Date: 2004-08-25
From: Surplus Pond, ME

To: Day 123: South shoulder of Old Blue Mtn, ME
Miles today: 9.8

On AT Day 123 I got up at 4:20 a.m. and hit the trail around 6:40 a.m. under clear skies and cool (45-55-degrees) temperatures ¢ perfect! The day began with a relatively easy 3-mile, 900-foot climb to the 2,945-foot summit of Wyman Mountain followed by a one-mile, 500-foot descent to the Hall Mountain Lean-to where I signed the register at 9:15 a.m. It was sure nice to once again be able to hike at a near two-mile per hour pace. The 1,600-foot descent over 2.4-miles from the shelter to Sawyer Notch and Brook was certainly steep, but not particularly challenging ¢ perhaps I am finally getting used to this kind of mountain trail travel after being schooled (or scared) in the Whites!After what turned out to be a somewhat dicey ford of Sawyer Brook, I decided to stop for my morning snack and just as I was preparing to leave I met a SOBO day-hiker who solicited my verbal assistance on how best to cross the waterway. She returned the favor by telling me that the one-mile, 1,500-foot climb back out of the Sawyer Notch to the summit of Moody Mountain was incredibly steep. I thanked her, but I honestly thought she was either exaggerating or na ve, and besides I was now a ¢pro¢ in these matters. Well, she was not exaggerating, as the climb did turn out to be a real physical challenge. One thing I found particularly interesting about the climb was the fact that the Maine AT Club had been nice enough to install iron railing stairs in a number of places that I ¢know¢ the Appalachian Mountain Club would not have done so in the Whites. In fact in several places I simply ignored the aides and freehand climbed the rock faces, again what a difference a week and dry weather makes!As I have commented upon before, the descent from Moody Mountain was much easier than the ascent and I easily made it to Black Brook Notch by a little after noon where I stopped for lunch. In addition to eating I used the time during this break to study the best way to safely ford the waterway that gives this notch its name, and to try and decide how far I would attempt to go during the rest of the day.After successfully ¢rock-hopping¢ across the brook I soon came to a very informative sign posted by the MATC that sternly warned hikers about the scarcity of water during the climb up and over Old Blue and the Bemis Range. Not knowing this area, I had little choice but to head the warning, especially since I was still a little thirsty after lunch and with the clear skies and temperatures in the 60¢s, I was already sweating and I did not want to be forced to endure unnecessary dehydration. So I had two choices, either cut my hike short or load up on water at Black Brook and lug it up over 2,000-feet to the summit of Old Blue. I chose the former approach and decided to stop and make camp at the first available spot during the climb.So after about 1.2-miles and a 1,000-feet of very steep climbing I came to a tiny little spring ¢ actually not much more than a running water silty puddle ¢ where I was able to carefully gather my dinner and breakfast water. There was even a tiny spot to pitch my tent. To be honest, even though it was only 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon, I was looking forward to a nap after the day¢s short, 9.8 miles, but challenging hike. I didn¢t come to this decision instantly, as I stood around for nearly a half hour trying to decide if I would stop or try and push on to the summit ¢ with its unknown difficulty and water availability. In the end, I went ahead and made camp where I stood and was soon enjoying a ¢well-deserved¢ two-hour nap before dinner. My camping spot was actually quite lovely and I had a great time relaxing, listening to my radio and reading for the rest of the evening before going to bed.