Date: 2005-09-08
From: Pierce Pond Lean-To 7:57pm

To: Bald Mtn Brook Lean-to 7:26pm - Michael Row Your B
Miles today: 18.7

Bald Mtn Brook Lean-to 7:26pm - Michael Row Your Boat AshoreI rose early this morning with the thought of last night's moose encounter fresh on my mind. I perched on the rocks overlooking the pond scanning the distant coves. My eyes kept wandering back to one spot on the shore and then it dawned on me. The rock I was staring at moved - it was a moose! "Guys, you might wanna check this out," I called. Red Wing and Hopeful bounded over from the shelter to watch. Soon, Red Wing noticed that a rock in the water was also moving. We were looking at a cow and calf. We watched them for a good fifteen minutes or so as mama swam and baby grazed. Gaining confidence we walked the shore to where we were last night and were treated to a much closer view. At one point the calf entered the water and swam to the mother. Before too long the mother noticed us and called to the calf. It climbed out of the water and disappeared into the brush. The mother followed a minute later. She was magnificent to see out of the water!By that time it was time to head to Harrison Camps for breakfast. A man whom some call Tim was busy whipping up his red, white and blue pancakes - pancakes with raspberries, apples, and blueberries mixed in. All in all, breakfast consisted of twelve pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links, juice and coffee. It certainly beat oatmeal squares or pop tarts. We spent a lot of time talking with Tim and didn't end up leaving until nearly nine.We quickly covered the three miles to the Kennebec River. There's always a debate about how to cross. Some say you haven't hiked the AT unless you've forded the Kennebec. However, a dam lies upstream and unpredictably releases water. When that happens the water level rises faster than one can hike across. In 1985, a hiker drowned while crossing and since then a free ferry has operated on the river. Choosing the option with the lower death-factor, we flagged down the Ferryman, Steve. After signing some release forms he zipped us right across, Red Wing and Hopeful in one trip and me in another. While crossing I was lucky enough to see a blue heron soar across the sky and alight on the top of a pine tree.We chatted with Steve for a bit. He runs the hostel and campstore at which we intended to resupply so he agreed to give us a ride when he went off-duty in a half hour. We hiked on to his truck and helped ourselves to some sodas from his cooler at Steve's suggestion. I tried a Moxie, a Maine classic that's sort of like ginger ale, cherries, and cough syrup all rolled into one.Steve gave us the offered ride to Rivers and Trails. We resupplied and were shuttled back to the trail. It was a quick six miles to the next shelter and lunch and then a hard but quick slog up Pleasant Pond Mountain. We conked out on the cruise downhill to Moxie Pond but did double time to reach the shelter. The threat of a storm gave us a bit of extra motivation.We reached the shelter at six. We did nearly 19 miles in 9 hours including a nearly two hour break for resupply. It's boosting our confidence in doing twenty-two miles tomorrow. A southbounder named Rambler is here with us dodging rain. He's doing a bizarre flip of the trail and says he met us all down South. You never know who you'll meet out here. [Editor's note - look hard in this picture and you can see the Moose]