Date: 2008-09-15
From: Moxie Pond Rd., ME

To: Taylor Rd., ME
Miles today: 11.0

Well obviously my brain is really processing the end of this hike and my emotions related to it. I had a dream last nite that I was in a giant wood cabin, sort of summer camp style, with 100¢s of hikers waiting to eat dinner. Everyone but me was clean and in clean clothes; I was still in my gross stinky hiker clothes and I didn¢t know anyone there, which made me feel like an outsider, because everyone there knew everyone else. However, there were a few very amiable hikers and one girl asked about my story, so I gave the quick version I tell people out here about hiking last year and this year, etc. The thing that struck me about the dream though, was at the end of the explanation, I passionately said, ¢I just want to finish, I just want to finish this trail so I can go home.¢ I woke to the alarm and realized yup, I really do want to finish so that I can go home.Last nite, I died laughing, because A.M. had brought almost an entire kitchen¢s worth of cooking things like a toaster oven crock pot and toaster. We toasted some sandwhich and warmed up clam chowder for dinner. Reminded me of living in the barracks when I was in the military. We weren¢t ¢supposed¢ to cook in our rooms, so my roommate and I had a wall locker locked at all times full of our entire kitchen, and when we got inspected (which means they could look anywhere they wanted¢¦no privacy), we had to stealthily relocate our kitchen in the trunk of the car.I was up at 6 a.m. and we decided to pack the room up before leaving so that after Karen dropped us off, she could go right to Monson and not have to backtrack. We did this and were still at the trail by 8:45 a.m. It was very warm and extremely humid this morning, but the sun was out and it was a gorgeous Maine morning.The first thing we had in front of us was a long rock hop across Baker Stream. I can¢t figure Maine out, they call streams what I would consider a river, they call ponds what I would definitely consider a lake. This stream was actually quite wide and deep in some places, but both A.M. and I got across without a hitch.Next we entered this incredible sunlit green mystical forest that was something out of Lord of the Rings. Wow, the sunbeams were coming down and it was so peaceful. We had a gradual climb for about 3 miles towards Bald Mtn. Brook Lean-to, where we stopped so we could see what Uncle Tom wrote in the register. He had indeed spent the nite there last nite. This is a great lean-to with a nice brook running right in front of it.Next we headed on for a 2 mile climb up to the top of Moxie Bald Mtn. The topos made this climb look horrible, but it was quite gradual and not overly tough. Parts of it were cool because it was the normal beautiful forest, but the trail was just a strip of granite rock that you hiked up. It was still wet from the rain a few days ago, so you had to be a little careful stepping so you wouldn¢t slip. A.M. was leading, because honestly, I was so tired and in my normal morning haze, but I got to a spot and saw this little toad just sitting in the middle of the trail. This toad was just chilling and didn¢t care that I was there, so I got probably the most incredible pictures of a toad I could have gotten. I know, you¢d think toad pics would be boring, but these are literally an inch away, so you can see all the detail of its warty skin and all.I think part of the reason I¢m so tired is that I¢ve had my body on routine of not hiking any more than 5 days in a row, and today is day #6. Probably half psychological, but as beautiful as all of this is, I¢m really aiming for Monson.1 mile up, we came to the bad weather by-pass trail that takes you around the mountain instead of over the the top. We were surprised to already be there, but obviously weren¢t going to take the by-ass trail. We headed up and came around a corner to see these incredible giant boulders and slabs of rock just balancing. You hike through a little opening and come around another corner where this huge slab of rock is hanging over like the roof of a house. It¢s amazing to think of what forces put these things in their places.As we climbed, the wind was getting stronger, and we could hear it whipping all morning. Just before the top you are exposed and could see for miles and miles. The view was as usual, spectacular, as you looked down upon Moxie Pond, and there were bans of white and grey clouds, but the wind was blowing the clouds and moisture out of the state today I believe. The top of this mountain was unlike any others. It actually looked a lot like a Maine bog, with dead trees and patches of tall grass and moss, but it wasn¢t swampy. Still interesting to see though.By now, it was approaching lunchtime, and if we could find shelter from the wind, I wanted to eat lunch with a view, so we headed a short way down the other side and found our spot. Gosh, view after view after view up here.   