Well y’see, first the 14 miles turned into a 22+, then the shelter at 22+ was full & noisy, so I’m here after a 25 miler. That’s gonna make tomorrow less than 10! Woohoo!

It turns out Singe (from Sudbury, the town next to where I grew up, now living in Waltham) was the late night arrival at the shelter last night. He caught up with me 14 miles into todays hike and we talked and let the miles roll by the rest of the day. It was great having company crossing the Mass Pike Footbridge—especially with another MA native! That bridge was my first indicator of the trail’s existence and has always been one of the parts of the hike I imagined the most. The supportive honks of passing motorists mixed with Singe & my triumphant emotions were powerful.

Marilyn & Roy Wiley run a small blueberry farm right off the AT. They will hold mail drops for hikers, let ’em fill up on water, and sometimes let them camp on the lawn, especially if we take a few minutes to help them cut their grass or do other chores.. Marilyn is famous for her cookies! I hope to get to try some from the “Cookie Lady” tomorrow! Since I have only 9.6 miles to go until my 3:30 pick-up, I will hang out in the morning & help mow the lawn (weather permitting).

The ponds (Upper Goose & Finerty) we passed today were beautiful. I wanted to stay at the Upper Goose cabin, but will have to do that some another day. Otherwise it was smooth sailing on good trail for most of the 25 miles.