Date: 2020-09-26
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 16.9

Woke up to a loud trilling sound. I figured it was a bird. But later I saw a red squirrel cocking its head and letting out the same sound. I must have gotten twelve hours of sleep regardless. I was lazy and didn't get on trail until after nine. In the first mile, as I came to a small bog called Ethel Pond, I saw a cow moose bathing. My first moose! Excitedly I grabbed my camera. As I positioned to get a better view I heard a rustle near the trail to the north. It was a bull moose walking toward me along the edge of the pond, and next to the trail. Crap, what do I do? Stuck between two moose! And it's rutting season! The guidebooks don't tell you what to do in this situation. I moved slowly off trail and bushwhacked uphill a few yards to let the bull pass. He was following the cow.The cow periodically let out a moo like a squeaky faucet. The bull would respond with a gruff exhalation through his nostrils. The bull watched me for a bit, then followed the cow. She swam around the shoreline and he followed through the water at a distance. They stopped, about forty feet apart, on the far side of the pond for about ten minutes. Maybe they still sensed me or maybe it was part of the mating/courting ritual. Finally the cow walked ahead and the bull followed, this time getting closer, breaking off into the trees, and both were lost from view in the foliage. Spurs later told me he saw both moose in the same area the night before, though separately.I climbed the Saddleback range in splendid weather. It's as beautiful as Franconia Ridge - more so given the autumn colors. One can see dozens of mountains from the alpine summit, including the next two days' trek as well as non-AT peaks like Abraham, Sugarloaf, and Redington.It felt hot today for the first time in many days. I shed my fleece early on. I'd chosen pants this morning rather than shorts and regretted it within the hour. Between the warmer weather, direct sun, and numerous climbs I was sweating profusely. It even felt a little humid.I caught up with Spurs going down into the valley between the Saddleback range and the Sugarloaf range. He had seen the moose last evening before camping at another pond. He was taking it slow and easy, giving himself two more days to get to Stratton. 3 more garter snakes on trail. I don't remember seeing these before the last several days.Leaves are now covering the trail below 2500 feet. Makes for slippery footing sometimes. Thankfully it's been dry. Actually, too dry. At Orbeton Stream the Sluice Brook falls are described as roaring but were a mere trickle. There's been no rain in weeks.I met three guys out for a long weekend heading to the same shelter as me. We were a little over three miles away. Told them I was taking a detour and would get in after dark.So I climbed the AT up Lone Mountain then took a 1.7 mile (one way) blue blaze to Mt Abraham. I had decided spur-of-the-moment this morning I would hike all 8 of the 4000 footers in this range, even the ones the AT doesn't go near. Saddleback and The Horn on Saddleback were the first two, which the trail goes directly over. Abraham is interesting because it has the second largest alpine zone in Maine, after Katahdin. What that means in practice is it's a big pile of rocks, like Adams or Madison in the Whites. It was slow going and fairly windy, though not so much I had to add layers. The sun sinking low over the Saddlebacks turned the ranges into various shades of blue. A quarter moon hung over the summit.I tried to hurry back to the AT but encroaching darkness and uneven terrain slowed me down. About a half mile before the shelter I caught up to the three weekenders. They'd gone less than three miles in the time I'd covered six and a half, and they seemed pretty beat. One of the hikers had hiked from Springer to Harpers Ferry in 2015. He went by Indy, short for Indecisive, a name you get when you wait too long to accept a name! He wants to try for a full thruhike, he said, as he collapsed on the shelter floor and complained of being out of shape. His buddies are content to section. They all seem like they had a long day. For that matter, my quads and calves really felt it today. So much climbing, and over twenty miles with the off-trail detour. I'll have to check the vertical gain. Tomorrow could be even more.