After last night's impressive storm, the weather was clearing. I decided to give White Cap Mountain another try. I'm only 1.5 miles from the summit. I'll see if I can get a view then catch up to Brent. About 15 minutes up the mountain I came to the outlook I passed yesterday. It was evident that the weather wasn't clearing as much as I thought. It would be a waste of time to climb back up to the top, so I headed back to the shelter. Brent was still there and about ready to leave.
"Guess what, Eric," said Brent.
"What?" I asked.
"A mouse got into my backpack last night. He ate my trailmix and some crackers. What really made me mad was that he ate some of my Oreos."
"Bummer." Losing food in the wilderness is serious. It's not like you can resupply. I tried to look at the positive.
"At least your pack is lighter."
"I can live without the trailmix and crackers, but I was really looking forward to those Oreos."
We said 'Good Bye' to all the sobos . . .
. . . including Max.
Max was a great dog. You pet him once, and he's your friend for life.
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Our next stop would be Cooper Brook Lean-to
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Just a few seconds down the trail was a flat area with several benches. I sure wish one of those sobos had mentioned this as I searched for a spot for my tent last night. Oh well, the spot I had worked out ok.
Something happened last night that reminded Brent of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods book as well. One of the sobos was repacking his pack and had 34 Snickers candy bars. Before starting their adventure on the Appalachian Trail, Katz mentioned that he goes into seizures if he doesn't have sugar. Here's the next couple paragraphs from the book.
"Stephen (Katz), we're going to be in the wilderness in three days. There won't be doughnut stores."
He beamed proudly. "I thought of that." He indicated his bag on the carousel - a green army surplus duffel - and let me pick it up. It weighed at least seventy-five pounds. He saw my look of wonder. "Snickers," he explained. "Lots and lots of Snickers."
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This sign is about halfway between the two lean-tos. It surprised me to find these two lean-tos less than four miles apart.
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The trail levelled off for a mile or so.
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Brent on some bog bridging.
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There was a sign at the next shelter for a view. I followed the short path to a bog. After being in the clouds and fog for a day, any view was welcome.
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East Branch Lean-to
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This shelter had a couple log benches and tables.
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As we reached the East Branch Pleasant River, a sobo had just crossed and had seen a moose. Darn it. We just missed it. The moose was out in this area just a moment before.
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The river was narrow, but deep with a swift current from last night's downpour.
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We decided it would be best to leave our boots on. I went across first, followed by Brent. This was our toughest river crossing during this 5 day hike.
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Next stop, Mountain View Pond
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We only had two small climbs today of about 500 feet each. This was the first one. The trail went up, levelled off, and went to Mountain View Pond.
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Next we had a couple miles of flat trail. Keep in mind if you see a mile of trail on a Maine map that looks flat, it just means there is little or no elevation gain or loss, it doesn't mean the trail is smooth. The trail was flat, but filled with rocks, roots, puddles, mud, and other obstacles. Then we had the climb up Little Boardman Mountain. It was a small mountain. I stopped at the top (I thought) and waited for Brent. He caught up, we dropped down slightly, and started going up again. I couldn't believe we hadn't reached the top of the mountain yet. We did get a view on the way up.
We reached the official top. I followed a side path of a few yards to the official top where I found the word 'END' spray painted. For a mountain of just 2,017 feet, I thought this was fairly tough. Then Brent and I walked down the other side. We had a lot of miles to cover still. At least the ups were over with for the day.
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We went for a swim in Crawford Pond.
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We ate lunch at the far end of the pond at the old dam.
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Lots of bog bridging today.
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What do you know? A section of trail that is not only flat, but smooth.
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We took the short trail down to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to.
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Brent took this picture of me by Cooper Brook Falls.
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I had to use the privy, so I told Brent I would catch up. After 'taking care of business', I hopped back on the AT and headed off after Brent.
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Brent set a great pace. It was a couple miles before I caught up to him. The next few miles were the smoothest miles we would have during our hike.
Crossing a small stream
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We still had over four miles to go.
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Did I mention we went over a lot of bog bridging today?
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What do you know? Maine does have a bridge or two on the AT.
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When our feet felt as if we could go no more, we met a sobo who said Antlers Campsite was only about 20-25 minutes ahead. I found that carrying a full pack not only slows you down, but can wear you out in other ways. The bottoms of my feet hurt more than usual from the extra weight I was carrying. We finally reached Antlers Campsite. Unlike last night's crowded site, we had Antlers Campsite to ourselves. We set up camp, ate supper (ravioli again to lighten our packs), and went for a swim.
Here's a couple pictures of Lower Jo-Mary Lake at dusk.
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That night as I was falling asleep, I saw the silhouette of a mouse on the top of my tent. I thought of how Brent lost some of his food to a mouse last night. Not wanting to risk the same fate, I slapped the top of my tent and sent the little guy on the ride of his life.
