Date: 2017-09-04
From:  Road past Pierce Pond

To: Moxie Pond
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

We camped last night in a moose privy.  There were about a dozen piles of moose droppings, and we hoped we'd see a moose.  No such luck.  Arlene and Lizzie heard a loud crash in the middle of the night.  Arlene immediately suspected a moose, but it was just a large tree limb falling (fortunately not near us).  It had stopped raining by the time we got up, but somehow the foot of my sleeping bag got wet.  It's gotten damp from condensation before, but this time it was quite wet.  I put it about halfway into its stuff sack and left the wet end out to dry on the box in the van.  When I got in tonight it was dry.  The hike was pleasant.  We got to the Kennebec River a few minutes after 9:00, the time the canoe ferry starts service.  Rennie and Grey Beard were the first passengers to cross.  There is a white blaze in the bottom of the canoe, indicating that the ferry canoe is the official trail.  It was a pretty but variable day.  To the right the sky was full of dark threatening clouds; to the left the sky was blue and sunny.  All of the Expedition members took the ferry.  As planned, Bobby Joe and Jeff E forded.  The water came above Bobby Joe's chest, which means it would have been up to my neck.  I would have to have swum.  No thanks.  The mountain of the day was Pleasant Pond Mountain (elev. 2570).  The ascent was mostly gradual, with a mile of steeper terrain near the top.  I reached there about 2:00 and sat in a place sheltered from the wind to have my chocolate mint cookies and espresso.  I discovered I had cell service and took the opportunity to send my pictures and journal entries for the past two days.  The woods we passed through were pretty.  In places everything was moss covered, making scenes of intense green, almost like a rain forest.  We're no longer crossing granite stones, which have a coarse textured surface that is easy to grip.  The replacement is slate, which is very slippery when wet.  As it had rained last night we had to be very careful on these rocks and on the tree roots.   Wildlife sightings:  Today I saw a small creature dart quickly then stop.  It was a small golden tan creature that looked just like a field mouse.  I later talked to a Mainer who confirmed that it was a mouse.  I didn't recognize it because the mice in West Virginia are gray.  Lizzie and Rennie both saw red-spotted efts, which we haven't seen since Vermont.  Terri and I saw a small garter snake, the farthest north we've seen any snakes.  Two days ago Rennie and Bobby Joe saw a moose.  The rest of us are still looking and hoping.  We are camped tonight in some nice woods at a trailhead.  The moon is orange and full or nearly full.  I feel grateful to be out here poised to complete the trail.  As of today we have 139.3 miles left to hike.  There is a palpable feeling of excitement in the group.  We're really going to do it!  Tonight Rennie told us that all the women are doing excellent work and he's proud of us.  This is quite a compliment coming from him.  At the beginning of the hike I think he regarded most women as decorative but not very competent.  When I first injured my wrist but didn't yet know it was broken he chided me for asking for help putting on my pack and poncho.  His attitude, at least toward us, has definitely changed.Tomorrow we're fording the east and west branches of the Piscataquis River, the river that runs through Dover-Foxcroft.  This is the town where I spent my formative years (ages 5 to 13).  Although I no longer have ties there, I still have a special fondness for it.