Date: 2003-07-13
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: October Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

There was a beautiful moonrise over Upper Goose Pond last night. Up at 6:00, call for pancakes at 6:30 (Paula, the caretaker, and Jim, the assistant caretaker, provided pancakes and coffee for all the thru-hikers as part of the $3/person donation ¢ they did a great job), and was hiking at 7:40. I reached the Mass Turnpike Footbridge at 8:20 and enjoyed this special moment of hiking the Appalachian Trail across the footbridge over the Mass Pike instead of driving under it on the Mass Pike. I have thought about doing this hike each of the many times I have driven the Mass Pike over the last 10 years. I took some pictures and then hiked on to Rt 20. As I arrived, so did Highlander II, my Transcriber, and her fianc©, who had all come to bring some gear, shuttle me to Lee, and hike a bit of the AT with me. Their visit made this a very special day since I had not seen any of them since Highlander II and I started the AT on March 31st. Transcriber offered Trail Magic she had brought (Cokes and brownies) to hikers as they crossed Rt 20, all of whom spent last night at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin with me, including Two Paw, Foot Slogger, Fish, 2x4, Jester, Cuss, Snack Attack¢¦ It was a nice little bit of Trail Magic, including a bathroom scale for a weigh-in. I am pleased to report that I weighed in at 163 lbs. We then went to Lee, did laundry, had breakfast, and resupplied groceries. The four of us returned to the trailhead and hiked together up the Trail about a mile. It was a great experience. We had lunch and said good luck; they hiked back to the trailhead to go back home and I headed North. I arrived at October Mountain Lean-To at 6:15. I am here with Two Paw, Fish, Foot Slogger, 50 (turned 50, got a 6 month leave-of-absence to hike the AT, is from Quebec City), Do It (also from Quebec City), Snail, and 2x4 (he has 2 legs and his dog has 4 legs). A special guest entry by Transcriber: Today, my fianc©, Highlander II (my brother), and I (Trog-Transcriber) drove out from Eastern Massachusetts to meet Trog (my dad) at a specified point on Rt 20 near where the AT crosses the Mass Pike (near Exit 2 in Lee, MA). The meet time was 9:00 am, and we left early to make sure we were on time. Driving down Rt 20 looking for the trailhead, I saw a hiker just coming up the embankment to the road with a big black pack and a hat. I asked the others, "Is that Dad?¢ It was ¢ we had all arrived at exactly the same time! Trog was happy to see us and full of appreciation for the visit and all the goodies provided by my mom and brother. Shortly after we arrived, a number of other thru-hikers (about 8 of them) appeared, and we handed out Cokes and homemade brownies to each; these were quickly devoured. Highlander II had had the sense to pack a bathroom scale, and each of the hikers weighed themselves in turn. One hiker had lost 50 pounds since he started hiking in Georgia! Most of the crew hiked on while Trog cleaned up (using soap and a 5 gallon bucket of water that we brought in the car)and changed into fresh clothes. Then we headed into Lee in the car. Once there, we found the laundromat, conveniently located next door to a diner. Trog started his laundry in the wash and we went and ordered breakfast at the diner. The orders took a while to arrive, so he and I went back to put the wet laundry in the dryer before the meals came. The food was tasty but not what I would call ¢hiker¢s portions¢ so we each donated our leftovers to Trog to help supplement his diet¢¦ After breakfast (around 11:30 am), we drove to the nearby Price Chopper to resupply.   Much of what Trog needed (snacks, candy, Power Bars, sandwiches) had come in the car with us, but he did purchase a brick of extra sharp cheddar cheese, some frosted cinnamon buns, instant mashed potatoes, and two pouches of flavored tuna fish that he mixes in to the potatoes for some flavor and protein. We then had the experience of watching Trog sort through his pack to remove trash and items he didn¢t need, then repacking. The whole process took about an hour out in the Price Chopper parking lot on the grass near the road. Highlander II had brought his complete pack along and gave Trog his remaining powdered milk as well as his gaiters to replace Trog¢s pair that had seen better days. My mom had also made a special trip to purchase a new pair of gaiters in case Craig¢s weren¢t acceptable ¢ the effort was certainly appreciated even though ultimately Trog decided to use the ¢hand-me-downs.¢ We four returned to the Trail and hiked Maineward about 1 mile where we stopped to have a lunch of a baked ham and cheese loaf (a family favorite) that my mom had prepared and sent along as well as chips and soda. I have a foot injury (treadmill-induced) that limits my speed and I think Trog really enjoyed that he wasn¢t the slowest hiker of our party. The weather was perfect and the bugs were sparse. At one point, Trog took a picture of the four of us using the timer on his camera and a neat gadget that attaches to a hiking pole stuck in the ground where you can mount the camera for taking pictures using the timer. The picture came out perfectly on the first attempt and, just as we took it, another hiker appeared. He took a photo of us just for good measure. Once we finished with lunch, Trog prepared to head northward, like any good father told us to ¢be careful on the wet rocks and take care on the descent," and bid us farewell. We watched him hike onward, and then we returned to the car and headed home. It was a most enjoyable day for us all¢¦ The next time I see Trog will be at my wedding in August (Highlander II will pick him up off the Trail for a handful of days) and then he will return to the AT to make the final push to Katahdin. Good luck, Trog and thanks for meeting us today ¢ and authorizing this ¢guest entry¢ in your trailjournal.com log. As you said, ¢It is a very special day.¢ See you soon!