Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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August 7, Dalton, MA - mile 1550.3

I believe I'm beginning to love New England! What a fabulous day it's been. The day started out with a stack of blueberry pancakes cooked up by the volunteer caretakers of Upper Goose Pond Cabin. That place is truly a gem. For a mere $3 donation, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful facilities I've yet seen on the trail & definitely in one of the most beautiful locations. Plus pancakes in the morning!

At lunch time, we were again privileged to meet more trail angels. namely Roy & Marilyn Wiley. They live just a tenth of a mile off the trail on a blueberry farm, & Marilyn has gained renown as the "cookie lady" because she usually has fresh cookies to offer when hikers come through. Not only did we enjoy their company & some cookies, they also let us eat from the blueberry bushes which were amazing! I've never seen such huge berries! The were absolutely delicious.

This evening when I got to the shelter where I planned to stay, Pork Chop & her dog Frankee, who I met last night at the cabin, were right behind me. We stood there & debated the pros & cons of staying there versus pushing on the last three miles to Dalton. Eventually we decided to go ahead into town & tent on the lawn of the trail angel mentioned in our book. He lives right on the trail as soon as you reach town & lets hikers tent there for free, as well as fill up our water bottles from his tap. The only disadvantage is that we have to walk three blocks to go to the bathroom - either back in the woods or up the street at the convenience store. I can assure you now that I won't be doing either in the middle of the night! There's a hedge behind our tents & a couple of trees in the corner where I'm sure I can water the grass if necessary.