A.M. and I sat down and ate lunch while looking down at Bald Mtn. Pond and layers of mountains for miles and miles. It was a tiny bit chilly, but I put my long sleeved shirt on and was fine. We just sat there in awe, appreciating the pay-off of our climb. Where will I see views like this in Virginia?We headed down around 12:30 p.m. and had about 2 miles to go to Moxie Bald Lean-to. It was a nice descent, where we hiked past cool little mini eco-systems of lichen to moss to small plants to shrubs to small bushes to trees. Each layer had a different color.Oh, both A.M. and I still had soaked feet from yesterday because our shoes didn¢t dry out overnite, so we decided since we were making great time, we¢d take a shoes off break when we got to the lean-to. Well, we got to this serene little stream crossing with a board over it and decided to stop there. A few minutes later, I saw up the trail the sign for the lean-to, so it was perfect timing. We took our shoes off to dry out a bit. This stream was the water source for the lean-to so we obviously didn¢t feel the need to soak our dirty feet in the water, especially since they were already water logged. I layed across the board going over the stream and listened to the rushing water. I peered up at the blue blue sky with an occasional clump of white clouds passing over. The trees were turning colors already too, so it was quite a beautiful site. I noticed this tiny white caterpillar on the very end of a small branch that was sticking out of the stream. Got some cool pics of it all curled up. We relished in the perfection of this moment for 30 wonderful minutes. We finally headed on for the final flat 4 miles around 2:00 p.m.The last few hours flew by because we were lost in a great conversation. The trail was pretty muddy today with lots of rock hopping involved. We got to Bald Mtn. Stream, which was wide and it had a rope tied across the crossing area. I stowed my poles (only to figure out half way through that it would have been easier to use 1 single pole and the rope), and I made my way across via 2 dead logs and some slick rocks. The stream was flowing quickly, so I really didn¢t want to fall in. A.M. made it across faster than me and without a hitch.We knew we should be near the logging road (listed as Main Logging Rd. on the maps¢¦but it¢s actually called Taylor Rd. in the atlas), around 4:15 p.m. This road is no listed in the guidebook, so it made me a little nervous about stopping at the right road, but I knew I could count on our hiking time for our location. At 4:10 p.m., I saw a piece of paper on a tree ahead and instantly recognized the writing¢¦it was from Karen! She was letting us know were were only a few mud puddles away¢¦YIPPY!!!We got to the road and saw Karen there with the car as planned. We all hopped in and headed back to Bingham to grab Karen¢s car so we could all head to Monson next. We also needed to let the owners of the Bingham Motor Inn that although we paid for 3 people for 3 nites, one nite, it was only 2 people (when Uncle Tom came back to town unexpectedly), so we asked for a refund on the extra person charge. Can you believe they wouldn¢t give us the refund? Man, the Bingham Motor Inn needs to learn a little about customer service. I suppose when you¢re the only place in town though, you can run it however you want. We won¢t be going back there ever again though.I drove Karen and I back to Monson and A.M. followed us. We had 1 nite at the Lakeshore House and Pub. It¢s a place listed in the hiker books, so it¢s got some private rooms and some rooms with a bed and bunks in it. We thought we were getting a room with bunks and a double bed, but when we showed up, our names were not on the board. Oh man¢¦what now. John, a guy helping out, went down and asked Rebecca (the owner) about it, and it was a simple mistake. Another party had cancelled and they just wrote the wrong name on the board. Whew¢¦I was ready to get settled for the nite. Our room was actually quite nice, with t.v., fans, etc.; and A.M. ended up getting her own private room too. Other hikers here tonight are Baboo, Rue, and 2 others I¢ve never met. I also saw Bar Fight walking down the road, probably back to Shaw¢s, and Karen saw Racoon in town earlier today too.The pub isn¢t open today, so Rebecca was making food for hikers, but we told them we¢d just grab a pizza at the little market down the road. That way there was no rush in showering and getting unpacked. We all went down to the market and I ordered a 12¢ pepperoni and tomato pizza (my fav) and Karen got some chicken tenders. A.M. also got pizza, and we all retired to our rooms and pigged out. I was pretty hungry. We watched one of the Batman movies on t.v.   Tomorrow¢¦finally¢¦is the last day of my slackpack-athon. I¢ll officially be in Monson tomorrow, ready to take a few days off and ready to get Karen ready for her transformation back into Incessant, my hiking companion. We¢re only staying here for one nite, and Karen found a place with a small kitchenette in it, in the town of Greenville, about 20 minutes up the road.Tomorrow is Auntie Mame¢s last hiking day of her trip. I¢m so honored to be with her for it, as I was for V8¢s, even though I sort of ruined V8¢s last day by getting sick¢¦argh. I wonder what it will feel like for A.M. to know this is it for this year. She¢s staying with us for our zero¢s though, and is so kind to help shuttle our car up to Millinocket so it¢s there when we finish. She¢s such a sweetheart.Well, need zzzz¢s desperately.   128.3 miles to go.~Certain