Moxie

Big day so I hit the ground running and got out early. I didn’t need to do 22 but I had to prove to myself I still could, so I can turn it on in the 100 Mile. Got over Pleasant Pond Mountain in the fog (it rained like crazy last night, lightning, thunder, the works.) Going down the south side was a series of false summits, I’m glad I was going North. I got a little behind schedule going down the wet exposed bedrock, but luckily fording the edge of Moxie Pond was just standard rock hopping. Things had cleared up by the time I reached Moxie Bald, the tallest point for the next 50 miles, so I got those epic Maine views of lakes and mountains. I’m also in love with the word “moxie,” as in “you got moxie, kid.” It’s a brand of soda up here as well, though I’ll stick with Coke after sampling it.

The trail got easier and I turned up the pace, doing 6 miles in a little under 2 hours. I was a little nervous about fording the west branch of the Piscataquis River, but it wasn’t close to knee-deep as advertised. I guess it’s been dry up here too. I almost made it across on stones but one flipped a few feet from shore and I was in up to my ankles, just enough to soak the boots. I was optimistic that the final 3 miles to the Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to would be easy, but the trail pointlessly went up and down the same hill over and over tracing the river’s course. I’m 9 miles from Monson and 123.5 from Katahdin.