Date: 2022-08-25
From: East Branch Lean-to Mile 2126.5

To: Potaywadjo Lean-to Mile 2146
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: clear sky

We left camp in our camp shoes today as there is a river crossing of the East Branch Pleasant River and it wasn¢t clear if it could be done dry. Getting there we found a tricky dry route after bushwhacking 50m upstream. We both managed a dry crossing and bushwhacked back to the trail to put our shoes on. Shortly after that we started the climb up Little Boardman Mt which wasn¢t that bad. We passed Crawford Pond Beach and then walked along Cooper Brook for several miles. We got to the Jo-Mary Rd resupply point about a half hour early right where it crosses Cooper Brook. Sasquatch was already there and all of us put out gear to dry in the sun. Some of it was on the wooden bridge railing and there was some panic when a big propane truck rumbled through shaking the bridge. The food drop arrived on time and we packed up the new food and dumped garbage. Relish, Play-By-Play and Big Hungry were doing their resupply at an earlier road crossing and we found out from the driver that Pilgrim managed to catch the driver there. It was quite a relief to know he got his food. We came to Mud Brook and looking at the crossing decided we could not do it dry. We stopped and changed into our camp shoes and carefully made our way across the slippery bottom which was full of larger rocks. The larger ones are much harder to navigate through than the smaller ones. Especially if you have to stand on one and then slip off the consequences are much worse. Also it¢s more difficult to see the bottom right in front of you than several feet ahead which makes crossing even harder. After the crossing as we were putting our shoes back on, Sasquatch came up and managed a dry crossing. Starting off again we came to a second crossing. At first this one looked wet but after carefully looking we found a tricky dry crossing with a little bit of bushwhacking and all three of us made it across. When we arrived at the Antlers Campsite we decided to push on to get closer to tomorrow nights shelter due to the anticipated rain. Antlers is on Jo-Mary Pond and the AT walks around the pond passing two more sand beaches. It was nice out  today, the second beach was in full sun, and the water temperature wasn¢t too bad. I decided that it would be a good day for another swim and to dry out some clothes. I got in the water and proceeded to do a little swimming and a little rubbing the stink and dirt off. Orchid was wading and with a little peer pressure I managed to get her ¢swimming¢ also by which she was fully under water if only briefly. I was glad I¢d finally convinced her as I was starting to get cold and figured I didn¢t have a chance if I wasn¢t in the water. We got changed back into dry clothes and then spent a while hemming and hawing over the pros and cons of camping on the beach. In the end, practicality won out and we headed to the shelter about 2 miles away. We shared the shelter with Merlin and Fuzzy from last night but otherwise had the place to ourselves. This shelter has a 10 foot diameter artesian spring which the shelter is named after. PS Another hiker showed up around 10:15 and squeezed into the shelter. I never heard him arrive. Days in ME without Moose sighting: 18Steps Weather Forecast: 65/49 Partly sunny