Upper Goose Pond Cabin Opens for the Season

On Saturday, despite the gloomy weather, some significant preparatory work was done. Jon, Russ, Warren, Ed, Maggie, Sarah, Mike and Cosmo showed up as the rain was just winding down and trekked up a soggy Caretaker's Trail to the Cabin – of note, our efforts to maintain the road have paid off – it was quite driveable despite nearly 2" of rain. Upon arrival, our team of sawyers went off to address some hazard trees at the campsites, while the amphibious group got ready to install the dock parts. We quickly got the dock into the water and bolted together. Seems we might have finally gotten the hang of it...this might have been because our friend Mike Brick was not there directing traffic – I do miss that guy. We also removed quite a pile of scrap lumber from earlier projects that had been stored beneath the Cabin. It's been there – unused – for about 10 years "just in case we might need it". We'll cut it into fireplace lengths for campfires this season. Sitting under the Cabin it was a potential hazard in the event of a "ground fire", the frequency of which seems to be increasing the in the Berkshires. On Sunday – under blue skies and a nice breeze – Mary B, Mary E, Warren, Bonnie, Rob, Trish, Russ, and Cosmo made quick work of removing shutters, organizing the kitchen, setting up the wash station, testing the stove, gas lights, and fire alarms and generally getting things cleaned up and tidy for our first Caretaker, Nancy, who arrived about noon. We also replaced the broken fire grate and updated the fireplace screen with one that actually stands up on its own – plus some new fireplace tools. Our newly donated canoe was put into service collecting spring water from across the pond. The Cabin season is off to a great start – many thanks to all who have helped get things up and running over the past month (five of this weekend's crew were 2025 Caretakers)! Some of our upcoming projects:

• Saturday May 24th: Repairs to the Hop Brook Boardwalk.
• Saturday June 7th: National Trails Day – we will be clearing brush from the Reynolds Rock lookout in Cheshire.
• Sunday June 8th: We're working with Green Mountain Club volunteers to start work on a Trail relocation at the VT/MA border.
• Monday-Tuesday June 9th and 10th: We'll be monitoring rare plants in the Mt Greylock Summit area.

View our upcoming activities on our committee webpage.