Day 153: My first Moose sighting

Day: 153 Miles: 16.3 Trip: 2030.7 Started: East Flagstaff Rd  Destination: Pierce Pond Shelter

We decided to not push all the way to Caratunk today and stopped short at Pierce Pond.  The trail today was pretty deceptive from the profile map I had.  I thought it would be a quick day and finish early enough to relax by the lake for a little while.  I was wrong.  The trail was very slick and full of roots.  Many long sections of going up and down 20 foot rock scrambles really had a negative effect on my speed.

There was one major benefit to my slow pace today.  It set me up to be in the right place at the right time to see my first moose!  I was crossing a bog board walk when I heard a loud splash.  I knew it was too large splash to be a fish or bird.  I crossed out to the middle of the bridge and saw a female moose bathing in the stream.  Seeing a moose was one of my bucket list items for the trip and I am really happy to finally see one.  I was kind of down on the trail conditions up to this point but this completely made up for the slow day.

Also today was the traditional passing of the 2000 mile road crossing.  This is not the true 2000 mile point but the marking are still painted here and I was really happy to see this point in person.

One more day to Caratunk.  We are supposed to get a major storm tomorrow and if it comes to pass I will most likely wait it out for a day in town.  The trail drain pretty fast up here but when it is raining they are some of the most slick and dangerous sections I have done.