I slept like a baby last night. The fact that I was totally exhausted I’m sure had much to do with this fact. I could barely stay awake to blog. But I, in fact, finished it, and then proofread it this morning. It was lacking quite a bit so I rewrote most of it, and it sat in my in-box. There is no cell tower, no Wi-Fi, no service so until that happens, all this writing stays in my phone. I’m thinking it’s gonna be like this till I reach Katahdin. It’s the way the Maine-ah’s want to keep it. Remote and no civilized upgrades.

Blue and I left camp at 7am. The first bit of business was fording the Moxie Pond River. I wore my Crocs and just walked in. Blue skipped across the rocks the best way she could. We both got across unscathed and redressed for hiking. Today’s hike was mellow after yesterdays Foresthill March! We decided on a mid point sleepover which equates to ten miles the following day, to get into the township of Monson.

The morning was a breeze, easy walking with nice and flat trail. We stopped at Bald Mountain Brook and had our Breakfast. Nothing like yesterdays pancakes, but cheese, beef sticks and crackers. This would give us what we needed to climb Bald Mountain, our only climb of the day. Now this is the part that I like about Maine. One mountain per day, one climb per day. That’s genius!

Bald Mountain is the peak of Moxie Bald Mountain (the proper name is Bald Mountain— Moxie refers to the pond to the west). The mostly bald peak was the result of a forest fire in the early 1900s, but is today enjoyed by hikers as one of the finest views in the region. As you climb, it’s your typical upward trajectory and then it gets exciting. There are huge boulders that are precariously balancing on one another. I wanted to get through quickly as if one came down, it’d squash me like an ant!

The Peak opens up to huge views in all directions. Blue was busy eating blueberries and I headed up to find a place to nap. Our tents were wet and so were our sleeping bags, so my first bit of business was drying my stuff. Following the rock cairns took me to a perfect place that gave us shelter from the wind, a couple of short pine trees to hang our tents and a perfect sleeping rock. Both Blue and I laid out all our assortment of wet gear and relaxed in the glorious sunshine. Yes, you read that correct. We’ve had sunshine for two days in a row. See, God does answer prayers quickly.

We stayed for an hour or maybe two. It was so nice to take in the beauty of this place. I feel we have rushed through so much due to weather constraints and time schedules, but today, it was nothing but rainbows and unicorns. All is good in my world! And Blue got her full of blueberries.

But all things must come to an end. We packed up and headed down the mountain. I think it was one of the prettiest days we’ve had on trail in Maine. The views were tremendous and the trail was nice Granite Slabs lined with blueberry bushes. How much better does it get than that? Bald Mountain Pond was visible and what a huge body of water she is!

We arrived at Bald Mountain Stream, the outlet of Bald Mountain Pond. This is not a hop, skip and jump across rocks. Everything is submerged and hikers must ford the river. I took off my shoes and once again pulled out my Crocs. This time Blue took off her shoes and went barefoot. Her camp shoes are flip-flops and not ideal for river crossings. I went first, unbelted my backpack which confused Norman. Like, what if you fall? Are you just go to let me float down the river? He had a point so I didn’t fall and he stayed on my pack. Poor guy gets so worked up over these safety protocols. Blue followed me and we both made it to the shoreline, a little bit wetter than when we started.

We redressed for the second time today and continued onward. The rest of the day was ho-hum after all we saw in the morning. There is what appears to be logging that isn’t completed. Trees have been cut and fallen, but left on the forest floor. It’s not very appealing to a hiker who has seen uncut forests for hundreds of miles. I’ve been told that lumbering is big business in Maine so I guess that should be expected.

To my chagrin, our campsite is an old logging camp, just this side of a logging road. It’s a grassy field that has a fire ring and could comfortably fit 8-10 tents. Well this is home so I’ll enjoy it while I’m here. We arrived at camp early today. I was just fine with that. I had plenty of time to clean, nest and relax. As I was inspecting my toes, it appears that my right big toe nail is ready to release itself from its’ nail bed. Hmm, I guess that goes along with the hazards of the job. One toe nail isn’t bad. I met a gal named Nails on the PCT who lost all ten of her toe nails! Now that’s one tough cookie! One toe nail down and nine to go. No, no, no! One is enough!