Date: 2004-09-21
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Bald Mtn. Lean-to
Miles today: 9.0

9.0 mi. in 6.5 hrs.Gloria and I stayed at The Inn By the River, at the Forks just north of Caratunk. We drove to the trailhead and started hiking up Pleasant Pond Mountain by 8:45 AM. I stopped at the shelter to check the register. Entries are getting ever more terse, probably because hikers now have just one goal in mind: to get to Katahdin ASAP and end this hike. The General had a great entry, crediting friends who helped him along the way, and damning cerain organizations such as US Immigration and the Appalachian Mountain Club.The trail up was such an incredible tangle of roots and rocks I had to take a picture. We reached the top in barely more than an hour. Great views to the south, to Bigelow, Sugarloaf, and beyond. Even finer views to the north, across Moxie Pond to Squaw, Barren and Whitecap Mountains. I think I spotted a piece of Katahdin through a notch in a nearer mountain. Several types of hawks sailed by, most likely migrating south on this fine clear fall day. We said farewells and Gloria turned back as I headed on, much heartened by her visit. The trail ran an endless downhill course, finally reaching the lake outlet at Joe's Hole, which I rock-hopped across. Caught up with Late Start who was headed to the same shelter. Late Start crossing Moxie Pond outlet at Joe's Hole The trail ran up through mostly hardwood forest to this shelter. I chose to sleep in the shelter because the night will be mild and there are no snorers. The other hiker here tonight is a genial Pennsylvanian named "Rancid", who is tenting tonight. He chooses to avoid shelters because he is a loud snorer. Considerate! That avoids the philosophical conflict of 1) Snorers honor snorees by avoiding shelters, or 2) Snorees accomdate snorers by using earplugs. One snorer, Garcia, used shelters but handed out earplugs to sheltermates. Considerate! Got a good fire going, again in celebration of the approaching end to my journey.Ackowledgements continued:Tonight I'm recalling everyone who tilted me toward this hike in my earlier years 1)My parents, neither one outdoorsy types, who sent me off to summer camps in Minnesota and Maine. It all sank in. 2) My middle school teacher at Moorestown Friends School, Harrie Price III, who took us camping on away soccer games, and later hired me as a counselor at his summer camp in Maine, exposing me to the Maine woods everywhere. 3) My father-in-law Herb Miller, who passed on to his daughter Gloria his love of outdoor camping at Montauk Point and in the Adirondacks, making it easy for her to take our kids on all manner of woodsy outings, leading to: 4) son Rob, who thruhiked in 2000, giving me a great look into the challenges and rewards of life on the trail. The same appreciation goes for all the thruhikers around home who've gone in the years before me 5) Ned Kuhns for his advice and support, 6) The operators of various web sites including trailjournals.com for the wealth of info they've provided, and finally 7), Ron Paquet for accompanying me on my big tuneup hike in the 100-mile Wilderness last September. I can't begin to count all the other factors and people who steered me into this venture. That makes it a good time to turn in! Bigger miles tomorrow, over Moxie Bald Mountain with more good views I hope. G'nite! Now or Never