Date: 2009-08-27
From: Safford Notch Campsite 

To: Pierce Pond Lean-To 
Miles today: 22.4

After listening to the Thru Hikers talk about their ¢20-mile days¢ as they complete their hikes toward Katahdin, I figured if there were going to be any time to find out if I still had it in me or not, today was going to be the day to ¢go long.¢ It worked out perfectly, and much to my surprise, I don¢t feel too much the worse for it (yet, that is!). I got up early and was on the Trail by 7:05 am and was immediately headed straight up to the summit of Little Bigelow Mountain, the only steep climb of the day (800¢) other than Falstaff and Little Round Top Mountains, which were 500¢ and 700¢ respectively (but with much more gentle grades). The views from Little Bigelow were superb, especially in the morning sunshine, but from there on, I was in the woods the entire rest of the day with nothing to do but walk. And walk (and walk, and walk) I did. I stopped at the Little Bigelow Lean-To for a comfort break and to sign the register and talk with a SOBO Hiker, ¢Letitbe,¢ around 10:00 am, and then stopped again for lunch and to replenish and treat water for drinking at the West Carry Pond Lean-To, where I chatted with another SOBO Hiker from Brooklyn who goes by ¢Double Down.¢ But other than those two times, I didn¢t stop all day, nor did I see any other people until I got to Pierce Pond Lean-To, where there were three other Section Hikers in for the night. The trail was rocky with a lot of roots and mud in the morning, but for most of the afternoon it was made up of pine needles and flat terrain ¢ perfect for maintaining a good pace as the day wore on. In addition, the weather was absolutely ideal for walking. Cool in the morning (in the 60s, even to the point where I had to wear a warm-up jacket and gloves and hat for the first hour or so), and it never got very humid or particularly hot, even later in the day. As the temperatures cooled, breezes blew through the woods, and with the sun out, it was just a great day to go for a walk. I hardly ever even broke a sweat. All in all, counting stops even, it took me 10 hours and 45 minutes to cover the 22.4 miles, which is a pretty darned good pace, even if I do say so myself. My reward for the day¢s effort is undeniable ¢ it is this particular campsite here on the edge of Pierce Pond. This is one of the prettiest spots I have seen to spend the night. My tent is pitched 20¢ from the pond (where anywhere else would be called a lake!) under tall pine trees on a soft bed of needles. The water from the pond is lapping up against the rocky shoreline in a rhythmical pattern, and a light wind is blowing in off the water. After setting up my test, I soaked my feet in the pond before taking a hot ¢Sponge bath¢ and then shared my Mountain House chicken and mashed potato dinner with a SOBO Hiker from Gaithersburg, Maryland, with the trail name of ¢No Reservations.¢ He is heading south from Katahdin through New England to see how much he enjoys this section of the trail. I¢ve now had my tea, drank some extra water, and my daily cigar. I am ready to put these old (but still functioning!) bones to bed. And believe me, they are ready to go. Oh, by the way, I did not have any visitors last night that I was aware of, which was A-Okay with me. If I have any tonight, I¢m sure they¢ll have a tough time waking me up to tell me of their presence.