Date: 2005-08-22
From: East Flagstaff Road

To: Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

9:10 am Very forgiving territory this morning. It's nice to be walking through stuff this nice. It's surprising me that with no lack of rocks and flat ground, I have probably taken more slips and slides than I have through all the nasty stuff. I don't know what's going on, if it's the mud under the leaves or the hidden roots. It was raining like hell yesterday, everything is still damp. Maybe I'm just not alert, but I have taken a whole bunch of near-flops on my face this morning through this swamp-like territory. I have been walking along some really beautiful lakes. Flagstaff Lake, which I am walking along now is just huge. Maine is know for its magnificent lakes full of fish and I bet Bob would sure love to be here right now with his pole trying to fish here.I'm walking like crazy here. My intention was to walk about 17.5 miles to Pierce Ponds and hang out there and catch the ferry across to Kennebec early in the morning when it goes across between 8 and 10. I'm making good enough time where I'm seriously considering doing some big miles today. I think I can hit the ferry by today at 3 o'clock. It's about a 20 mile walk. I started at 7:15. As I get closer, I'll consider it. I'll just go ahead and pop out a 20-25 mile day through Maine just for kicks and giggles. Later....     I got to Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps just before 1:00. I was still considering going on to the Kennebec River Ferry. I could have made it there in time to take the ferry, which runs between 2 and 4, and made it to the Pleasant Pond Lean-to before 5:00. Tim, the guy that runs the place here, got me a drink of water, and I sat here for a minute and looked at the map. I decided, correctly, that it would just be pointless to go any further today. The only reason I would be doing it is just because I could pop out a 25 mile day in Maine.The days are coming to an end for me to be on this Trail. It just seems to make more sense to stop many places, enjoy them, and experience them rather than run like hell, get to Katahdin and have to sit around in a hotel room for 5 days waiting for Bob to show up. So, I stopped here, just to get the experience. It's a beautiful place. They have tiny, little cabins, a whole bunch of them here through the woods. They overlook the pond and a stream, which you can hear in the background. There are these little rapids running through here. If I stand on the little porch, I can see waterfalls down the stream, cascades coming down the creek. It's a pretty stunning place.I talked to Tim for a while. He said he has been here 20 years. It's where he has always wanted to be and where he always wants to be from now on. This is heaven for him. I can understand why, it's pretty magnificent. I got a cabin here for $35.oo that includes breakfast tomorrow morning at 7:30 consisting of 12 pancakes, 2 eggs, sausages, coffe and orange juice. What a killer deal that is!I will still be in time to get on the Ferry to cross the Kennebec between 8:00 and 10:00 am.We will see what happens from there. I will probably do 15 or 16 miles again.It was an excellent walk this morning. I felt great, I had high energy levels from being in town and eating. I did 16 1/2 miles by 1:00. That's pretty good stuff. I'm not tired. This is what happens when you pick a perfect day to go hiking. The right choice yesterday was, in fact, to take a day off when it was raining and to walk on a perfect day when there's no rush.On the way to the Trail this morning, I saw another moose. That's moose #4. All of them I have seen in Maine. I'm still a little anxious about running into one on the Trail, although that hasn't happened so far. I have run into alot of moose droppings. I'm kind of happy just seeing them from a vehicle, I don't think I need to come face to face with them. They are huge. The ones I have seen so far are bigger than most horses I have seen and incredibly powerful. When you see them running, it's like they tear through the woods, knocking over trees, without hesitation. I would hate to be the object of their antagonism, they would kill me in an instant. It's kind of funny too because, the other day, I was reading instructions on what to do if you have a 'moose encounter'. It seemed a little crazy to me, even crazier than the instructions on when you encounter bears. Basically, the 'moose instructions' state that if there are 3 of you, to stand side by side and raise your arms up in the air so the moose thinks you're bigger than him and leave you alone. But never try to do that with less than 3 people. The second thing was, if you encounter a moose, and he comes at you, jump into the woods, get behind a tree and try to disappear. The moose will then leave you alone, which also seemed kind of crazy. I can't imagine that a moose that is that intent on kicking your ass is not going to find you, but, I guess that's the way it works. The third thing was, if the moose does attack you, to lay down, curl up in a ball and stay still. He may kick you once or twice, but then he will leave you alone. Wait until he is at least 100 feet away from you before you move. That seems very intense too, to just lay there in a ball while this huge friggin' thing is kicking you. I think I'd just rather see them from the cars. Tinkerbell was also toying with the idea of coming here. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do until I got here. On the walk here, I was pushing it pretty well, I did really good time with the intention of going over the Kennebec and going on. I got here actually faster than I expected. I decided that it would just be stupid, it's pointless to do 25 miles when I have 14 days and 150 miles to do them in. Why should I do a 25 mile day? This is what I travelled 4,000 miles on this Trail to do, to be here. I'm going to try to suck out the last drags of pleasure that I can out of the Trail. That's what it is now, a glide into the landing in comfort.I am now at 154.8 miles to go. I didn't even realize that I passed the 2,000 mile mark for this through hike. I have done 2,019.8 miles. That puts me at over 4,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail that I have now.Wow. That felt like alot of walking.