It's about 8:30 in the shelter. I just awoke from a nap in which I dreamt it was my job to clean the US Congressional Hall, and Senators would bring in large sticks and leave them laying around, in some kind of demonstration of their concern and support for the 2nd Amendment. I was sick of it, and threw them all away outside, and people were outraged. Go figure. My dreams have been extra-bizarre and vivid on the Trail, many people from my past making appearances. Maybe the exhausion and isolation of the Trail unlocks some strange door in the mind. There is one particular spot on this shelter's metal corrugated roof that sounds like an old guitar being fiercely plucked when it gets hit with a big fat drop of rain. I keeping listening for it, laying in the near-darkness. A strange mosquito moth creature is buzzing my headlamp. I put in a good 13-point-something mile day, and feel good about it. The first part was flat, mostly, fairly muddy - though nothing like day 2 & 3 - and the bugs were pretty bad. There were a coupld of fords, but they were knee-deep at best and one had a rope. I saw a couple of old ladies fishing near one. "Whatcha doing?" they asked. "Trying to keep my feet dry", I said. "Good luck with that!" Still unsure of Hugh's whereabouts. My guess is that his camera ran out of batteries so he just went back to Monson. Fuckin' Hugh. [I ran into him my first day out of Monson, he'd left a couple of hours behind me and I ran into him a few minutes after being on the trail. He was standing in the middle of the trail fiddling with his camera. I asked if he were lost, and he said no, my camera doesn't work. I reminded him that we're walking in the rain past nothing worth photographing, but no matter. I hiked past him and haven't seen him since.] Just heard a thunderclap in the distance. I heard something big in the woods today, maybe a deer, didn't seem big enough to be a moose, and I haven't seen any bear scat today. Moose apparently think it's okay to use the AT as their personal toilet - not cool, meese! Tried that new coffee-mocha stuff this morning; it's awesome. Basically cocao with instant coffee in it. Dana and I found it at IGA and figured the extra calories couldn't hurt. Tonight I made pasta/sauce, that I dried awhile ago. Added cheese powder, oil and chipotle. It was really good and super filling. I think it was a whole jar of suace. The cat foot stove is working well, just can't put it near anything flammable, because it gets wicked hot. I was testing it on a plastic table at Shaw's and almosts melted a hole clean through the damn things. Stopped for lunch at Moxie Bald mountain lean-to, near Bald Mountain Pond. Ate a peanut butter wrap and summer sausage, quickly, because I was about to be completely carried away by mosquitoes. The pond was beautfiul though, it was mistl and windy and mysterios, with craggy cliff haces coming down to the water in the foddy reaches of the pond. By the way, "ponds" are extrememly large in Maine, more like lakes. So then I tramped up Moxie Bald Mountain, a good, hot, sweaty climb that eventually spit me out on the 2630' summit. There were a couple of tricky rock scrambles, and also a summit-bypass trail, I suppose in case of bad weather. Since - hint is in the name - it's "bald" up there, rocky and exposed. The summit is sprawling, lunar and austere, with weather-beaten, scrubby vegetation, lichen, and an endless array of giant, waves of rock, like a playground for hikers. It was hazy, and the views were negatively affected, but they were there nonetheless, and I laid on my back in the sun - I'd finally found sun - and tried to dry off. Most of the day had been gray and foggy and melancholy, but up on the summit I was feeling satistfied, maybe because of the sun and maybe because I knew most of the day's work was done. Kaleigh had mentioned that she lost the trail up here, and it was a bit hard to find, it doesn't really go over the summit, but skirts it. I followed the cairns and eventually found the way. In the shelter with the college bros, Dirty Mike and the Boys - they're nice enough, I suppse. They got separated up on Moxie today, but rememdied it, though they were quite a bit later that me getting in. Looking forward to breakfast. Til then - Ups
AM clouds, PM hazy and partly sunny, then light rain
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