(Daily Mi: 9.6) Up all night fending off porcupines and crotch rot.

The porkies kept coming right into the shelter. I had hung everything -- and I mean everything: food, pack, poles, shoes, clothes. But they just gnawed on the shelter instead. And loudly. I chased them out five or six times in the night, but they just waited ten minutes and came right back in.

Out by 5:30 am and climbed the last 500' to Greylock's summit with the Woodman. Big lodge and high point monument up top.

As we head down from the summit, I become aware that I picked up a serious bug, some kind of upper respiratory infection, and I suspect the Viking from Upper Goose. Definite fever and weakness.

Steep, steep descent into North Adams. Trail follows a road for the last half mile into town and the Woodman has a hard time on the pavement.

I am taking at least half a day here. Need to resupply and will have to go pretty far off trail to score some water treatement as my existing supply has leaked out of damaged containers.

Woodman is continuing on. He is meeting his wife 30 miles a day and a half on for a quick visit and has to make time.

We will probably meet up again, but is strange to say goodbye after walking hand and glove through 2 1/2 states.

Piper stayed up on Graylock. Choo Choo and I take a room at motel just off the Trail and catch a bus into Williamstown to do laundry and find an outfitter.

The outfitter is nice but only has iodine tablets for chemical treatment (which I cannot tolerate) forcing me to buy a very un-ultralight water filter to carry until the next major town (Manchester Center VT).