A Night at Upper Goose Pond

I made the time over this Easter weekend to enjoy a night in the woods and hike the next day.  My friend, Mark, and I decided to hike from Rt 20, Lee to Tyringham Rd in Massachusetts, with a night spent at Upper Goose Pond.  We were dropped off at the hiker parking lot on Rt 20 a little after 6pm and were on the trail soon after.  It was a beautiful evening as we crossed the Mass. Pike and made our way up the hill toward our camp. The trail climbs a little from the highway but soon levels out and is smooth hiking. It is about 1.6 miles to the Upper Goose Pond cabin and we arrived about 7:30pm

There was two other hikers staying at one of the campsites as well and we chatted for a bit before choosing our spot and setting up camp.  The light was fading fast as we both set up our hammocks and did camp chores. Once finished setting up, I cooked dinner, a Mountain House Beef Stroganoff meal, that was quite tasty and filled me up nicely.  I was hungry and wolfed it down pretty quick. Then it was a quiet night of conversation and looking at the stars.  The temps were starting to drop and we decided to turn in around 10pm.

Overnight the clouds came in and the morning dawned grey.  We took our time as we broke camp and cooked breakfast.  We were packed up and moving at 9am.  The trail snakes around the pond and we stopped to watch a flock of ducks take off flying low over the water away from us.  Then it was time to get down to hiking and we made good time the 3.6 or so miles to the other end of the Goose Pond management area.  The trail goes through hardwood forest with a few Hemlocks sprinkled about and a few swampy beaver ponds as well.  We made it to the first road crossing, Goose Pond Rd., and continued on without a break.

Once we crossed the road the rest of the hike went pretty quick.  The trail goes past some old stone foundations and many stonewalls as it slowly climbs up Baldy Mtn. topping out at 1900 ft.  Then it's a steady downhill to Tyringham Rd.  There are no real views along this section of trail, it's just a nice walk through the woods.  There are a few spots that are very rocky and can be a little challenging and tiring to hike but for the most part there is no difficult terrain.  

We hiked just under 8 miles and arrived at the car at 1:15pm.  It was a nice relaxing hike with great weather and no bugs yet.  Mark can check off another section and I finally got out for a little camping.  I am already looking forward to the next trip.