August 8

Blueberries never get old

I woke up early to the smell of pancakes.  The rumors we heard over the past few days are true.  The caretakers at the cabin cook breakfast.  The thirty-some-odd hikers lined up at the kitchen door and were served blueberry pancakes in turn, and could help themselves to fresh brewed coffee!  Unbelievable.  After breakfast, we packed up and headed out.  Shortly after, we crossed a footbridge over I-90.  We paused for a second for several cars and semis to honk at us.  That never gets old.  So much fun, no matter how old you are.  More great hiking for the rest of the morning.  The trail in Massachusettes has been amazing.  The trail has been really well taken care of, the shelters are really nice.  The terrain is not bad at all.  The streams, ravines, ridges, forests, and ponds have all made for amazing scenery.  The one problem for us has been the water situation.  There's plenty of sources, but most of the sources are ponds, or streams running off from ponds.  Filtering and/or treating is a must.  The water has been pretty clear, it just looks really dark from all the sediment at the bottom of the creeks or ponds.  We stopped for lunch at October Mountain shelter.  I finished up quickly, and headed out.  In a couple miles, I came to a crossing of Washington Mtn Rd, and headed 0.1 miles to the right on the road to the "Cookie Lady's" house.  The rest of the crew came in shortly after.  The Cookie Lady wasn't around, but her husband was.  They have been there for over 30 years, helping out hikers.  They have a working blueberry farm, and we picked blueberries for $2 a pound.  I also bought 2 cokes and a Klondike bar, and enjoyed the delicious, free, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.  There's a tradtion for hikers that happens here too.  For southbounders, if they stop here, they are told to carry blueberries south down the trail to Upper Goose Pond Cabin.  That's how all of the hikers there get to enjoy blueberry pancakes each morning.  After our great break at the Cookie Lady's house, we had more smooth hiking for the rest of the afternoon.  We did almost 18 miles, even with our enjoyable stops, ending the day at Kay Wood shelter. 

Mmmm, mmmm.  Blueberries!