Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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September 8, Gentian Pond campsite - mile 1886

A most excellent day! So many beautiful things happened today, I have to rank this one right up there with Franconia Ridge, even though there are no real similarities.

I started the day off at 5:15, having no worries about my alarm waking the other two hostel guests since I relocated to an empty bedroom during the night. It turned out that my roomie snored, so after less than half an hour of attempted sleep, I decided to go use the "honeymoon suite." They told me when I checked in that it was reserved for couples (so why are there still 2 beds in the room, I wonder?) but no one had shown up to take it, so I decided it was fair game. There was no worry of being caught by the morning maid, since 1) there is no maid and 2) you have to make the bed yourself when you arrive and strip it when you leave.

So I was on the trail by 6:20, climbing the first of three mountains today, which nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes because they were simply ordinary mountains (for the most part). There were many steep sections, but they were always short, and the rest was ordinary mountain climbing. I'd almost forgotten what it was like! I stopped early this morning to watch a woodpecker eating bugs out of a tree, and again later to watch one of those rascally red squirrels munch an acorn. Both were so extremely close that I barely dared to breathe for fear of scaring them off. The highlight of the day was when I reached the first pond, where my wish came true and I saw moose! A large cow and a calf were wading out about halfway across the pond - close enough for me to watch but too far to get a photo. I thought I would try any way, to have one of those shots where you can say "See that brown dot? That was a moose!" But as soon as I got my camera out, they walked into the trees and didn't re-appear. I kept the camera handy the rest of the day, since I passed 3 more ponds but no more moose were seen today. No matter, I've got all of Maine to see more.

Tonight I'm camped on a tent platform - my first experience on these things. They're wooden platforms about a foot above the ground - typically build in areas where the ground is slightly boggy, and repeated tenting would irreparably damage it. There's also a lovely shelter here with a gorgeous view but the two fellas in there turn my stomach, so I'm not staying there. They're not the creepy-dangerous kind, just the stay-up-late-drinking-a-12-pack-of-Bud kind. Anybody with energy to carry up a 12-pack has a few nuts and bolts loose, in my opinion.