Date: 2014-08-10
From: US 201

To: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8

Just keep hiking, hiking! Ever closer to Mount Katahdin with each step!Great continental breakfast at the Sterling Inn - the owner was very talkative this morning and gave a history lesson on the building and its origins. Very neat to hear about the past! After the meal he dropped me and the Swiss at the trailhead and it was out to tackle another day!The trail was real friendly in the beginning so I was making great hiking time - it was also a great hiking weather day! Sunny and not too hot and feeling real good to start out the day - always a good sign. Opted to take my first break at the Pleasant Pond Lean-to and it was the correct decision to make - ran into an old friend from the beginning of the trip! Finn was sitting at the shelter taking a break and at first I was confused - I figured he would already have been done by now. Turns out I was right - he got to Katahdin and decided to turn his trip into a yo-yo hike! So he was on his way back to Georgia - very impressive feat to undertake and I was glad that he completed the whole trail on his third attempt!Amazing how the trail keeps bringing people back together - this is yet another instance of running into someone I haven't seen for months and us both remembering each other. The trail has a strange way of keeping hikers in contact with each other - who will I run into next?!After leaving the shelter the morning went from good to tough and trying. Slipping and almost falling a lot while also struggling to climb the small mountain after the shelter made me grumpy - I don't understand why I am having trouble climbing simple hills! Most likely my body is just fatigued from all the hiking - still frustrating so close to the end. I just had to keep pushing on through though since there were no water sources for a long stretch after the mountain and I needed water for drinking and cooking. Only made a trying situation a little tougher!After passing several so-so water sources I just decided to keep walking slowly to Bald Mountain Brook Shelter for lunch. As soon as I passed over the brook I sat down and cooked up lunch - much needed and extremely satisfying! That is one of the problems with cook lunches - sometimes you are at the mercy of the trail and its water sources!Lunch did wonders for my attitude and energy - I really enjoyed the trail up over Moxie Bald to the Moxie Bald Mountain Shelter! The climb seemed much more enjoyable and there were much nicer views from Moxie Bald as compared to Pleasant Pond Mountain! Moxie Bald wasn't a true bald but the summit was fairly exposed and there was a lot of open walking down to the shelter - enjoyed it immensely! The music probably helped some as well - a little boost in spirit!Once at camp I just sat for a bit and relaxed - I made pretty good time overall even with the occasional struggles. It was just me for a while and I had first dibs on a camping spot near the pond! Soon Chocolate and Cheese showed up and got set up while I finished dinner - then it was fire building time! Someone had split a bunch of wood already so it was just a matter of finding the smaller sizes to make a fire - it turned out to be a great fire and even survived the afternoon Maine showers!So it has literally rained a little big every day since we have been in Maine - almost like clockwork you get either a shower in the morning or afternoon! What an odd weather pattern but at least most of the time it isn't heavy rain!Listen and Squirrel arrived to the party late and set up shop in the shelter. Then the camp had an awesome evening chatting by the pond while watching both a super moon in one direction and cloud-to-cloud lightning in the other direction. Some pretty intense lightning flashes made for a great show! A nice relaxing evening and an early bedtime - planning an early start to Monson tomorrow!