Date: 2004-09-22
From: Bald Mtn. Lean-to

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

13.0 mi. in 6.5 hrs. A quiet night with cloudy skies but no rain. A grey dawn. I heard a barred owl! Up and out by 6:45 AM. Late Start was barely stirring and Rancid was still asleep in his bivy sack. The first job of the day was climbing Moxie Bald Mountain. I reached the top by 8:15, with a few sprinkles for company. Quite a haze, but great views east beyond Bald Mountain Pond, north toward the 100-mile Wilderness, and back south to the Bigelow Range and beyond. Also a fine rosy sunrise, after which the skies cleared and it became a fine, warm, clear breezy day. Down off the peak to the Moxie Bald Shelter, where I met "Rael," a young Israeli just out of the military, hiking south fron Katahdin to Vermont. He'd already started north from New York, then flipflopped at the start of Vermont. He'll knock off in November, then go hiking in Chile. The trail flattened out now and ran along waterways, which I forded three times. These went easily, as the water was low. I just removed my socks and shoe inserts, then crossed in my shoes. Then 5-10 minutes at the other bank to drain my shoes and dry my feet, and off I went. Trail register entries speak of risky crossings after rain when the water is deep and the current swift. Some hikers forded naked to keep their clothes dry! The world was spared that sight today.The trail then ran along a deep canyon of the west branch of the Piscataquis. What a beautiful scene, with leaves changing into autumn colors and lying all over the trail in the dappled sunlight. W.Branch of Picataquis near Horseshoe Canyon I surprised grouse all day long. It's always startling how quickly they take off. I heard gunfire not far off: grouse season? What a change from VT, where the spruce grouse sat there looking at me from a few feet away. This shelter sits high over a bend in the river called Horseshoe Canyon. Getting water involves a scramble down a near-vertical slope. Got in early enough for a second lunch, cleaned up, then started a fire. Last chance after all, unless you count the kitchen woodstove at home this winter. This trip is really winding up. I could have made into Monson by dark, but I feel like dawdling today and tomorrow. I'll still get to Monson in time to 1) eat a final pint of Ben and Jerry's, 2) have a foot massage from the lady in town known to the hiking community, and especially 3), look around the place for hikers just ahead of me "zeroing" before striking out into the 100-mile Wilderness. Everyone I know is ahead of me. Then Gloria comes up after work to retrieve me. Tadahh! More acknowledgements and credits, this time for the many hikers who've been such wonderful trail company. They lifted my spirits when the weather was lousy, my body wrecked, or if I'd had enough solitude. A partial listing would include, in no particular order: Raven, Pickwick, Minus One and No Worries, Spiderweb, Badger and Papa Bear, Speak Up, Cuppa Joe, Southernman, Skippy and Poppins, Beater and Wife, Meanderthal, The Hobbits (by just being there), Diesel and Mayaguez, Quest, Cat Dog, Sweaty Pig, Luna, Krispy Kritter, Allegheny, Lonesome Dove, Salt Lick, Coyote, Party Girl, Rael (from MA), Slackpacker, Whoopsy-Daisy and Mtn. Mama, Ole Man and Navigator, Waterloo and Machine (The Beats Working Brigade), 65 Alive, The Friar, Megabyte, Bilbo, The General, Sunset, Sarge, Tennessee Jack, Late Start, and Alaska Pete. So many other names have slipped through my sieve-like memory. Then there are the eccentric, even wacko types on the trail who provided great topics for discussion. Names withheld: "What happens on the trail stays on the trail." Then there are all the well-wishers who signed in my guest book, and even mailed stuff along the way, thanks to you all. Oh yeah, can't forget the hostel operators. Such good people, with no hope of of making big money off hikers, but who love the work and all its constant demands. Many are past thruhikers. A few places for example: The Blueberry Patch, Rainbow Springs Campground, Kincora, Laurel Forks Campground, Miss Janet's (yes a!nd Uncle Johnny's too), Terrapin Station with its Dead Cult, the Palmerton "Jail", hosted by the local police, The Friary in NY, the many church hostels in PA thru MA, Hikers Welcome in Glencliff, The Barn and Hiker's Paradise in Gorham, The Cabin and the Andover Guest House in Andover, the now-defunct Caratunk House, and Shaw's and the Pie Lady in Monson, with their little perennial turf war. All fine places. Sorry to have forgotten others. Some I omitted on purpose.Late Start just arrived (6 PM) having also made easy river crossings. She saw several deer.7 PM and almost pitch dark already. Time to let the fire die out and hit the sack. Last night out on a fantastic journey. One hiker describes it as "a roller coaster ride in hell." That says it all: you can't separate the thrills and the highs from the pain and drudgery. Or as that old saying goes, "No pain, no rain, no Maine." Or let's quote Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead: "I may be going to hell in a bucket,But it sure is a hell of a ride." Tomorrow one more river crossing, then a run to Rte 15 and a hitch into Monson. I'll sleep well tonight. G'nite! Now or Never