Day 141
Start: Beartown State Forest, Benedict Pond
End: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles Hiked: 17.4
Miles on AT: 1555.7
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This morning, I took it slow and easy. The sun came up across the lake, warming the picnic tables, so I took my things over there and set up for a sunny breakfast. The park was quiet. I wanted to do a little bit of trail laundry while I had access to running water and let my few items dry in the sun while I ate and warmed up.
Soon, it was time to head out. I walked the flat half-mile blue blaze back to the trail and started climbing. The trail wasn’t particularly easy or difficult in this stretch. I kept my mind occupied by listening to “Educated” by Tara Westover. A friend had recommended it a while ago, so I figured now was the perfect time to listen to it. And, boy, was it good! It was really well-received when it came out a few years back, and for good reason.
Eventually, I reached a road crossing and a snack stand just for hikers. It was stocked with ice cream sandwiches, sodas, cookies, and more by a local family. Yum! I bought a few things and sat at the picnic table for lunch. I really didn’t need extra food, but who could turn down a cold Coke and ice cream?
Just as I was finishing my lunch, a SOBO named Player dropped by. He shared info about what was coming up for me and I shared info about what was coming up for him. That’s the great thing about running into SOBOs: they provide real-time trail updates.
I made my way back on trail and across a field to get to my next climb. Once again, the wildflowers were making magic in the field, bestowing their beauty upon the land. After the climb, the trail mellowed out quite a bit. I was starting to get a little tired, so my focus was solely on making it to Upper Goose Pond Cabin.
Upper Goose Pond Cabin is special on the AT because it’s a 2 story cabin that comes with a caretaker who makes pancakes and coffee in the morning. Plus, there’s a pond in which hikers can canoe. A lot of people recommended staying here for at least half a day, but my time constraints would only let me stay the night.
When I got there it was sooooo busy! There were NOBOs, SOBOs, section hikers, and even a group of Yale students out for their freshman outdoors program. Among the hikers, I noticed a familiar face. Feral! If any of you watch hikers on YouTube, Feral is a triple-crowner who vlogs his hikes. I had run into him on my CDT thru hike (he was going NOBo and I SOBO) and here he was again on my second thru hike. Turns out, he was just there for a couple of days to spend time with his friend, who also happened to be the caretaker for the cabin this week. Small world!
For the rest of the night, Feral and I chatted about trails, I met more SOBOs, and listened to everyone shoot the shit around the table. It was wonderful. Tonight, I have a bed in the bunkhouse, so hopefully I’ll get a good night’s sleep.
And that’s day 141.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.