Gorham NH

This morning was about as good as it can get! I woke up real early again, around 3:30. The moon was bright, close to being full. I needed water and it was bright enough that I was able to walk down to the pond and get water to filter. I then brewed a pot of coffee all without having to use a light. I listened to all the various sounds of the night while drinking my first cup of the day. I was in a unique spot. There was dense woods behind me, swampy marsh and a large pond in front of me. The silhouettes of the taller shrubs and bushes stood out clearly where the moon reflected off the water. I continously searched for the outline of a moose but saw nothing. Before going to the pond I was short on water since I did not filter last night. What water I had , I had wanted to keep for drinking so I did not cook a dinner. A granola bar dipped in peanut butter and a handful of sunflower seeds was all I had. I was hungry so after my coffee was made I boiled more water for oatmeal. I had a book that I got out of one of those little free librarys, Freedom To Wonder but it was such a beautiful morning I never picked it up.

The icing on the cake was watching 3 otters play and swim around. They were amazing and they did not know I was there. I was within 50 feet of them. Eventually I tried to take a few pictures but they didn’t turn out very good. For some reason my lense fogged up.

After bandaging my blisters I finally forced myself to leave.

The landscape took my breath away. I don’t mean hills though they take my breath away too. Hahaha.

All too soon the trail started going through woods so I was hemmed in and no longer had the view of the mountains. I didn’t mind the single track track trail though. I don’t think this section gets used much. There is a road that runs pretty close and I think most people would prefer the pavement.

I spent last night on this observation deck. I just unrolled by pad and sleeping bag and slept on one of the benches under the stars. The bugs were pretty bad but it was worth it.

Around 2 it clouded up really fast and got very dark. I headed for a gas station and got an iced coffee. I stood under the canopy between gas pumps while a fierce but very brief rain fell.

After the rain I headed back down the road. A mile farther I hit a rail road track at a bad angle and went down pretty hard. Somehow I didn’t spill my coffee

After I picked myself up the first thing I checked was the weld. I went down on that side with enough force the panniers went flieing but the rack and weld job were fine. Up the road a ways there was a little bit of a pull off that I pulled into. Sitting on the bank pulling gravel out of my leg wasn’t much fun but at least I had an iced coffee to drink while doing it. I guess pulling gravel out was more fun then washing it with hand sanitizer though. That stung a bit. I saw a sign for white birches campground that advertised showers and laundry, so I called to see if a tent site was reasonably close to being in my budget. I was in luck! $22 dollars. I thought a shower probably wouldn’t hurt.

I did laundry took a shower and got camp set up. Then I rode 2 miles back to a little store and bought sausage, eggs and cheese.

I’m in my hammock now washed and in clean clothes well fed and tired!