Date: 2005-09-27
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: The Birches
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Mouth and I were up before dawn. We wanted to get packed and on the trail as quickly as possible in order to get the five of registered for a space at The Birches, not to mention coffee and donuts at the store. Tink had wanted me to wake her when I left so I did, at 5:30 AM, and then off I went. One last little bit of pre-dawn night hiking and it is something I wouldn't recommend someone do in this area. You can't see the boggy areas, and more than once, I felt the shoes going in. It was getting lighter though, and by 6:15 or so it was light enough to see without the headlamp. It was a 3.5 mile hike to Abol Bridge where there is a campstore. We figured we would get there and have coffee and donuts, register for a campsite, and hang out till it late that morning. It was still cool and a little wet, not from rain but from the dripping trees. Once you start hiking you warm up so I stopped to take off my wind jacket, aka, my Frogg Togg top. About a mile later it dawned on me. I had left my water bottle where I had stopped. I couldn't believe it! A fifth water bottle gone. I am definitely losing it! Making sure the screws holding my head on were still tight I kept moving. It was a quick walk and I hit the road before 7:00. Abol Bridge has a good view of Katahdin but it was cloud covered now. The weather called for chance of showers this morning and clearing this afternoon. Perfect for us! Just past the bridge is the General Store so I headed up there. It wasn't open yet and there was a stiff breeze blowing off the river. I decided to make the .9 mile trip up to the information board to get us registered. I dropped my pack and started up the road. It may have been cloudy on top of Katahdin but the sun was coming up, nice and bright, down low. I squinted against the bright light and looked off to my right. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a moose, a female, but it was a moose. My camera is a constant companion and I had it out in a heartbeat. Couldn't miss the opportunity in case the moose took off. I got a shot and then started moving closer. I had the sun in my face and every time I looked in the viewfinder for another picture the sunlight blocked out the moose. I angled to the left till I was in a good position and got another shot. It eventually moved back into the woods. I stood there with a stupid grin on my face. I had seen my moose! The day before we were going to finish the trail. Tink was off the hook! I continued on my way to the registration area. Without my pack I made the trek quickly. When I arrived I signed the five of us in and then I headed back to the store, and a cup of coffee. As I got closer to the store I saw Mouth. He saw me and we walked toward one another. He gave me the good news, bad news, line. Good news was that he found my water bottle and the bad was he had seen a moose. I laughed and told him I had too. We also had pictures to prove it. We went in and got our coffee. It was starting out to be a great day! By 9:00, Gypsy, Touk, and Tink had made it in. Now, if I woke Tink at 5:30, you would figure she should have been here long before 9:00. I looked at her and she said, "Headlamp." It dawned on me when she said it. Her headlamp had died on her last night and I had tossed her mine to use because I went to bed earlier. She had set aside for me to grab this morning. It didn't hit either of us that she wouldn't be able to hike till daylight when she asked me to wake her up. We both got a chuckle out of that. The Sequin Sisters and the rest of the other group als cae in as well as a surprise. Not Guilty shows up! He was flip flopping. Once again, someone I had not seen in a long while. Boiling Springs, PA, to be exact. !3 of us sat around the store front, enjoying the sun, talking, andplaying 4 square. Our last 4 square game of the hike. Once again, noon rolled around and the five of us packed up and headed out. 10 miles to go. It was a great walk, our last day of real hiking on this journey. Tomorrow we would have a five mile day to the summit of Katahdin and then down again but we weren't considering that a "hike" day. It would be summit day.We arrived at the cutoff to Daicey Pond and we took the side trail to the pond. It would give our last good view of Katahdin before we climbed it. It was a great view. It stands there, more majestic than ever. It still seems so surreal. We finally made it to our destination. We got set up, cooked, and then got a fire going. Cricket, Pan, and Thrifty swung by. They had made the climb earlier in the day. We celebrated their endng and our about to end. It was a good time and we stayed up pretty late for us hikers. Tomorrow is the day! I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that the journey is almost over. I should say, this journey, for there are others in the plans. More on that in the "post hike" entries.