Day 54: Father’s Day Redux – Wanting my Breakfast and Upper Goose Pond, too!

Summary 
June 18th 

Beartown State Park to Shaker Campsite

NOBO mile# 1538.2

Tolmann’s daily mileage 7.3

Tolmann’s total mileage 514.5

This morning was very damp. It had rained a little overnight, but the morning dawned with fog and mist. My tent is designed for dryer climes; with humidity comes condensation on the inside. So, nothing was sopping, but nothing was really dry, either. So packing up was less than fun; I knew I’d need to get things aired out soon. 

But the kids were great about getting up and packing, and soon we were off to find a breakfast place. Oddly enough, it seemed like a lot of places were closed! On Father’s Day, no less!!

But with some knees-bent, running around behavior, we found a slightly upscale restaurant in Great Barrington, GB Eats. The food was good, and I enjoyed these last hours with the kids before getting back on the trail. Jeff brought me back to the State Park so I could pick up where I left off. Thank you, Jeff, Bryan and Janelle, for making Father’s Day more than just another day to hike!!

Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about getting to Upper Goose Pond Shelter since before I started the hike, and my plan was to get there today. The Guthooks App does some strange things when calculating distances if you aren’t currently close to or on the trail. So, while I was in the State Park, it was telling me I had 8+ miles to go to get to Upper Goose Pond; I didn’t quite believe it, but I was distracted enough not to double check. Then, when I checked this morning, it was clear that I had 18 miles to Upper Goose Pond. And, with the late start I was getting after getting breakfast, there really wasn’t any time to do 18 miles, even if I had a mind to do it (and, believe me, I had such a mind).

So all while I hiked today, I ruminated on this, even deluding myself that if I hiked faster, I might just do it. Meanwhile, the practical choice, and my actual working plan, was to get to Shaker Campsite, a mere 7.3 miles. 

Another humid day, starting with a promise of more rain, I was soaked with sweat before reaching the top of the first hill. But the skies began to clear some, and, in the end, there’s been no rain. Part of the way into the day I passed Rover, a section hiker from Florida. We ended up leapfrogging the rest of the hike, and we were both heading for Shaker Campsite. 

I got to the campsite a little after 2pm, looking at the sign saying there were 9.5 more miles to Upper Goose Pond, and realizing it just makes more sense to do those miles tomorrow. 

Rover told me there are flash flood warnings for tomorrow afternoon, so we plan to get up early and will try to get to the shelter by noon. Meanwhile, I’m getting no signal, so can’t call out, or check weather, or any other status that requires data. Will we get more rain tonight? Time will tell…