Date: 2003-09-03
From: West Branch of Pleasant River

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.3

It started out as a chilly morning, with the temperature around 42*. I started moving quickly to warm up, and the terrain allowed it, since it was a gradual ascent for about 5 miles. After a couple of hours of the sun shining brightly, the temperature made it to 60*. It was great weather for hiking, but not so great for taking breaks.I knew I had four peaks to reach today. The first two were the steepest climbs, and unfortunately, there were no views from either one, as each was tree-covered. At the next peak, Hay Mountain, I met four guys taking a lunch break from their southbound section slackpack. One asked me "Have you seen Katahdin yet?" When I told him "no" he said "You will today!" But not from that third peak, Hay Mountain either. It was tree-covered too. Finally, after over 10 miles today, I reached the summit of White Cap Mountain (3650') ***Interruption! I was sitting by East Branch of Pleasant River, writing my journal, when I heard footsteps.   At first I thought it was Hotdog or Notes coming down to the water but soon realized these footsteps were much heavier than a man's. I looked around behind me, and about 30yds directly behind me, across the water, was a moose! It looked young, but had small antlers (do moose have antlers?) just beginning to show. I should have just watched it for a while, but I went quickly back to the shelter to get my camera and tell Hotdog and Notes. By the time we got back to the water, it was gone. Or at least out of sight. My first moose sighting!!! Hopefully he'll come back so we can all get pictures.***(continuing) and I should be able to see Katahdin. Right? I scanned the visible horizon, but thought I was looking the wrong way, so I checked my compass. NE, the direction of Katahdin, was directly behind me, hidden by the trees. The view was awesome anyway, so I took a few pictures, and once Hotdog arrived, we went through a small path to the other side of the peak. Notes was there and pointed out Katahdin. "The big one right there, or the small peak way off in the distance?" He replied "Duh! It's the biggest peak in the state. It's right there!" I could not believe that mountain was SO close! I guess, because it is so big, it just looks close, but... it looked too close! And yet, there it was: the physical destination for this journey! We all had lunch there, sitting on rocks, staring at Katahdin, and we wondered who that we knew was up there at this very moment. And who will be sitting right here when we summit, wondering the same thing?From the summit, the day was pretty easy, with about 6 miles of downhill to this shelter. Hotdog and I weren't sure we'd come this far today. It just depended how we did on the four peaks earlier. We both felt good when we passed Logan Brook Lean-to, and decided the extra four miles today would make tomorrow an easy 12 miles to Jo-Mary Road, where we get picked up for the wedding.It's just Notes, Hotdog and I at the shelter so far. It will be nice to be in a shelter if it should rain. The four southbounders I met on Hay Mountain said rain was in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. So far, there are a few clouds in the sky, but nothing too threatening.I'm so excited I got to see a moose! A lot of people have written in the register that they saw the moose here, so I was hoping I'd be lucky too, and I was. Now I want more. I want a photo of him too! But, if it doesn't happen, I'll be happy with what I saw. AND... I get to eat the Moose candy that Hummbob and Rejoyce bought when they came to see me in Rangeley. I had said I wasn't going to eat it until I saw a moose on the trail. Yummy!I took a digger today. It was a doozy. Hotdog and I were cruising right along, going slightly downhill, when I stepped on a rock or root or something (or maybe nothing) and my left ankle twisted. I couldn't catch my unbalance with my poles and went down, spinning slightly to try to land on the pack some. I succeeded a little bit, but not before my right knee crashed into a rock, scraping it up. I said "That was a doozy." Then I got up, started brushing dirt and pine needles off, and noticed the bloody knee. I also noticed that my ankle didn't hurt at all. My knee ached a bit more than usual (it was the already-achin knee) but I probably just bruised it under the scrape. No real harm done, and we hiked on.