North Adams, MA to Hanover, NH

Day 3, Saturday, June 25

Melville Nauheim Shelter to Story Spring Shelter, 17.4 miles

The early light doesn’t wake me until 6 AM this morning. It is a bright morning, and going to be warm this afternoon. “Number 11” has already left at 5:30 AM. “Boom Boom” leaves at 6:30 AM just as I’m getting up. I’m the straggler leaving the shelter this morning. I just can’t eat anything first thing when I get up, so start I hiking at 7 AM.

I catch and pass “Boom Boom” at 8:30 AM, and “Number 11” at 9:30 AM. Hiking strongly this morning, I reach the Goddard Shelter at 11 AM. There is a wonderful spring beside the shelter flowing right out of the hillside. I fill up my water bag as “Number 11” hikes up. He stops for a minute and then hikes on to the fire tower on top of the mountain while I’m still resting and filtering some water for the afternoon hike. This would be a great shelter to spend the night, but it is only Noon, too early to stop for the day.

It is a short hike to the top of the mountain from the shelter. There is a fire tower sticking up through the tree canopy on top. I climb up the tower and through the canopy of fir trees, and enjoy the view. You can see forever. I finally climb down and head on, sad to be out of the nice breeze blowing through the tower. I catch and pass “Number 11” a short time later.

I reach Kid Gore Shelter at 1:49 PM, and spend a few minutes there before hiking a little further to the Caughnawaga Shelter. It is still too early to stop for the day, so I decide to hike on to the Story Spring Shelter. It’s only another 4.8 miles, but it’s almost hot this afternoon. The bugs are going to be ferocious this afternoon, so if I stop now, I’ll just be fighting them all afternoon. I keep hiking.

The first climb out of the hollow below the Caughnawaga Shelter is a killer. I’m dead tired and dragging by the time I reach the beaver ponds close to the next shelter. I stop for some pictures of a classic beaver dam, pond and lodge. I hope they turn out.

At 5 PM I hike up the hill to the Story Spring Shelter. There is a trail maintenance crew spending the night there, tented past the shelter. They’re out for the weekend cutting blowdowns, overgrown weeds, and doing a little shelter maintenance. They are an absolute riot. Dick, Frankie, Marge, and Nannette. I couldn’t describe the banter between this group well enough to do it justice. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in years. They have packed in a feast for dinner, some kind of Italian main course with white wine to boot.

But first they have cocktails, with gin-soaked olives and popcorn for appetizers. When Dick breaks out the Jiffy Pop, I’m wondering if I am going to attack him. Frank gets into the Jack Daniels rather heavily, and keeps us in stitches all evening before we crash at 10 PM.