Taking a break midway in our drive from our home in York, Maine to my brother’s place in New York, we set out to hike the Appalachian Trail near Upper Goose Pond off the Mass Pike, not far from Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A mere 4 miles from the Mass Pike the parking area off Route 20 has ample parking for day hikers. Previously we hiked north from this point to Becket Mountain (see over60hiking blog for Thursday, March 10, 2011), but today we head south to Upper Goose Pond.
Puncheons (wooden planks through boggy and soggy stretches of the trail) greet us on this waterlogged early spring day. Dressed in a long sleeve tee shirt, a heavy "Maine" sweatshirt (I’m always looking for words on my shirts to spark a conversation with fellow hikers), pants, and hiking boots, I follow Hannah as we cross the hikers bridge over the Mass Pike. Once across we climb steadily as bright white blazes guide us through a forest of deciduous trees still bare from winter’s grip.
Soon we descend to Upper Goose Pond on a meandering trail that is level and conducive to talking. Mucky by the pond, the muddy path is well marked and not taxing. We roll and stroll through woods knowing that three hours is a good length of time for hiking; over 60, we hate the feeling of going too far and too long and struggling with each step back to the car. Today, we are indeed disciplined and turn around at the 90-minute mark with 3.2 miles back to Route 20.
On the way back we take a blue blaze side trail for five tenths of a mile to the Upper Goose Pond cabin where a previous thru-hiker, Patch, (March 10, 2011 blog) told us that there, thru-hikers are served free pancakes. Our guidebook mentions that the cabin with bunks for thirty hikers is open from mid-June to mid-September and some weekends before and after. Lunching on our Subway chicken salad subs, we quickly chill down on this forty-degree spring day sitting at the cabin picnic table. Leaving the campsite, we run into our first hiker who, coincidentally, has spent nights in this very cabin. Asking him how he sleeps with 30 others, he says, one be exhausted from your hike and two, have earplugs. As for me, I think I’ll pass. (Now let’s just take a little side trip of the mind with Dan for a moment. Sleeping with others in a shelter ranks right up there with sleeping overnight on hard ground as reasons one and two why you won’t catch me doing any hiking that requires me to spend a night in the woods.)
We dally as we listen to him as he tells his story. Unfortunately, we never find an entry point to the conversation, either by will or by invitation. After listening for too long, I am reminded how everyone has a story to tell. He certainly does. As my friend Vin says, everyone is an embryonic storyteller. Sometimes telling our stories gets in the way of others sharing theirs. Without true dialogue, there is no connection or synergy or future, and damn little of anything really. It’s just a one-sided carnival sideshow. We leave him relieved and unsatisfied. We escape back over the mountain, lesser for the experience.
Upper Goose Pond Hike – Enjoyable with moderate terrain elevation. As always when hiking, know thyself, thy limits, and the conditions. Be prepared.
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