Massachusetts has been hit with a storm that has brought 8-12 inches of snow, single digit temperatures and piercing winds. I am making my way through the storm with a lingering sickness, lightweight and under matched 3 season backpacking gear, and I am still making forward progress! It is not comfortable, but it is possible. I woke up at 545 and was ready to get on the trail and make the 12 miles into Dalton,MA. My plans got delayed as soon as I poked my head out and instantly felt a wall of arctic weather engulf my face. I would need to wait until the sun came up to even give my gear a chance to insulate me from the weather in these temperatures. At this point I was almost relieved to be able to have the type of morning that I could relax, have some coffee, read the newspaper and hang around the fire in my pajamas. Ok maybe it wasn’t that kind of morning but I was able to make a semi delicious cup of instant coffee. Then the trek into Dalton began. The first four miles were spent walking at a frantic pace trying to get some feeling back in my toes and fingers. Luckily this took place quickly and soon the sun was hovering overhead giving the illusion of much warmer weather than it was. The trail meandered, crossed small roads, climbed small mountains and finally descended into town. Luckily when I got sick speedstick went ahead and had a room in town and I was able to get a nice warm shower. We made the mutual decision to forgo heading out into the cold weather in the afternoon as the temperatures would be just as cold. One more night to rest off this sickness and stay out of the frigid Massachusetts weather!
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