Day 2 of 3 - "Land of torrential rain and bull moose"
After a pretty comfortable sleep, off the ground in the lean-to tent suite for two, we were awoken around 6am to the familiar sound of rain. Familiar to us because that's what it does when we go camping or to Florida. But this wasn't your normal rain, it was a torrential rain storm! I actually thought the freaky fire goat cast some kind of spell on us causing the stream to be re-routed over our lean-to. Well if it wasn't for the lean-to, we may have headed straight home right then and there.
The rain stopped and we crawled out around 10am. The weather report for the mountain sounded grim, but we decided that even if we just hike for exercise, anything else we see would be a plus. So off we went to the Roaring Brook Trailhead. The map indicated that Basin Pond was about half way to Chimney Pond. "Half way is good" ...we planned to assess status once we got there, since we were starting the hike past the recommended departure time for Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond.
The trail was a great choice, it was sheltered most of the way and initially ran along the brook. The incline gradually steepened, eventually to the point where rocks had to be clamored. Some nice bridges and viewpoints along the way, no bugs, and only a few hikers met on the trail.
We made it to our half way goal, Basin Pond...the clouds on the summit and Knife Edge were clearing, giving us GREAT views!
Inspired by these views at the half way mark, we decided to continue up to Chimney Pond. Even though the 3-D models of Katahdin on display at most ranger stations made this trail incline appear to be non-existent...it existed. This portion of the hike was more difficult than the first half. Really not much wildlife along the way, a toad that high tailed it off the trail as we approached (must have seen what happened to his buddy when some hiker didn't watch where he stepped), and quite a few red squirrels. Passed a few hikers carrying full gear for camping at Chimney Pond...we tried to imagine it for next time.
We arrived at Chimney and after passing through the camping area ("hey they have those cool lean-tos"), past the "bear line", which is a community area where campers hang their garbage on a rope strung between trees (when I read the sign all I could picture were bears in line for the buffet table!), and past the rangers station where we signed in, low and behold was the Pond! It was awesome! Great views of Baxter Peak, The Knife Edge, Hanley Peak, and all the features that make up the South Basin. Observing the incline to reach the peaks made me wonder how this hike could be done in one day...would have to be a very long day! We looked at each other and both agreed that I would need to slap Mr. Gong up side the head. He's the guy at work that recommended a loop (a "day hike") that included the summit. Camping at Chimney Pond then hiking the summit/Knife Edge loop the following day, would be more to our liking...some day.
We sat and had our lunch next to the pond and took pictures for about a half hour with only the occasional annoyance of fellow Americans...the kind that just don't shut up. We did hear some rumors of a moose that frequents the pond, but figured that moose sightings were simply legends to attract tourists to northern states, and there really weren't such things as moose.
So just as we grabbed the last few pictures and ingested the scene, OMMB spotted something move between two trees on the other side of the pond. Hey, it moved again, could it be? Holy Moose it was a Cow...I mean Holy Cow it was a Moose!!! Like a real moose, with giant antlers, not just the talking mechanical moose head at Buggaboo Creek, but the whole body and everything including...uh, yeah it definitely was a male!! We spent at least another 30 minutes taking pictures and video of this guy. John Holmes the moose even made his way to the water for a drink, but didn't partake in the full body dip...must have had his bath this morning.
Dude...we can still see you...
Satisfied that we had seen him do his moose stuff long enough (which was eat, mope around, eat some more, mope around, look around, eat some more...pretty good life) we started back down at 5:00.
hmmm...this leaf got me thinking if G&Ts on the way down...
We got to the parking lot to find that we were one of three cars left, and Ranger Rick was checking tags on the vehicles to figure out who he had to worry about. Two groups, including us, were accounted for...Rick had only one car to worry about tonight...his life is exciting as the moose's.
This 6.6 mile hike to an elevation of 2,914 feet, and the Mega-moose sighting, fulfilled the trip! And we still had another day ahead....
Happy Trails,
OMMB and T
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