Lately, I was in the groove of hiking large amounts of miles each day- on average 17.5. Once the large miles become a task, the trail was no longer as fun. When I stopped at Upper Goose Pond, which is actually a lake, I had to take a swim in the tormenting heat. Plus, I hadn't done laundry in nearly 3 weeks. Afterwards, I sat around for over an hour listening to the mp3 player, contemplating, and enjoying that moment in life.
By the end of the day, I had hiked 18.7 miles, but those miles were unimportant if I didn't take the moments to enjoy the unique features of the trail. In retrospect, I do remember some of those miles, but I wished I had spent more time swimming at Upper Goose Pond.
