July 20, 2008 | Miles: 14.4
Start: Caratunk
End: Bald Mountain Brook Campsite
We parked the car in the AT parking lot in Monson, and got a shuttle with Daina from Shaw's Lodging back to Caratunk. It was a nice drive, giving us a preview of the Kennebec. I can see why they have a ferry to shuttle hikers across the river! It looks more like a lake than a river. We finally got hiking around 10:30, a bit of a late start, but with the logistics of hiking point-to-point that just seems to be the norm. The first 6 miles to Pleasant Pond Lean-to went by rather quickly, and we stopped to have lunch. There we met Duck, who was hiking northbound. We ended up leap frogging with her throughout the rest of the day. From the lean-to, we climbed up to Pleasant Pond Mountain, and spent what seemed like an endless amount of time wandering along the ridgeline. It was really really humid and we were soaked. Snowman was getting cranky. Finally we got down off the ridge, and enjoyed some yummy blueberries along a powerline crossing before pushing through the final miles to a nice campsite along Bald Mountain Brook. We set up and managed to eat dinner, get organized and into the tent for the night before it started to rain.
Flora and fauna notes: Lots of bunchberries, looking gorgeous with their red berries; blue beads, milk weed, queen anne's lace, Indian pipe, a few juncos, sparrows and chickadees.
July 21, 2008 | Miles: 13.1
Start: Bald Mountain Brook Campsite
End: Stealth site along the river before Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
It rained pretty hard overnight, and turned the trail into a mud pit and/or stream. Still, we enjoyed a nice climb up Moxie Bald Mountain, passing through some really pretty mossy old pine forest on the way up. The summit area had been burned at some point in the past, and the rock ledges were open, with views off into the distance. It was a nice spot to stop, have a snack and let the tent fly dry out a bit. The trail wandered along the summit, taking us through lots of sheep laurel and blueberry bushes, as well as a lot of mud pits.
From there, we descended to Bald Mountain Pond, where we stopped for an early lunch along the shore, enjoyed the tranquil lake. Saw two loons out on the water. Neat! The trail after the pond looked "flat" on the elevation profile of the map, but it was very slippery, muddy, and wet. We also had to ford the West Branch Piscataquis River, for which I actually removed my skirt and was glad I did. The water came up to the top of my thighs! Snowman was nice enough to not photograph me as I crossed the river :-) After all the fording, mud and wet trail, my feet were taking a beating. My heels were killing me in the last few miles to our campsite. Not to mention that although the trail followed the river, it actually went up and down and up and down along the banks, sapping my remaining energy. Still, the river was beautiful and we ended up at a nice campsite about 0.2 miles before Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to, right by the river, listening to the water roaring by.
Flora and fauna notes: The highlight today was the pair of loons we saw on Bald Mountain Pond! Also saw a hummingbird when we stopped at our campsite! Neat. Also several toads, frogs, 2 snakes. More blueberries! Yum.
July 22, 2008 | Miles: 9.2
Start: Stealth site along the river before Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
End: Monson
More rain during the night, but we awoke to clearing skies. Snowman was actually up before I was, and we were on the trail by 7:30, which is pretty early for us. We stopped at Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to so Snowman could use the privy and I could put moleskin on my heels. They were, as Snowman said, looking like "hamburger." Ugh! And ouch! We were laughing that we could hear a chorus of our feet whispering "f*** you" along with the roar of the river beside us. In fact, I came up with a nice little song about it :-) The moleskin helped, but only lasted until our ford of the East Branch Piscataquis River 2.7 miles later. The map's description had hyped up this ford, but in fact it was the mellowest ford of the whole trip, with the river looking quite mellow and pretty, lined with milk weed and Canada lilies. Gorgeous! A friendly northbounder gave me some Blister Blocks and moleskin for my heels, and this helped quite a bit, but eventually wore off... Oh well. After the river crossing, we climbed and meandered, the trail crisscrossing some snowmobile trails and taking us through more mud holes. Still, we were moving right along, making good time, enjoying the relatively mellow terrain. Wandered the shores of another lake, Lake Hebron. We ate an early lunch on Buck Hill, and then booked it to the road, finishing up before 12:30. After a quick rinse in the pond just 0.1 down the trail and a change of clothes, we were on our way home. Overall, a solid three days. I could have used to be a bit less wet overall, as my legs and feet, along with other select parts, were less than happy to be soaked for so long. But, there were some nice stretches of trail and it was fun to run into so many southbound thru-hikers along the way. We wish them luck with their trail adventures!
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