DALTON & CHESHIRE

AT Day 092: Saturday July 8, 2023

Mile 1565.5 + 20.5 miles/33 km

Total Distance Hiked: 1586 miles/ 2552 km

October Mountain Shelter – Father Tom Campsite, Cheshire

A: 2782 ft /848 m  D: 3725 ft /1136 m

Birds were happy to see the sunrise, at least I thought so. They sang so beautifully as we broke camp. It  looked like a blue sky day ahead. We just hoped for no rain and less mud.

The days hiking started with more mud and puddles. I was startled to see another bear soon after we left camp. Hammer was behind me and the bear ran off way too fast for Hammer to see it. 

After crossing Caddy Brooke we had a short climb and reasonably nice soft trail until the mud started again.  We made the summit of Werner Hill which offered views of some small hills and a valley to the northeast. After Werner Hill the trail conditions improved and hiking became a bit easier and less of a game of hopscotch to avoid sinking in mud. 

It was another hot and humid day although not as hot as the last two days. We were both feeling a bit of residual fatigue from a hard couple of days since leaving Great Barrington. Heat and humidity are Hammers kryptonite. 

The  climb up Day Hill before Dalton and then the long winding descent felt like they went on forever. We were soaked in sweat right from the start of the day and on each climb buckets of sweat were dripping from our bodies. 

Despite the heat and humidity, the woods were quite pretty. It wasn’t raining,  the sun was shining and the iridescent green of the tree canopy was sparkling in the sunlight.  We were hungry and were dreaming of what food to have when we pass through town. 

It was after 12 when we hiked into Dalton, through which the trail passes. It was a lot warmer once we left the protection of the trees.  Like wilderbeast  emerging from the woods we were hunting for food. Angelinas was the first place we saw and it was perfect. A 12 inch philly chicken sub and a litre of Coke for Hammer and a coffee from Java Cafe next door for me and we were good to head back into the wild. 

We left town walking a mile through residential streets  in the heat of the day. It was nice to step into the shade of woods which felt so much  cooler by comparison. Despite the long climb to leave town,  the section of trail from Dalton to Cheshire was really quite beautiful. It was so pleasant to hike. So refreshing not to have to battle through mud. Just lovely soft trail with a little bit of sand and lots of dry leaf litter.

We made it to Cheshire around 6pm. It’s  another small town through which the trail passes. We set up the tent in a campground near the cycle path which runs along a converted rail trail. Hammer took one of the loaner bikes and cycled to the store to get some resupply and I put up the tent. One other hiker came in behind us, Yeti from Louisiana. He is a flip-flopper having started in Harpers Ferry.  Nice to have some company.