Date: 2022-08-16
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to Mile 2039.1

To: Bald Mtn Pond Lean-to Mile 2061.9
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Immediately after leaving camp we had a stream to ford which didn¢t have a dry crossing. We left our camp shoes on and made the short walk to the stream and walked across. I like the camp shoes but even though they are supposed to be water shoes they dry very slowly. However it¢s still better than getting the hiking shoes wet. There was a convenient bench right after the crossing to sit and put your shoes on. We got to the Kennebec River just after 8:30 and found Aqua waiting. The official AT crossing is via the canoe ferry, which can hold two hikers, their backpacks and a dog, and takes about 5 minutes to cross. Hikers are discouraged from crossing on foot. This year the river is at one of its lowest levels. If you know where to cross it¢s less than waist deep, but other places including the path the canoe takes are deeper. There¢s also a dam upstream that releases water at unpredictable intervals. Every year there are hikers that try the crossing and are swept downstream and there is the occasional death. The ferry operator arrived at the opposite shore a little after 9 and brought the first two southbound hikers over. Aqua and I were on the first ferry back. She wanted to paddle so I sat in the middle and got a relaxing trip across. Orchid was by herself on the next trip as Puffer and 2x4 wanted to go together. Right after leaving the river you cross a road and go up into a trailhead parking lot. There we found Queen Diva who was offering blueberry pancakes and homemade zucchini bread with cream cheese. Can¢t turn down pancakes so I had three while Orchid did the zucchini bread. We didn¢t stay long as we still had a long day left and it was already 10 AM. When we came to the Pleasant Pond junction we had a decision to make. When we started the day we had about 41 miles to Monson. We had three choices: 22+ with another mountain today / 18+ tomorrow, 18 today / 22+ tomorrow, or 18 today / 16 tomorrow and do the last 6 miles the next day. I told Orchid that if we were doing the short day today then I wanted to swim. If we were trying for the long day then I would forgo the swim, but we wouldn¢t do it if we were arriving after sunset. She decided we¢d try for the long day and we¢d decide if we could make it before dark when we got to the last shelter before the climb up and over the mountain. The climb over Pleasant Pond Mountain was 1000 feet in about 1.5 miles so shouldn¢t have been that bad. However both Orchid and I struggled up the mountain a bit, although it could be related to trying for a faster pace. Afterwards the trail really got nice and we were able to make good time for many miles. It¢s strange how the trail provides where on a day we were behind and needed good terrain it appeared.We got to the decision point at the last shelter well before 5 and in plenty of time to make the 22.5 mile day push. We were just finishing getting water and were getting ready to leave when it started to drizzle there was an unexpected thunderclap. We grabbed the rest of the stuff and speed walked to the shelter. Rain picked up for 10-15 minutes, just enough to get everything wet, but it never thundered again. After waiting in the shelter for about 20 minutes the rain stopped and the sun came out and we decided to head out. The climb up Moxie Bald had a similar elevation gain but over slightly longer distance. The top of the climb got a bit more technical but otherwise it wasn¢t a bad climb. We took the side trail up to the actual peak which is somewhat bald and feels a bit like it¢s in an alpine zone. From there looking back at the Bigelows about 20 miles away, they were partially obscured by the weather. However, looking north we got a good view of Katahdin, now about 60 miles away. We looked around the top a bit to see if we could find an established campsite as it would have been a nice spot for sunset and sunrise. We didn¢t really spot anything except setting up on the uneven slab. Aqua arrived at the summit while we were having a snack just before we headed down to the shelter. Once we started down we basically were committing to hiking our longest day yet. Based off our recent experience, I¢d assured Orchid we¢d be able to get a spot in the shelter. Unfortunately I was wrong as it was already full and there were a lot of tents setup as well. We found a pretty nice level spot for two tents and got setup and ate dinner. We managed to setup our house and get most of the camp chores done before dark. Not sure if it¢s the latest we¢ve gotten to camp but certainly with the earlier sunset the closest to dark. Aqua arrived shortly after us and is camping nearby. As it got dark we started hearing the Loons again. They were active almost all night long. Days in ME without Moose sighting: 13Steps 36000Weather Forecast: 80/60 partly cloudy