some time with it. And we had time to talk, to connect, which was really the most important part. I’m not sure when we’ll get another chance to visit, now that I’m moving beyond Massachusetts. But I’m so grateful for her, and my sons!!