Date: 2003-09-15
From: Random Site in the Woods

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Well, today was a day in which the AT couldn't make up it's mind as to what kind of trail it wanted to be. Several times I found myself talking to the trail, saying, "Alright Sybil...what's it gonna be? Make up your mind!". Now this won't make a bit of sense to you younger readers out there, but trust me, your parents will get it! :)The day started cool and damp, and I slowly broke down camp as the early morning mist started to dissapate. Two hikers passed my siteas I was packing and I knew that I would have company on the trail today!When I left camp, the trail was cushioned by several inches of pine needles and duff. I had a nice, leisurely, level hike for the first bit, and I enjoyed it immensely!It was just the first of many types of trail I would see today. Rocks? Sometimes there were none, and sometimes they littered the path. THEN, near the end of my hike, the rocks started to resemble the White Mountains! Luckily, the boulder-strewn section was fairly short, so I didn't stress too much over it. However, the one thing that all of the rocks had in common was that they were covered with a green slick of algae, making for some entertaining moments of "trail dancing"! :)Trees? They were most everywhere, of course, but different ones took over the trail at different times. The birch were the most prolific, and at times you could see great big curls of birch bark scattered through the woods. At other times, so many trees had fallen that the trail was more like a jungle gym than a path!I went through old forest and young forest.....through valleys and over the ridge tops. Interspersed with the woods were giant fields of grass and flowers, several new kinds of stiles, and yards and yards of bog bridges. Can you see why I called the trail Sybil?! But, it did make the day interesting and keep me occupied for the nine hours that I hiked!Back to those bog bridges, though..Remember back when you were in middle school and they showed you that film in science called, "How a Pond Becomes a Meadow"? It is all about how the dead plant and animal life builds up on the bottom of a pond and become fertile ground for more plant life, which sooner or later takes over the pond. Well, today the trail went through several of these pond/meadows and it was the neatest thing! Lots of man hours, and, I am sure, money, has gone into building wooden board walks so that we can walk through the area without killing the plant life, (and, I am happy to say, without getting our boots wet!). When you walk over the bridges, you can see a billion different types of plants growing all around you, some taller than my head, and underneath it all is dark water. The area has the most organic smell you can imagine, and hundreds of birds are nested in the plants to complete the sensory experience with their calls. This was my favorite part of the trail today!It ended up raining on me on and off all day long, and as a result of all the moisture, the trail took on a primal, mysterious feel. The algae-covered rocks and slick mud turned the whole walk into a trip through a rain forest, with me side-stepping rainbow colored salamanders, and looking out for moose the whole time!Unfortunately, no moose sighting today, even though I did see a fair number of footprints. Maybe tomorrow!The sun was setting when I finally arrived at the cabin and I was pleased to see that the two hikers from this morning were already here. We had leap-frogged a couple of times during the day, so I already knew that Jonathan and John were easy-going and fun. Portugee, one of the hikers I had met at the outfitters in town, was here as well, so we all sat down to cook dinner and hang out for a while. Traveling Jack, the caretaker for the cabin, entertained us with stories of the area, and we all threw out our tallest tales of the things we had seen on the AT.Several hours later, my sides aching from laugter, I excused myself to settle into my bunk. This has been a great day! However, just for the record, I still miss Bumpkin! She would have loved these guys and this place! I hope the White Mountains are treating her well, and I can't wait to hear about her adventures in a few days!Love, Anna aka Mud Buttwww.trailjournals.com------------------------------Sent from my PocketMail MobileE-Mail Handheld (www.pocketmail.com)