Date: 2007-09-23
From: Moxie Bald Lean-To

To: Troutdale Rd
Miles today: 6.9

Sunday, September 23, 2007Moxie Bald Lean-To to Troutdale Rd, 6.9 miles(Thinking back I think I forgot to record that we met NOBO Fidel, but now I¢m not sure where we met him.)I'm up before dawn. At dawn I'm treated to the sight a beaver swimming across Bald Mountain Pond, not too far off shore.Gray Feathers and Memere walk to the edge of the pond to eat their breakfasts there.Start 7:45, high 50¢s, cloudless sky, bit of breeze. Not a drop of rain overnight. I am so looking forward to today¢s hike. I love Moxie Bald. I love ascents.8:45, I¢m on rock ledges. I photo what I think is Katahdin in the way-off distance. There's a great view of the North Peak of Moxie Bald Mtn.Feeling good today, nothing hurts. Maybe because hike so far has been ascent.Hello to Peach and Edge. Last saw them at The Cabin. Good luck!Hello to NOBO Sweetwater.Near the top is a sloggy muddy spot that¢s deep and hard to bypass. Spaceman has warned us about this. In the shelter register, eulah too. Compared to past years, it¢s nothing.Hello to NOBO Gnarly.On the summit I wait for Gray Feathers and Memere to enjoy this spot with them. I wait longer than expected. That¢s because Memere left her hat behind at a rest stop and went back to retrieve it. No luck. That hat is the only thing permanently lost this trip.We head down, white-blazing the whole way over Moxie Bald.Past some interesting boulders, down, down, down.We walk by a mostly dried-up beaver pond, abandoned? Hard to tell. The lodge is still there, but it¢s high and dry. Maybe they've relo'd to Bald Mountain Pond.Out at 1:45 after 6 hours of hiking. Same spot I finished my first AT hike at. I open the door to the Element and discover a mouse/some mice has/have found its/their way inside and has chewed its/their way into the tortilla chip bags, through cellophane packages containing oyster crackers and pecans, and into rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. Maybe it¢s/they're using those paper chewings to nest in an area I can¢t get at, like in the AC or the dashboard. Zig Zag, remember when this happened to you in the Camry? I wonder how it/they got in. When we had stuff set out on the ground when we were rearranging things?We drive out a short ways to Baker Station. I hope to say Hi to Dan and Sylvia, who made my AT finish day such a great day August 27, 2005. They¢re out, says their neighbor. Their Yellowtail canopy'd picnic table is still there. I leave a note for them with the neighbor.We drive to Monson, deciding this time to stay at Shaw¢s in the same room Zig Zag and I slept in last year. We pay Dawn¢s daughter Dana. At the general store, I buy 2 mousetraps to set in the Element. As we¢re leaving the general store who is driving around in a Michigan-plated Suburu but Sherlock!!! He and Circuit Rider are staying here in Monson at the AIIA Institute Resource and Study Center. Tonight they will be spending the evening with The Pie Lady. How about all of us going out to breakfast tomorrow morning? asks Sherlock.Superb! I get to be with you 2, and Memere and Gray Feathers get to meet you, and you them.Back at Shaw¢s, looking for mouse/mice, I pull everything out of the Element. No sightings.This is horrible. It/they are probably making love/giving birth right now in the AC or the dashboard.I shake everything out and put it all back, except the chewed stuff and the crate of food.I bait the traps with peanut butter and set them in the car. Hopefully overnight the mouse/mice will get hungry for peanut butter.Another surprise, who is at Shaw¢s but Mala? And what¢s he got? Gray Feathers¢ glasses!!! Hungus found these back at the East Flagstaff Campsite at the spot where she and Memere had taken down the tent. What a stroke of good luck! Huge thank you to Mala and Hungus.Mala notices my right front passenger side tire looks soft. Thanks, Mala. I¢ll watch it. It may have been damaged by sharp stones on these dirt roads.To the Pub again for supper. This time we play with the New England Trivia game, the shape sorter and the crayons. We all draw pictures with crayons. I take Gray Feathers¢ and Memere¢s home to adorn my refrigerator, perfect souvenir of this wonderful hike together.At the Pub, a last hello/goodbye to Pearls and Starvin Marvin. Best of luck with your completion, vacation, VT residence and future hikes! Will look on TJ for your update after your summit.Today¢s Leaf-catching score: Me 0, Gray Feathers 0, Memere 1. Grand Total = Tied 1-1-1. So far, I¢m holding my own against the acrobats.Monday, September 24, 2007Bad news -- no mice caught. Good news -- no new signs of mice. Maybe they just went away. I can always hope. At 7AM we meet Circuit Rider and Sherlock and have a great breakfast and conversations with them at a local restaurant, on Rte 16, south of Monson. Future hike on the NCT in Michigan?After breakfast, we set the Cruiser at Shirley-Blanchard and I drop off M and GF at Rte 15. They¢ll hike south out to their car, and head for home. I depart for Rye NH to spend a couple days with my friend Celia. Then back to Syracuse for a PT appt on Thursday. Friday 3-4 days of hiking with Spinner on the FLT.