Date: 2016-08-12
From: US 201 - Caratunk, ME - Mile 2,037.5

To: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-To - Mile 2,056.7
Miles today: 18.8

Easier Trail!!!! Yes!!! Rain - No!!!!One of these days I'm going to have it all - easy trail, great weather, great people everywhere - since I'm dreaming here, I'd like to see a rainbow and sleep under a sky lit up by the stars. Definitely not the day I had today. It rained for 3 hours in the morning and got everything wet. Maine needs the rain so there was an upside to it. I hiked by myself today. I'll be with Subman & Suds again in Monson in a couple days. The trail was easier today and it enabled hiking in full strides for most of the day. Hiking across Boise-Cascade logging road was special because I worked for newspapers for 36 years and Boise-Cascade was a big newsprint supplier. I listened to music to keep me focused on hiking at a pace that would get me far enough so that I can reach Monson after a full day of hiking tomorrow. I love my music and since I hadn't heard it in a long time it was a real treat. Pretty cool that k.d. lang's Hallelujah was triumphantly playing just as I was cresting the summit of Pleasant Pond Mountain. Want to remember the timing of that song. Of course, the rain intensified immediately a moment later with me laughing to myself how it just seems to be that kind of day. The trail was narrow after that almost 2,000 foot elevation increase. I love trail lined by small pines. I got such trail. Those pines hold raindrops well. It was like I was in a car wash with the water and brushes soaking the sides of the car. Every step was another blast of rain. The descent from Pleasant Pond Mountain is a long one. It has lots of granite, made slick by the rain and puddles. I only fell once and it was uneventful. But I saved myself twice from falling when I was out of control - got real lucky then and the countless times that my feet slipped to a nice landing spot.Not many hikers out today. My favorite was the red-haired Irishman who was thoroughly soaked and said he loved hiking in weather like this. Okay, I'm jumping out of sequence here. Debbie - those loons you love so much are loud at 1:00 in the morning while I'm writing this. I am tenting 40 yards from Bald Mountain Pond and saw several loons when I was getting my water. For the most part, they were quiet then. I'm enjoying them now while I write but hope they'll be quiet after I'm done so that I can get back to sleep. Stopping the rain that started falling lightly would be nice too. The climb up Moxie Bald Mountain was steep, particularly in the last 4/10ths of a mile. The summit was covered in clouds. It wasn't raining then but visibility was compromised after 40 yards. Finding the way off this summit was a challenge. I'll admit being concerned after my third pursuit failed. There was so much granite at the top. I couldn't find a cairn and there weren't any white blazes. I was glad when a young hiker arrived and mentioned to him that I couldn't find the trail. He said he was hiking south and came from the same cairn that brought me to the summit hiking north. I thought he was pretty confused and I could tell he thought the same of me. Five minutes later I yelled to him that the one cairn was commonly used to reach this summit. I found wood planks that would take me north and directed him to the granite slabs that would take him south. I don't recall hiking another summit like this that doesn't take us "up and over". This one instead took us up and then come down the same way for a brief moment. Very confusing. I mentioned my confusion to a hiker heading up to the summit and we drew a picture in the muddy trail. He appreciated the diagram and said he'd talked with someone last night who said they'd hiked for a half hour up there before realizing that they were not on the trail.Despite the easier trail today, I was tired when I reached tonight's resting spot of Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-To. I enjoyed eating with the other hikers here. BD (stands for Bad Decisions) is a young hiker from New Zealand who started his flip-flop in June. He says he's enjoying the AT. Squirrel is doing a long section and is heading north. She is full of information and stories. I can tell that she'd be a cohesive hiker in any group of hikers and wonder if I'll see her again in the next days to Katahdin or if she'll be so fast a hiker that she'll leap ahead. The two women are nice but did more listening than talking. The one is a Physical Education teacher in New Hampshire who hiked the AT with her daughter back in 1999. Wish I could've talked with her longer. BD was pitiful hanging his bear bag. It took him several tries and his bag is hanging so low that I think I could reach it on my tiptoes. Half the night is over and all is quiet now so I guess his food will be okay tonight. It's 1:30 now. The rain and the loons have stopped. Hope I can dream about seeing a moose in the grassy part of Bald Mountain Pond. I'll get my chance in the morning. All I need to do is roll out and scan the pond outside my tent. A beautiful sunrise would be nice too. Hey, this is my dream.