Day #1, Beckett and Bugs--miles hiked:7.2

After a luxurious hotel with a pool, 4 more hours on the road, a final grocery run, and pizza lunch in Lee, MA, Will kindly dropped us off at the trail and we began following the white blazes.

The trail immediately started up the side of Beckett Mountain--literally. I suppose the people who blazed the trail here haven't heard of switch backs.

After signing the register, we hiked past a lovely lake and lots of marshy bog areas. 

Did I mention the BUGS? So far, they're unlike anything I've seen before. I think we inhaled 10 all together by dinner time. It puts the plagues in Exodus into perspective!

We decided to stop for the night at October Mountain Shelter where we entered "the bug free zones" (mesh canopies) and felt a cold front role in.