For some strange reason we decided to hike the Shoal Pond Trail on Saturday. If one were to take a quick glance at any map that shows the Pemigewasset Wilderness, the first undeniable fact that leaps from the page is that in order to hike the entire Shoal Pond Trail, you must hike several other trails as well. As a result, this is not just a simple in and out like going to Thoreau Falls or hiking Mt. Liberty, no, this involves a full blown Death March. Now keep in mind, a Death March is a relative term. To some, getting up from the La-z-boy and getting a can of beer from the frig can seem like a Death March, while to others, a Death March only counts if it’s a Presi Traverse in winter without food, water, snowshoes, or any other worldly possession. In other words, naked. Ours, however, was somewhere in the middle.

After calculating the mileage for a number of different scenarios, it was decided that we would drop a car off at the Lincoln Woods trail and have John’s wife Paula( the salt of the earth if there ever was one) drive us to the Ethan Pond Trailhead. Our plan was to hike in via the Ethan Pond Trail and hike down the Shoal Pond Trail and eventually out by way of the Wilderness Trail and then the East Branch Road. All told, the mileage was calculated to be 17.7 miles of relatively (another relative term) easy hiking.

After arriving late from CT on Friday night and inhaling dinner and a small glass of wine, ok several, we set our alarm for 5:00am. Like most of you early morning hikers are undoubtedly aware, when the alarm goes off at 5:00am, there is always a fleeting moment where a thought crosses your mind that if I just turn off the alarm, no one would be the wiser. Suffice it to say that I resisted the urge to hit the snooze button and awakened my wife from her gentle slumber. I will skip the details of my morning rituals, for it isn’t pretty, and just say that we met John and Paula at their condo at 6:00am and then headed to Lincoln Woods.

The Lincoln Woods Trailhead always takes on a different character in the early morning hours when most of the world is still asleep and only a few hardy souls venture out to test their mettle against the challenges of the Pemigewasset Wilderness armed with only their skill and daring. Ok, that might be a little over the top, but you get my point. We quickly parked the car and headed east on the Kanc towards Ethan Pond.

After several rounds of hug and kisses to Paula, and anyone else that happened to be present, we set out on our little adventure just after 7:00am. The hike to Ethan Pond was uneventful and we reached the spur trail to the pond in about two hours. We still had plenty of water, so we continued along without stopping. We made a bet among ourselves on how many people we would meet before reaching the suspension bridge on the Wilderness Trail. John said zero, Susan felt one would be about right, and I chose two. Fifteen minutes later we ran into a group of five coming from Zealand. So much for that theory.

Once we turned onto the Shoal Pond Trail, the trail itself took on a new character that was markedly different from the Ethan Pond Trail. It was narrower with stretches that could have used some sorely needed attention. What struck us the most, however, were the abundance of moose tracks that seem to indicate we were in the middle of moose country. As much as I would like to say that our superior tracking skills allowed us to decipher this evidence, in reality, the track were so obvious that Stevie Wonder would have no problem interpreting these tracks.

After a nice stop at Shoal Pond, we continued on with hopes of encountering an actual moose, rather than just their footprints. I tried to channel Fess Parker believing that any advantage would work to our benefit and a moose would just walk out of the woods and say hi. Sure enough, about twenty minutes later I turned a corner and standing right in the middle of the trail was a huge bull moose. I stopped dead in my tracks and tried to discretely signal Susan and John without drawing too much attention to myself. Ten seconds later the moose must have gotten tired of seeing this human flailing his arms up and down and just gave me a glance and sauntered into the woods. We all immediately darted forward, dropped our packs and penetrated the woods with the stealth and precision of a well honed SEAL team. I’m pretty confident from the moose’s perspective, however, we were about as subtle as a bus load of old ladies heading to Chippendales for dollar night. After several minutes of fruitless searching, we returned to the trail to continue or quest.

I would love to say that this was the first encounter of many, but I would be lying. Although we heard their calls and branches breaking, we never did see another moose. Dejected and forlorn we made our way to Stillwater Junction and had some hot soup. Once lunch was done and we filtered some water, we were ready for the hike to end. There was only one problem; we were still 9 miles from the Lincoln Woods Trailhead.

The section between the Shoal Pond Trail and the Thoreau Falls Trail was extremely beautiful, especially with the East Branch of the Pemi flowing along side the trail. I made a mental note that all one has to do is cross the river and hike in 200 feet for a sweet campsite. We continued on and made it to the suspension bridge in about an hour. After a ten minute break we hiked across the bridge, which didn’t make Susan feel all that comfortable given that it swung back and forth under her weight. We were initially going to follow the trail on the east side of the river, but John remembered the trail being in poor condition, so we decided to cross the river and then re-cross the river at the campsite farther down.

By this time Susan’s knee was bothering her and she had put on a medicated bandage to help with the pain, so I hung back with her and let John hike ahead. At the junction of the Wilderness Trail and the Bondcliff Trail we met a nice couple who were doing trail work on Bondcliff. We chatted with them for a while and then continued our trudge toward our car and salvation. At this point we were beginning to see more people, some were day hikers and some were backpackers. I always found it strange to start a hike so late in the day, but each has their own agenda so I just smiled and kept hiking.

By the time we reach the bridge and the cut-off to the campsite, Susan was in a great deal of pain. Across the river there were two green ranger pick-ups parked on the East Branch Road and for a moment I had a fleeting thought of hot wiring one and driving Susan to the trailhead. The words “grand theft auto” quickly changed my mind and we all continued walking alone the road toward the parking lot. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached our car at 4:10pm, nine hours after we started.

After returning home, lighting a campfire, opening a bottle of wine, and sitting by the river, the day’s events were put into perspective. Yes it was a long day, and yes Susan could have done without the knee pain, but in retrospect, it was a great day of hiking in the Pemi.