Date: 2013-09-25
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Stealth camp beside Bald Mtn. Stream
Miles today: 15.1

My chatty neighbor did NOT snore, Hallelujah! I slept pretty well, but I kept waking up with an aching right knee. I think it was just the positioning. I woke up around 5:00, and it was raining. And it was cold. So I wasn't getting up. Around 6:15-6:30, my chatty neighbor got up to go to the privy, which of course triggered my need to go as well. I gave him a few minutes headstart, and then I followed. As soon as he exitted the privy he started to talk. He asked me if I had heard the squirrels. The squirrels? Huh? My focus was pretty singular, and it didn't involve squirrels. So I answered "no" with as much feigned enthusiasm as I could muster, then I snuck past him into the privy and shut the door before the conversation proceeded any further. Back at the lean-to, I started packing up and made some breakfast. My chatty neighbor crawled back into his sleeping bag and pulled the top over his head to block out the morning light. Suddenly his head popped out and his eyes grew wide with excitement. He pointed to the roof and said "Squirrels!" I looked in the direction he had pointed which was roughly over my head. I looked back at him and had to be the barer of bad news. What he thought was squirrels throwing a fiesta overhead was actually just rain droplets falling on the tin roof of the lean-to. He looked at me questioningly, It rained last night? Yes, it rained last night. I looked out of the front of the lean-to, towards the wet rocks, wet ground, wet leaves, wet everything. Yes, it had rained.He was still in his sleeping bag when I set off. The trail immediately started climbing up to the of Pleasant Pond Mountain. It wasn't too pleasant as far as I was concerned. The roots and rocks were extra slick. The sky was grey and hung cold and heavy overhead. What vistas there were were whited out. Bah-humbug! My attitude was in the privy. It seemed to take forever to get down the mountain. I fell once coming down a rock. I stepped on a root and my foot shot out from underneath me. My left leg was pulled behind me (thank goodness I'm limber) and my right forearm caught on a rock on the otherside. It would leave a bruise. Whew, was I lucky, though! But not for long. I stepped wrong and twisted my right ankle. I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath, but I was able to get moving again. I crossed under a powerline and got my first real sense of the fall foliage's current state. Being in the woods, you're almost too close to it to really see it. Up on the mountain top, you don't see the subtle differences. But here, here I see it. Wow! I got to ford (read: rock hop and log walk) the Moxie Pond input stream. I'll admit it, the log was MUCH wobblier than I prefer. But I made it, and with dry feet, so that's something!I stopped at the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to for lunch. As I walked up, I started to get really pissy because the privy was AT LEAST 300-400 yds away across a stream. And that's not even taking into account all the rocks and roots between the lean-to and the privy (I'll admit the trail has altered/simplified the things I get outraged over). I thought up a sarcastic comment to leave in the shelter register. But when I got to the shelter, there was ANOTHER privy close by. Crisis averted. I've got to give it to Maine, they sure do cover their privy bases. I took off my shoes and socks in hopes they might dry out during lunch. Instead, they just got cold. As did my feet, and the rest of me. I flipped through the shelter register and saw all the cheerful notes of my fellow thru-hikers who'd passed through here before me. The entries were mostly excited and positive- the end was approaching fast and they loved Maine. I realized that many of them would already be done and back in the warmth and comfort of their own homes, putting on clean, dry socks, eating something that hadn't been dehydrated or squished in a ziplock beyond recognition. I got a little depressed. One hundred and thirty-six point five miles still seems like a whole lot. That's a lot of roots, a lot of rocks, a lot of mud, a lot of "food bag" food. I so want to be home with Tom, cuddled on a couch, drinking hot chocolate, watching a movie. It was different when he wasn't home. But now that he is and I could be spending time with him, this suffering seems a lot more unneccessary. I truly wonder if I would have stuck this out if he had been home all along. Honestly, I don't know. What I do know is that he'll be waiting for me at White House Landing in less than a week, and I damn sure want to be there. So I patched my feet (I've developed a blister on the right side of the ball of my right foot), and I put on my driest socks (all four pairs are wet), and I headed out. I headed up the flat solid stone trail (it reminds me a lot of a cement sidewalk) towards the top of Moxie Bald Mountain. The cloud ceiling had lifted for the first time in a couple of days, and I had an awesome view. I could see the horned Bigalows (I hadn't realized they were so tall!) and Pleasant Pond Mountain. I could see all around. The land below was covered in a carpet of trees; some ruby red, some canary yellow, some stark forest green. The cloud cover was solid save for a few holes that allowed the sun to pop through. The carpet of trees looked like it had been sprinkled with bleach where the sun shone through. Very cool. The trail to the summit of Moxie Bald passed through some giant rock caves. One rock looked like an enormous table top balancing on one long slender leg. There were two trees on either side to keep the top in place. The trial floowed a solid rounded edge up to the top. The top looked like petrified whale backs breaking through the surface of the water. I dropped my pack at the AT turn off, and I headed to the top. This has been one of my favorite (and most unique without almost killing me) mountains. I got a message from my brother, Jay, saying that my nieces had placed with their show rabbits at the San Jacinto County Fair. Cool!I could see anouther mountain nearby, and I hoped to goodness that that AT wouldn't try to sneak that one in, too. The bald mountain looked like a child who'd gotten ahold of a pair of scissors and given themselves a haircut. It was patchy with some trees tuffing out here and there, but mostly the bald mountain was "hairless". Luckily, the AT turned before heading up that one.I pushed on two miles past the Moxie Bald Mtn Lean-to. I was feeling good (though the blister on my foot wasn't too happy), and I wanted to get in a few more miles so that tommorrow's hike will be a little less intense. I'd considered pushing farther, but there was an unexpected river fording across the Bald Mountain Stream. My boots, gaiters & rainpants are so dirty that I decided to cross the stream with my boots on. I found a little camping spot about 20 yards up the trail. I pitched my tent and poured the water out of my boots. They'll be cold and heavy tomorrow! My butt and calves are really tight, sore and tired from the increased mileage. Boy, could I use a massage now! I can hear the stream just babbling away. The wind is blowing softly and a hoot-owl is calling in the distance. No moose today, just lots of tracks and plenty of scat. I've seen several garder snakes and lots of frogs. Both surprise me given the cooler temperatures. Oh, do I look forwards to some rest.