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I arrived at Upper Goose Pond cabin at around 1400. I had not seen anyone else on the trail all day, and was enjoying being alone. The Cabin is not road accessible, but is a very popular spot with hikers when it is open after Memorial Day, they are widely known for their pancakes. They allow hikers to camp out on their porch when they are closed, and with the constant threat of storms, I decided to take them up on this offer.
After I had aired out my feet and cooked up some rice, I heard voices on the half-mile approach trail to the cabin, sure enough a group of four hikers, looking very wet from the rainstorm that had blown in, came into view. They were college kids from Chicago, and by the shape of their gear it looked like they were new to hiking. One of them even was using an External Frame pack that his dad bought in 1965. I was initially wary, but soon found them utterly hilarious to be around, and hiked with them for the next two days. Turned out they were all Cross Country runners of some renown, and inspite of their huge packs and lack of experience, could pound out many, many more miles on trail than I could ever hope to. This trip was their first time out on trail, and they were loving it in only the way the new and young can love being wet, cold, muddy, and hungry.
We made a little cabin of the porch using our rainflies, and told jokes and drank a little whiskey as a storm rolled through. I slept very well the first night.
Excuse the goofy grin, I was pretty tired.
