A zero to mend the mind

We enjoyed a peaceful night inside the cabin at Upper Goose Pond.  The blueberries we carried from the Cookie Lady made for delicious blueberry pancakes in the morning.  Upper Goose Cabin has a rotation of volunteer caretakers that look after the cabin and provide coffee and pancakes in the morning.  We enjoyed the coffee and conversation with two other SOBOs. It was very interesting having an equal amount of SOBOs and NOBOs in one place. We are usually heavily outnumbered.

This place is so nice we have decided to stay twice.  It has been a while since we took a real zero and pushing big miles the last few days along with doing errands in Dalton (laundry and shower) has taken a toll, also it was likely going to rain again in evening.  The decision to stay was solidified; we decided to zero at Upper Goose Cabin.

The weather was nice in the morning so we were able to take a canoe provided by the cabin out to the pond. We enjoyed leisurely paddling around after breakfast.  It’s been nice to take a break from hiking. While we were feeling physically strong, we were feeling a bit mentally fatigued. It was interesting how quickly it snuck up on us. One minute we are pushing full steam ahead, the next we are feeling tired and can’t remember the last time we didn’t have to roll up our sleeping bags and get a move on. This zero will help us reset and appreciate the miles to come.

Ducking out the afternoon thunderstorm has been beneficial. Eric enjoyed a nice nap in the bunk room and we spent time down on the dock when the rain stopped.  This zero also allowed to us lighten our food bags.  Luckily we had enough food to take this zero and we can get more snacks tomorrow when we pass a hiker stand that is run by a trail angel. We were also able to dry out our tent the dock.

Our plan is to hike through to Salisbury, Connecticut in two and a half days to do a small resupply until we get to Kent Connecticut where there is a grocery store to do a full resupply. We have also spent time planning out our next 7-10 days of hiking. It’s very interesting to see these state borders are starting to melt away. Within the next 10 days we will have left Massachusetts and passed through Connecticut, New York and just dipped into New Jersey. It’s keeping everything very interesting for sure.  It was mentioned to us that we are heavy planners on the trail, which is very true. We prefer to plan out our next moves with several contingencies. We find it admirable that some hikers wake up each day not knowing how far they will hike or where they will camp. They just put one foot in front of the other until they don’t want to anymore. It’s a very free way to be but unfortunately it’s just not our style; maybe it’s oldest child syndrome, a personality trait or possibly a Massachusetts thing but we love schedules and plans.

Skip arrived at Upper Goose Cabin in the afternoon and we chatted with him while we played more cribbage. Hayley read a book by the pond while Eric listened to a Fantasy Football podcast (it’s about that time!) While at the pond we saw a great blue heron, a pine martin and a rainbow! We had another nice quiet night in the cabin, once the lights turned out we fell into a deep sleep, happy with our decision to zero.