Date: 2019-06-03
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

There was a thunderstorm with rain overnight, and thankfully everything dried up by the morning. I was very lazy today and slept in... by the time I left my tent, the rest of the camp was packed up and gone already. So I enjoyed having the place to myself a bit! Signed the logbook and found a laminated sheet of history about the Shaker community in the area. Interesting folks. The caretaker at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin (my destination for the day) said there are still a few Shakers around apparently, but they are now quite old.Not far of a hike from camp was Jerusalem Road, where there was a sign directing hikers to a Trail Stand. Farmers in these small communities have a great honor system where they place their eggs out for their neighbors along the roadside - this was a souped up version of that. A shack with power running to it, with a mini fridge with all sorts of goodies: Pepsi¢s (with real sugar!), Mountain Dew, Gatorade, candies, pop tarts, chips, chips ahoy. All sorts of great hiker junk food! I grabbed two sodas and some Fritos, and left the suggested amount of money for each in a little red pouch that was provided for folks, all on the honor system.I have been seeing more and more hikers lately, and true to that trend two more hikers came by the stand as I was sitting there. One with a green beard and a kilt. We never exchanged names, but he did tell me that he woke up at 4:30am that morning and had already done 12 miles, and it wasn¢t even noon yet. I hate those sorts of conversations, they only seem to be for ego stroking. I told him I woke up late and had only done about 2 miles so far. I suppose there was nothing impressive in that, so he never asked me my name. Getting tired of these sorts of stupid interactions that drain energy and only serve to prop up egos. I suppose I need to figure out a better way at handling it... better attitude on my part.Soon after that, the AT crossed over a barbed wire fence, straight into a pasture with a bunch of brown cows. I was taking photos and videos of them when they meandered closer to the path I was supposed to cross up ahead. Doh! Tried to walk past them as docile and gently as possibly, saying a gentle ¢hi cows¢ and even waving to them as I walked past slowly. Success!The entire day had perfect weather. The sun was out, but there was a nice chill in the air still which was perfect for hiking. The bugs also weren¢t so bad all day, though I did swat a few away.The trail the last few days has been pretty tame, but I have been doing pretty low miles. I looked at the remaining miles till my 25% mark and realized it¢s much closer than I thought... meaning I don¢t need to kill myself getting miles in each day. And the shelters and campsites are spaced about 10 miles apart, which is just about the amount of miles I need to get in for each day I have left before my flight back to LA. Perfect. An even more relaxed pace than what I¢ve been doing.Arrived at Upper Goose Pond Cabin in the evening, a great big red cabin with a nervous dog barking at all the hikers. Apparently she was a rescue dog and is still getting used to the environment - the constant influx of unfamiliar faces each day must be pretty confusing for her.I picked out a bunk - a big dark room with pads underneath each bunk. Great! Somehow it was only 6pm and people were already sleeping, so I tried my best not to wake them.Cooked up a Mountain House chicken teriyaki and then called it a night.