Date: 2004-09-18
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day #188"...amid the wide waves of green wood there are spots of autumnal yellow, and the atmosphere, too, has the dawning of autumn in colors and sounds. The soft light of morning falls upon ripening forests of oak and elm, walnut and hickory, and all Nature is thoughtful and calm." ~ John MuirThe beginning of my third day in the 100 Mile Wilderness was not promising. In the early morning hours it started to rain creating a rhythmic, almost hypnotic sound on the tin roof of the lean-to. It felt good to be in a warm sleeping bag sheltered by the rain and chilly air inside a lean-to. The rain stopped as the morning light peeked through the clouds. Party Girl and I were up early and out of the shelter at 7:10.Throughout the morning the sky was cloudy and the air chilly as we walked over Chairback Mtn. (2219 ft.). I noticed the primary color while walking in the forest, changing from the green hue of summer to yellow-green and sometimes yellow. There is no doubt today that I will shortly be passing into another season - Fall. We descend to the West Branch of Pleasant River where the trail crosses and a ford in necessary. Surprisingly the water was warmer than usual, I guess because of the ambient cool temperatures. Party Girl and I were putting our boots back on from the ford when we see Don't Mind, Don't Matter, Beagle and Moo-juice on the other side of the river. We yelled over to them that the ford was not bad and they thanked us for the information. Don't Mind yelled back wanting to know if we were going to the trail magic. Tail Magic? I looked at Party Girl, Party Girl looks at me and we both have this "what are they talking about" look on our faces. "What trail magic?" I yelled. "The white 8x10 sheet of paper with directions attached to a tree just before you enter the water." Neither of us saw it. I got up to look on our side of the river, and sure enough there it was, Trail Magic by Java and Jeopardy less than .3 miles off the trail. Within minutes Party Girl and I are warming ourselves in front of a fire, cooking hotdogs, drinking a beer and snacking on homemade chocolate chip cookies. Java was a thru-hiker two years ago and was the recipient of many days of trail magic such as this. Since her thru-hike, Java is now giving back that same magic to thru-hikers. Thank you Java and Jeopardy. I believe the best trail magic - IS magic - when you least expect it. I find it loses its purpose when it occurs one after another. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate trail magic when it happens serendipitously. I dislike the idea of hikers expecting it at every trail or road crossing and then complain when there isn't one.As much as I would have liked to stay by the fire and the company of my trail angels, my goal today was Logan Brook Lean-to. Party Girl and I still had a hard 12 miles to go over Gulf Hagas Mtn. (2680 ft.), West Peak (3176 ft.), Hay Mtn. (3245 ft.) and White Cap Mtn. (3654 ft.). As we climbed higher in elevation, the wind blew stronger and the clouds enveloped the summits. Late afternoon found Party Girl and I above tree line on White Cap Mtn. being blown about by strong chilly winds and trying to find our way through fog-like conditions searching for freshly painted white blazes on the rocks. Knowing how I liked sunsets Party Girl gets my attention in the howling wind, points to a momentary break in the fog and states, "There's your sunset." I look up just in time to see an orange ball disappear behind dark clouds. We were in the dark as we left the mountain and night hiked into Logan Brook Lean-to. The shelter was full as were all the choice tent sites. We found a spot on the trail going to the brook. It wasn't the best site in the world. It was rocky and the wind was cold coming up from the brook. Using our headlamps we quickly set up the tent and each cooked our individual dinner. After a long day of hiking and being blustered by the wind, it felt good to jump into my sleeping bag and escape the cold night air.