Date: 2009-09-24
From: Bemis Stream Campsite

To: South Pond Campsite (close to Maine 4)
Miles today: 11.8

Oh my goodness did it pour last night! My tent was set up in a small gully (which I did not know about) and, as the rain came down around midnight, my entire tent became saturated ¢ both inside and outside. My sleeping bag is down and one must keep it entirely dry, or else it loses its insulation and renders it useless. This happened once before ¢ all the way back in Port Clinton, PA ¢ when it rained all day and all of my stuff became soaked. I had to borrow everyone¢s extra clothing to get me through the night, but I still managed to shiver away through the darkness. This time, I tried to curl up as much as I could and keep myself on my very short ThermaRest pad. I¢m glad that I managed to get a few hours of sleep. In the morning, Chinese Tourist and I were getting our stuff ready to go when I spotted a huge bull moose off to the side. It was ¢rutting¢ season, in which bulls are trying to mate with their counterpart, the cow ¢female¢ moose. We ran after it, but made sure that we kept our distance as to not scare it away. It was HUGE!!! I¢m not a big movie buff, but it made me think of a horse/moose/monster/animal thing that was on screen in ¢Lord of the Rings¢. Just before this happened, I thought that I heard a large splash in Bemis Stream that was just ahead. When I approached the stream, I saw Jungli off to the side behind some trees, looking scared out of her mind. She said that the cow started moving towards her, but this put her between the bull and the cow and she had to run to get out of the way. Moose are elegant creatures, but very stupid by nature and have very poor vision. All you really have to do is to get behind a tree and stay there. Rutting season can be quite dangerous, but as long as you are able to be smart about it, you can make your way out of the situation. Hiking on, I passed SnP and Strider2 who were hiking southbound from Maine 17. Speaking of Maine 17, when I arrived there and turned around, I was taken aback by the incredible view. It was a clear blue sky, the fall colors were in full effect and a huge pond filled with dark blue water was just off in the distance. One could also see some whispy clouds on top of Bemis Mtn, where I had descended in the darkness the night before. Beechucks managed to catch up and we hiked together for a while. Just before Long Pond, I told him that I could definitely see myself coming out to one of the cottages on the ponds for one full year with a stack of good books and an ample supply of firewood to make it through the winter. I felt as if I could really embrace life out there on my own in a Henry David Thoreau-esque environment. It was a magical moment. Maine is known to have many lakes throughout the state. At Long Pond, the wind was whipping up the waves so much that there were rippling waves making their way to shore. There was a small sandy beach adjacent to the trail. We checked it out, but decided to push on to the next pond because the wind was bringing the cold water right off the lake. When we arrived at Sabbath Day Pond, a large crowd of thru-hikers had already gathered: Jungli, Chinese Tourist, Colin (Mr. Fidget) and Hawkeye. It was another beautiful sight and we decided to unpack our belongings (to dry them out) and have lunch at the edge of the pond. The others moved on, but Bchucks, Jungli, and I stayed for a few hours to absorb the warmth of the sun and the spirit of nature all around. At one point, as Beechucker was eating his lunch, a dragonfly came up and landed right on his beard next to his lip. Jungli and I saw it happened, but Beechucks couldn¢t even feel it. He had no idea that it was there and it stayed for several seconds. Finally, when he crossed his eyes and looked down staring into the large bulging eyes of the insect, it flew away. Jungli left and I continued to enjoy the ambiance with Beechucks, who then headed to the shelter to read a book. As I was gathering my belongings to leave, a large dragonfly flew onto my shirt with a ladybug within its claws. I stood there for about 8 minutes and watched one of the most incredible things on the trail: the dragonfly devouring the ladybug piece by piece and bite by bite. I was surprised that the dragonfly didn¢t move at all. When I did finally take off, it was probably around 4 pm and I had several miles to hike before the sun would set. At Little Swift River Pond, Jungli had left me a note on the ground saying that she would have enjoyed heading out on a canoe with me. It was a spectacular sight ¢ the stillness of the water, the reflection off the water with golden trees in the background ¢ probably even more so when I had arrived. Just a little beyond, I passed a large swampy area, where I saw a small green-coloured garter snake slither its way across the trail. I managed to catch up to Jungli before South Pond and we set up camp just to the side of it. It was another freezing night.