Date: 2004-08-02
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Upper Gooes Pond Cabin
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Start Shaker CampsiteDestination Upper Goose Pond CabinIt was midnight when the bottom fell out. The lightning flashed across the black night sky, lighting up the forest with an eerie light. Several times it seemed to show a reddish outline as it swept across the sky. Then the thunder would follow, with its rumbling reverberating across the mountains, and the echoes answering it back. This went on for a couple of hours, each time between the lightning and thunder growing shorter until the storm was directly overhead. I lay in my tent repeating to myself, "You do not have to go to the bathroom; you do not have to go to the bathroom.¢ I got that to work until finally the rain lessened and I crawled out of my tent. I had staked down the tent sides just in case of rain, but the way the terrain lay, at one point I had an inch of water between my tent bottom and my ground cloth, along with a heap of mud. But I was dry and inside my tent was dry. What more could I hope for? I finally got to sleep lulled by the sound of rain as it fell from the trees. The morning shown clear and bright. I had survived yet another storm on the trail. The ground had soaked up most of the rain and was only a little muddy in places. Where there were low, marshy spots though, the rain had left an enormous amount of water. The streams were flowing briskly, and in some places you could see where quiet little streams were now bursting with rapidly moving water, coursing down the mountain. At a road crossing I stopped and spread my tent and ground cover out to dry. It didn't take very long for the hot sun to dry them. Then I could shake the dried mud off and lighten my load even more.   Today there were five or six south bounders that we met on the trail. They are getting close to their halfway point now. There are fewer hikers who hike from Maine to Georgia, basically because of having to wait so late in the year to start, most hikers will start in Georgia and hike north. The questions always seem to run along the same vein. What is your name? How far are you going? When did you start? Late in the day, we were passed by a familiar face. It was none other than Sunset, who I had met several years ago at a ruck, then again at the Gathering. We chatted for awhile and he went on ahead of us. Upper Goose Pond came into view. There is a big difference between what we call a pond in Florida and what Mass. calls a pond. This was no pond. It was or rather is a lake. You don't paddle canoes in ponds, or have pond front property. The water was crystal clear and from a distance seemed to beckon me to take a swim. The trail followed the waterfront along the upper terrain for a few miles before taking a sudden turn and depositing us right at the lakefront. It was late afternoon when we got to the cabin. Before I could cool down and change my mind about swimming, I took of my boots and put my camp shoes on and headed down to the water. It took me a few minutes to brave it, but before long I was completely submerged in the cool refreshing pond. It felt wonderful to wash off three days of sweat, bug spray and grime. The bottom was covered with more rocks and it was hard to find a place to get a secure footing. I kept walking around getting deeper and deeper until I finally found a perfect place to sit and be submerged in the water up to my neck. It didn't take long for the water to suck the heat out of my body and for me to start getting cold, so I headed back to the cabin to get into dry clothes. I was glad for my little 12 inch pack towel. I was dry in short order, and had clean clothes on. I hung my wet hiking clothes on the clothesline to dry, and set about fixing supper. Upper Goose Cabin is a hiker hostel where for 3.00 you get a bunk inside and a pancake breakfast in the morning. The water supply is from the pond and there are composting privies in the back of the cabin. There is a gas stove you can use to cook on, and tables in the back yard to eat on. A nice covered porch across the front offers chairs and a place to relax. When we got to the cabin, the caretaker told us that Sunset had already paid for our bunks. He would not take any money from us. We picked out our bunks in the upstairs, with both of us getting a bottom bunk. I joined several other hikers in the back and fixed my supper. There is a group of kids here on a campout. They are grilling hamburgers over an open fire. I contemplate offing one of them $5.00 for his hamburger, but I restrain myself, although the smell of hamburgers frying is almost more than I can stand. The cold dip in the pond helped me to relax and it is just beginning to get dark here. With no artificial light to stimulate the senses, the body begins to slow down and the bunk, complete with a mattress, again thanks to Sunset, calls me to rest. Total miles 9.9