Magic in the Mountains

July 21, 2021 (22 miles)

Upper Goose Pond – Trail Parking Lot

Today was a day full of ups and downs. It started great at the cabin; the caretakers made us coffee and pancakes and we got to sit and enjoy the morning on the porch overlooking the lake. It’s Stick’s 1 year sobrity birthday so everyone hiked out with balloons on their packs. I hiked alone most of the morning until I caught up with the boys taking a break by a stream. We hung out for a while before hiking on in hopes of getting to the Cookie Lady’s house.

I hiked with Truffles and Hangman and we took a brief shortcut to the Cookie Lady’s on the road. The Cookie Lady was totally worth the hype! The house is on a blueberry farm and she and her family just bake fresh cookies and have lemonaid for hikers. It was lovely! Truffles and I picked 1.5 lbs of blueberries together and it was so fun. I have the absolute best time with him, everything is fun – even the dumb stuff.

Our whole crew hung out on the porch for a while before deciding to roadwalk into Dalton. Per usual, Truffles and I walked and walked the whole 9 miles. We all went to Taco Bell before supplying at Walmart.

We walked to Econolodge in hopes of getting a room, but only Sticks, Slobber, Pimento, and Gooey were able to get a room. Truffles, Hangman, and I were out of luck (at 8:30pm at night) with no where to stay…

We spent an hour trying to figure out our options before deciding to roadwalk 2 miles back to the trail and sleep in a parking lot. I hate night hiking, but thankfully there was a sidewalk and street lights the whole way. We made it to camp around 11pm and we were all pissed. Truffles made a shitty night good just by being himself. The night sucked but will be a good story.