9/01/01
Wow! September! I can't believe I've been on the trail since March and it's already here! The morning drizzle tapered off, but I rolled over, waiting for the sun to poke out from behind the clouds. At 8:40 I heard the sound of Phantom's tent fly being shaken, so I knew I better get up and get myself together for another day on the trail. I got all my gear packed, except the tent, then put the wet fly in the top of my pack. Phantom and Finn and I left at the same time, with Yolo and Smoky ahead of us by an hour or two. Finn and Phantom jumped ahead of me as we climbed Pleasant Pond Mtn. There were no views, thanks to clouds and fog. The wind drove me off the top quickly as I descended across gradual terrain the next 5 miles to Moxie Pond. I passed Yolo and Smoky along the trail while they were enjoying an early lunch in the now sunshiny day. Then I caught up to Phantom, who had stopped for a break on some boulders next to the trail. We approached an open clearing where a powerline crossed and found Finn with his gear spread out all over the place. His camelback water container had somehow burst inside his pack and thoroughly soaked most of his gear. Since the spot was sunny and a stiff breeze was blowing across the open patch, it was a great opportunity to stop for lunch and dry out the gear. It was time well spent, getting everything back in order before pressing on to Bald Mtn. Brook lean-to.
After a brief stop there, we ascended Moxie Bald Mtn. The view from the top was stellar, but a cold wind forced us down quickly as we pressed on to the Moxie Bald lean-to at the bottom of the mountain. It was 4:30 p.m. when we arrived at the empty lean-to. I was anxious to cut into the 18 remaining miles to Monson. With relatively flat trail remaining, Phantom and Finn and I decided to hike on for another hour or two. We managed to squeeze out another four miles before Phantom spotted a little makeshift campsite just off the trail and announced that he was in favor of stopping for the day. My feet were screaming too, so there was no objection from me as we pulled in to the unmarked site for the night. With a cold night forecasted, the three of us hustled through our camp chores, then collected firewood for an evening campfire. It warmed our souls and our bodies and we enjoyed the fire thoroughly until it was reduced to coals and we scrambled for our tents. I didn't bother to journal with cold weather setting in and Monson in the forecast for a zero mile day, just another day or so away. I was quick to cinch up the bag around me since temperatures were already in the 30s by 9:00 p.m. Today was a perfect hiking day, with crisp cool autumn weather. I sensed all day that Katahdin is getting close and the adventure is quickly coming to an end. My emotions are all over the map these days, ranging from excitement and impatience to finish to sadness that the adventure is almost over. Today's stats: low 58, high 63. Cloudy to bright sunshine. Today's mileage; 17.1; cumulative mileage: 2,039.7.
