Appalachian Trail Section hiking: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to to East Branch of Piscataquis River

Day Forty-One
Monday, July 8, 2019
Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to to East Branch of Piscataquis River
15.3 Miles

Our mileage is finally stretching out a bit. We crossed one mountain again today—Moxie Bald Mountain. A local lady came along and told us that we could see Katahdin from Moxie Bald. It sure did look like it, but we couldn’t prove it. It seems like a long way to see Katahdin from here. You can judge by the picture below.

We forded three streams, swapping our boots for wading shoes. Bald Mountain Stream and West Branch of Piscataquis River were up to our calves, East Branch was up to our knees. Thank goodness it has not been heavy rain lately.

We walked beside the river for the last five miles. It was a long day and I was feeling sick with my stomach. At one point Wait-up was going slow ahead of me (trying to take it easy on me) and I said, “You can walk a little faster if you want to.” So he took off. I didn’t see him for a little while. When I passed Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to, I sure was tempted to go up that blue blaze trail and stop for the night. But, I trudged on and finally Wait-up was there waiting on me.

After almost two more miles, we waded the last stream and camped just on the other side of it. This will set us up to get to Monson early tomorrow. I’m looking forward to that.