Day 37 - Upper Goose Pond Cabin

​Day 37 - Upper Goose Pond Cabin

Starting location: N. Wilcox Shelter

Ending location: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

Mileage today: 14.8 miles 

Total Mileage: 406.2 miles 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today we got up at 5 am and on the trail 6 am to get to this Upper Goose Pond Cabin early. On the way we came across this AT Stand where we got the boys some mint chip ice cream sandwiches and some skittles and Cheetos! They loved it and the prices were excellent. 

Then we got to Amee and refilled our supplies and pressed on! The boys were really motivated so we hiked really fast. 

This is the dock at the cabin. I actually jumped in and took my first shower in 9 days! It felt great. Cold but refreshing. Austin would have been proud! 

Amee hiked up to us since the parking lot she is staying is only 1.5 miles away. We took the canoes out and enjoyed the pond. Even Froning liked it! lol. 

This is the cabin from the outside. It is so beautiful. It has like 16 bunks inside. The care taker her gave the boys some strawberry shortcake. The shortcake was a Twinkie! lol. It was pretty good. 

Now we are just sitting on the porch chatting about the trail and rocking away. So fun. Great place to stay. Also in the morning we get pancake breakfast! The boys are so excited. 

Good night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 36 - N. Wilcox Shelter

​Day 36 - N. Wilcox Shelter

Starting location: Tom Leonard Shelter

Ending location: North Wilcox Shelter

Mileage today: 7.4 miles

Total Mileage: 392.7 miles 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today we slept in since it was Sunday and a short hiking day. In the phot above is Legolas asleep in the top bunk. He was so excited to sleep in it last night. Lol. We got on the trail at 7 am and got to Amee around 8 am. We then decided to watch the Sunday morning service at Faith via YouTube. It was a great sermon. 

The we packed up and got more food from “The Supplier”  and set off to finish the last 5.3 miles left. 

We stopped at the South Wilcox shelter for lunch and enjoyed that older shelter. It was a lot less humid today but still warm. The trail was basically a 5 mile uphill climb but at a doable slope. 

We have been passing many ponds here so far in MA. They are very serene. 

We got to our shelter by 1:30 pm. Probably the earliest ever. We got a field going, do camp chores and then the boys did their journaling. It is Bombadil’s least favorite thing to do. Lol. Later on Crumbles came by to stay the night. He is a thruhiker. Also a section hiker headed to Katadin also showed up and she is finishing her MYTH (multi year thru hike). I let the boys eat ch some Ryan Treyham (sp?) since it’s the weekend and they played some more solitaire and in bed by 8:30. Going to wake up super early to get to Upper Goose Pond shelter tomorrow. 

Night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 35 - Tom Leonard Shelter

​Day 35 - Tom Leonard Shelter

Starting location: Hemlocks Shelter

Ending location: Tom Leonard Shelter

Mileage today: 14.5 miles

Total Mileage: 385.3 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today we woke up around 5:30 am and got on the trail by 6:30 am. Doing a 14.5 with rain in the afternoon forecasted put a fire in our steps to finish the day early. 

We hiked about 3 miles then had breakfast at this overlook. El Cheapo was just behind us so he got a group photo of us! 

I love hiking in pine forests. So mystical and the trail is so soft with the pine needles. Although this forest was full of mosquitoes, so we basically ran through this section. 

PB&Js for lunch, Chex mix and an apple. Sausage and cheese and PB for me. Delicious. It was a hot and humid day today. 

One last afternoon break for the day before getting to the shelter. Another great view anda cool breeze. 

We are chilling at the shelter waiting for the thunderstorm to roll through. It looks like it might hit just south of us. PTL. I just hope the humidity is down tomorrow. Amee and Froning hiked up since they were only 2 miles from the shelter. When I get the group photo I will add it later. 

Easy day tomorrow so will be in no rush in the morning. 

Night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 34 - Hemlocks Shelter

​Day 34 - Hemlock Shelter 

Starting location: Brassie Brook Shelter

Ending location: Hemlocks Shelter

Mileage today: 8.5 miles

Total Mileage: 370.8 miles 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

So today we got out of the shelter around 8 am. We knew we only had a short 8.5 miles today but it was a preview of what we will do in the Whites in NH. We climbed 3 mountains today. Bear Mt., Mt. Race & Everett Mt. We had a total of 4,500 ft of elevation change today and it got up to the high 80’s and pushing 90. 

The first mountain was Bear Mountain. We actually saw another bear on it. Second day in a row with a bear sighting! We crossed in to MA just shortly after descending the mountain. Four states down, four more to go. 

At the bottom of Bear Mt. we came across this beautiful stream that we took a break at and soaked our feet and heads! It was soooo cold but so refreshing. 

When we got up Mt. Race that is where we stopped for lunch and ate our food. The view was the best we had so far! Simply amazing. 

After lunch we headed down the mountain to wrap our third and final mountain of the day. Everett Mt. the tallest of the three. 2,602 ft. It was a tough climb. 0.7 mile hike up 700 ft in the heat of the day. The boys pushed through and we made it to the shelter by 2:30 pm. It took about 6.5 hours to go 8.5 miles. Granted we stopped many times and played and rested. 

Here we are at the Hemlock shelter. It is packed here. One thru hiker, 1 section hiker and 2 day hikers plus us three. There is another shelter just 0.1 miles that is more for tenters and there is about another 7-8 people there. 

We read the shelter journals at each shelter and in March there was someone who came through that was quite the artist. I love it when people draw in them. I took a couple photos of them. 

Well going to go 14.5 miles tomorrow. Watching some hiker TV before bed and then hitting the sack. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 33 - Brassie Brook Shelter

​Day 33 - Brassie Shelter

Starting location: Limestone Spring Shelter

Ending location: Brassie Brook Shelter

Mileage today: 9 miles 

Total Mileage: 362.3 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today we actually slept in to about 7 am. It was so nice. Last ones to leave the shelter around 8:30 am. We had a nice 4.5 mile hike to the meetup location with Amee. We got there about 11 am. Spent 3 hours just eating, lounging, playing ball with the dog and enjoying the Rubic’s race game. It was nicely shaded and best of all: we saw 4 bears (probably just two twice) while we hung out! We have been so jealous of Amee who had seen like 7 bears already to our zero! 

Oh I forgot to mention about the first photo. While hiking we came across the “Giant’s thumb”. We saw this spot in one of Mustard Seeds video so we were on the lookout, and sure enough we found it. A huge rock standing in the middle of nowhere that does look like a giant thumb! Pretty cool. 

After we left Amee we had one more big climb up a mountain. This was the view from the top. So beautiful. Definitely don’t have this in Indiana. Today is the last day in CT. We are right on the boarder and will enter MA tomorrow and be there for about a week. 

Eating dinner at the shelter. I have to say that in CT there has been many positives. Great shelters. Great privies. Excellent water. The bad about CT is the no ground fires rule. Oh well. Hiker TV will be back on tomorrow! 

Oh. One section hiker here tonight and 2 hikers doing a few days on the trail are staying here. 

Good night everyone! 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil