| September 11, 2005 |
 I'm
getting ready to leave Moxie Bald at 7:25am. From the shelter
I could see looms, a heron and heard the coyotes howling last night.
A beautiful sunset and a beautiful sunrise. Starting up Moxie
Bald Mountain. It's pretty steep. I hear there is some
pretty good views up there. We'll see.
I think I must have started at 0 elevation from the
shelter and I think I'm going up over 2,000 feet. The climb is
straight up a hardwood pine forest, through streams and very steep
with a lot boulders in the trail. I'm not quite up to the top
yet and I've been hiking 40 minutes. |
I think I must have started at 0 elevation
from the shelter and I think I'm going up
 and
it's very steep with a lot boulders in the trail. I'm not quite up
to the top yet and I've been hiking 40 minutes.
I just through pulling myself up over large boulders with
trees and roots right beside of them. I had to lay down my
stick and got hand over hand. I'm hiking on nothing but solid
rock. I finally reached the top of the mountain, absolutely
beautiful! I can see the clouds within the mountains. I
can also see Moxie Bald pond from where I came from. There are
pine trees up here, real low shrubs and solid rocks that I'm on.
A sigh here that says Moxie Bald Lean-to 1 mile, so it took me an
hour to come up the trail from the shelter. Moxie Bald
Mountain is 2,630 feet. |
|
There is quite a bit of due on the bushes
this morning. They will probably frost in this area before
long. The wind is really chilly this morning. Fall is
approaching this area. I didn't go up to the north peak.
That was a little over a half a mile off the trail. I got a
couple pictures of a speckled Grouse. I'm pushing it right up
the trail. It's walking right in front of me. They don't
move! |
|
The trail for the last 30 minutes or so has
been nothing but large flat boulders. The mountain before me
is nothing but huge big boulders that make up the mountain. I
can see them ahead of me, it's just one big boulder chain right
after another all the way to the top. |
|
Back into the roots and pine trees for a
little while. It looks like I may be starting up the hill I
was talking about. I took the summit bypass trail. I
didn't go to the top with those big old boulders. I've had
enough of them coming off the top of Katahdin. Very dangerous!
Especially if they're a little slick. I'm by myself and you
never know when accidents can happen, so I decided to go the Summit
Trail. I enjoy hiking on those big huge flat rocks. |
|
Headed south going off of Moxie Bald.
I been hiking in roots, stones and dust trail. I'm into a very
wet hardwood forest. I had a couple of rocks to hop on to get
through the muddy swampy areas. Underneath this dust and pine
needles is solid rock. This pine forest is fairly old and
underneath it there is a lot of little spruces. Crossing an
old logging road and I thought I would leave the roots and mud
behind, but no such luck. |
|
I'm at the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to.
I'm not going to go in, to early in the day and I going to stop a
little later on. I've come up to this large swamp area and the
white blazes are over on the other side. I don't know how I'm
going to get across. I went around the edge of the pond to the
west and my friends the beaver had made me a beaver dam that I could
see that everybody else had crossed there also. I went on top
of the beaver dam and there had been a trail already stomped out to
get back into the AT. |
|
This is the first power line crossing I
have come to since I've been Maine. I was able to rock hop the
south end of Moxie Pond. I'm on the road, but I don't know
where the trail is? Found the blaze. The sun is out
today. A beautiful Sunday! Getting ready to go up
Pleasant Mountain. |
|
Pleasant Pond Mountain is 2,477 feet, 4.7
miles. It looks like I'm going to be starting up pretty steep
right away. This is very dense and the spruces are right up
close to the trail. I can really smell the pine aroma. A
pretty decent trail so far going up hill gradually at this point.
Crossing a swamp boardwalk and I see some ducks eating off the
bottom of the swamp. This is the most overgrown section that
I've been in, in Maine. It doesn't look like they have come
through here and cleaned it out for a long time. Not getting
into some huge big boulder and large trees. These boulders
look like cut stone with moss growing on top of them. The
rocks on Pleasant Mountain are getting rougher and rougher, and
higher and higher. |
|
The air is cool today, but the sun is
bright and the sky's are really pretty and blue with puffy clouds
here and there. I really like this deer moss when you get on
top of these mountains and it has a lot of sun; it is so beautiful.
Some of these rocks have broken off the main large boulder over the
years and they're like columns. Came across a little yellow
fungus growing on as log. I had not seen one like that
one before, so reached down to touch it. When I touched it, it
was cold and damp. When I pick my finger up it was kind of a
runny like mustard. Bright yellow. |
|
The trail is going down now gradually along
the side of the mountain. Above me are huge big rocks like the
other ones that are broken off into pieces and piled everywhere.
It looks like I'm going back up the hill again for a short ways.
They really fool you on this mountain, it keeps going on and on like
an ever ready battery. They are still taking me around the
side of the mountain. This mountain is like a roller coaster,
in and out, up and over. I've got a big wide crevice to get over. |
|
I just met the Muppets coming north.
I had never really hiked with the Muppets before. I'm finally
at the top, with a 360 views. I think this is a chain of
mountains all called Pleasant Mountain. All little mountains
together. I meeting the north bound hikers. I've see
several already. Just passed Sam I Am and Origami headed
north. |
|
Most of this rock that I'm on is big
boulders of slate, but there's a of marble mixed in. I have
reached the summit of Pleasant Mountain. I started at 12:30pm
and it is now 4:00pm. I'm going to go into Pleasant Pond
Lean-to. I have 6 miles to hike out in the morning to get into
Caratunk. I'll stay there the night. |
|
Getting off that hill was terrible, it was
straight down all rocks and very tricky to come down those foot
holds. It's been a beautiful Sunday, but I am tired. I
think I'll get to the shelter and get some water and something to
eat. Get to bed early! My feet are really tired with all
those roots today. Tomorrow will be an easier day! |
|
Swing'n Jane |
|
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