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Banjo14
08-13-2014, 20:29
Hi!

I'm getting ready to leave for my first section hike (with good friends and our dog)--we're very excited! We've spent the past few months researching, planning, and doing a dry-run--and I'm wondering if I could grab folks' expert advice on our below proposed itinerary. Our per-day mileage is pretty low, as it's our first time out of the gate, and we have a four-legged friend with us.

In addition, we're having trouble locating safe overnight (for 5 nights) parking near the trailhead in Dalton--any advice would be greatly appreciated! (I know there's an AMC lot in Dalton, but I've heard it may be unsafe to leave a car there for multiple nights.)

Many thanks, all!

Day 1
a. Drive to Bennington, VT; leave car #1.
b. Drive car #2 from Bennington to Dalton, MA; leave car #2.
c. Hike 4 miles to Crystal Mt. Campground.

Day 2
Hike 10 miles to Mark Noepel Shelter in Cheshire, MA.

Day 3
Hike 3 miles up to the Mount Greylock summit; hike 3 miles down to the Wilbur Clearing Shelter.

Day 4
Hike 10 miles to Seth Warner Shelter.

Day 5
Hike 8 miles to Congdon Shelter.

Day 6
Hike 4 miles to Bennington, VT.

Cosmo
08-13-2014, 21:09
Your itinerary is definitely doable--assuming you are not hopelessly out of shape or ridiculously over loaded (you might want to bring some reading material for when you arrive at your destinations early in the day).

Multi-day parking in Dalton at the trailhead is not recommended. You might try calling the Dalton CRA, or Tom Levardi might have some suggestions.

Another option would be to park at the Catholic Church in Cheshire (St Mary's, they offer hiker sleeping accommodations in the parish hall). Then hike SOUTH to Crystal Mtn, then backtrack north when you head to Nopel the next day.

Cosmo

jfarrell04
08-13-2014, 21:18
We're hiking Gulf Road/Dalton, MA to Stratton-Arlington Road in VT this fall. Last fall, we left a vehicle at the Gulf Road parking area for 7 days ...no problems. Your mileage may vary.

Cosmo
08-15-2014, 16:32
That's good to know. I've always cleaned up so much broken glass/trash at that parking area that I'd never consider it for multi-day parking.

Cosmo


We're hiking Gulf Road/Dalton, MA to Stratton-Arlington Road in VT this fall. Last fall, we left a vehicle at the Gulf Road parking area for 7 days ...no problems. Your mileage may vary.

Banjo14
08-16-2014, 22:12
Hi, Everyone,

Thanks so much for your helpful replies! Many thanks, Cosmo, for the suggestion to try St. Mary's--we've spoken with them, and they are kindly letting us park in their lot for the duration of our hike--thank you so much for the great tip!

Sadly, our second car is no longer able to join us--does anyone know of a good (dog-friendly) option to make it back to Cheshire from Bennington? We've tried some of the shuttles, but no luck thus far. We're happy to cab it, but thought we'd post here, too.

Thanks again!