Day 27 on the Trail

When Dave called this evening, I was quite surprised to hear he had quit hiking about 1 pm, as he had planned to go 19 miles today.  However, he had a very good reason to stop at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin near Lee, MA.

As of 7/10/11:
Miles today - 10
Miles to date - 331.4

All the hikers swap stories about trail conditions, shelters, trail magic, and wildlife. Dave likes to meet sobo's (south bounders) who have just passed the conditions he'll soon encounter.  Fortunately, he heard about the Upper Goose Pond Cabin and decided to cut his planned mileage short to enjoy the afternoon.  Isn't that what a long hike should be about - not just getting your miles in??!!

This wonderful cabin has a kitchen, living/dining room, 

an upstairs bunk room and rocking chairs on the front porch.

And a canoe if you want to go out on the pond.

And maybe the best part, there are two caretakers who make pancakes 

in the morning.  No wonder Dave succumbed to the temptation to stop early.

Dave said the second half the day was very restful.  I asked about the first half. He said, Well, it was a "shit, damn, hell" day.  For those of you who knew Dave's mother, you will recognize the Esther phrasing.  He said not only was the trail full of roots, rocks and mosquitoes, it was difficult to find and follow.  It was not well maintained, not well marked and evidently not well traveled.  It's unusual that Dave had to look hard for the next white blaze as soon as he reached one.  In more heavily traveled areas, Dave has walked for a quarter mile before he needed to find a marker.

I asked if Vegan was with them.  No, he was not feeling well, decided to head for town, and fortunately one of the caretakers noticed him and picked him up.

Dave saw wild turkeys today.  I told him we had two little fawns prance across our back yard but they were gone before I could get my camera.  This was in the hot sun about 5 pm; they must have been hungry.