Wild River/Moriah Brook (part 1)

Come on, follow me, across the suspention bridge over the Wild River, on the Maine New Hampshire border. We were here last fall during foliage. (remeber to click on any pic to enlage ) We decided to hike the Highwater trail up to Moriah Brook, then Moriah Brook trail to Moriah Gorge.We met a very nice couple at the bridge with two huge labs, one chocolate,one yellow. They were out for a walk on the trail. We stopped and had lunch riverside. Dad cooked, Mom took pictures and I caught a "cat" nap (ha)It was a nice cool day to be hiking, the river was pure bonus. This weekend I learned about more spring flowers. Sweet white violets, common blue violets and bluets (all in one pic) and painted trillium. And birch trees, tons of them...I never knew they could get so huge! And so many of them! We saw some "nature oddities" too, like trees hugging so close they grew together and plants, growing up through old dead leaves. Early afternoon we headed up Moriah Brook to the gorge, stunning rock and water colliding. Hiked up until we found a perfect campsite right on the brook. I was scratching to get into the tent as soon as Mom and Dad got it up, pooped puppy. After a good dinner we did walk back up the trail a mile or two through an awesome birch grove, before calling it a night. We all slept soundly, well until I woke everyone up "Woof! Woof! Can you hear those coyotes howling, I did, I did, Woof! woof!" Back to sleep, to wake to a beautiful morning, breakfast on the brook. Then the hike back out. We figured about 16 plus miles for the weekend, these little yorkie legs are only 3 inches long....you do the math! :)

Wild River/Moriah Brook (pt.2)

AT Maine Rt.17 to Rt 4 (pt.1)

The roadside sign says "Appalachian trail". And look over there,a white trail blaze and the AT symbol painted on the rocks. Yep this is where we need to hitchhike back to. You heard me, hitchhike. My first time. And due to my lack of thumbs, Mom and Dad did the "thumbing" ...Now let's start at the beginning.... Friday night we slept in the van near the trail head,at what will be the "end" of of our hike. And like so many other nights in the van, I sounded the early AM alarm, "Bark, bark, moose! Moose outside the van! Bark, bark". And so started our hike on the AT. The theme of moose stuck with us all weekend. We(well Mom and Dad) hitched back to the Height of the Land to start our hike. 3 rides with some AWESOME people, all hiker friendly,and a 25 mile horseshoe hitchhike and off into the woods we went up the AT on a 13 miles trek back to the van. Our day was filled with spring. Dad taught me about trout lilys and purple trillium, spring flowers were everywhere. We hiked on puncheons over bogs and moose wallows all weekend.And snow, hopefully the end of it. The trail leads past several remote mountain ponds.The first one being MOXIE POND!!!!!!!! We had lunch at another. There was sign of animals on the move, busy with the spring. Woodpecker holes in a tree so big a yorkie could get lost in them. And moose tracks that would swallow a yorkie....such peril! We came to a shelter on the AT. Dad says "Guess this makes you a shelter dog" ha! ha! At 8.5 miles in we set up camp. It rained all night as I snuggled down with Mom in her sleeping bag, cozy and warm in our tent. But morning brought cold north winds,burrrrr, so up and on the trail we went, everyone in rain gear. Damp morning but sun did finally appear for a bit. And after an awesome morning hike over a sopping wet moss covered ridge with pine smell saturating the air, and a trillion more trilliums, we made it back to the van. Exhausted and exhilarated. My first section hike of the AT. Mom and Dad are so proud!
T

AT Maine Rt.17 to Rt 4 (pt.2)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy = Me and my Mom!

Mousam (pt.1)

"Come on Mom & Dad, I've got the canoe all packed. Life jackets, fishing poles, tackle boxes...here, here are your paddles...lets go!" This adventure dog was tail waggin happy to be headed out on our first canoe adventure of 2009. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE to hike, but, in a canoe a dog can be "Queen of the Nile." Basking in the sun, watching all the wild life around us. I don't even need to paddle...life IS good! We stopped at an island so I could pee, Mom and Dad started to paddle away just to get me on video...very funny, now get back here and pick me up! (see 1st video) Being spring and all, love is in the air. We saw bumble bees everywhere, tons of them, doing what they do in the spring buzzzz, buzzzzz. We watched a pair of geese for an hour. We saw another pair of ducks and a pair of loons. And one poor lonely cormorant in a tree lookin' for love! The trees were full of song birds singing their love to each other (Listen to 2ond video) We had put in at the boatlaunch on Lower Mousam Lake and paddled to the brick underpass to Mousam lake. We,well, Mom & Dad, paddled the whole lenth of Mousam then through another crete arch into Goose Pond. Long trip back into a bit of a headwind, But the folks seemed to keep a good pace back and we were back to the van before the sunset. Spring is really here, birds and bees, and our Old Town gliding silently across the mirrored lake, ahhhh!

Mousam (pt.2)