Date: 2008-10-03
From: Kokadjo B-Pond Rd., ME

To: Stealth site .1 past Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Finally, a good nite's sleep. We were up by 6:30 a.m., I had everything ready to go last nite, so it was a matter of getting dressed, brushing my fangs, and leaving. Per my request, we went thru the McDonald's drive thru, where I loaded up on lots of calories. We headed down Maine 11, the sun was out, and I was pretty excited about getting out there and finishing this thing. I will say, I didn't think I'd hike solo anymore, nor did I think I'd have to say goodbye to Karen again either. What made it tolerable is that the next time I see her, it's my last nite out here, there is nowhere else to go. We were convinced the road we needed to turn onto had a green sign, so we ended up passing the road, but we figured it out, and turned around. We headed up the logging rd and you have to register and pay $10.00 per person. This is Jo-Mary rd., which takes you to a campground, but it forks and if you go left, it is Kokadjo-B Pond Rd. I went inside and paid Bev the fee. We were talking, and she told me a guy had to be heli-lifted out yesterday. After a few minutes, I realized it was the hiker that Ole Man was dropping off the day I was sitting @ the road. The hiker was not a thru-hiker, it was an older gentleman who apparently has Asperger's Syndrome. He twisted his knee and was hypothermic (tips of his fingers were blue), and some other hikers let Bev know he needed help way back @ the East Branch of the Pleasant River..that difficult ford that I had actually warned him about. He got rescued and taken to a hospital. I don't know anything else. I'm glad he's ok, but it is a lesson in how quickly things can go wrong out here, especially in cold rainy weather. We zoomed on and were back @ the trail by 9:00 a.m. We said our goodbyes and I was off. Very cool morning, and first thing was beautiful Crawford Pond. Water so clear you couldn't tell it was there, and there was a sandy beach. Too bad it's so cold, I'd go swimming. I was making great time today, moving over 2 mph. The trail was so flat and friendly, it was amazing. I didn't have to "think" about hiking, I could get lost in my head like the good ole' days. Cooper Brook ran along much of the trail today. As always, the water was beautiful. Before I knew it, I was @ Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to, which was a pretty awesome location for beauty. Good hanging sites too. I moved on, and Church Pond was next. No freaking moose either! I then saw 2 people coming towards me, a man and woman who was carrying her purse. They said Jo-Mary Rd. was about .25 and that L.L. Bean had a tent set up for doing a photo shoot. I was thrilled to be able to possibly see this process. So I got to the road and went right over the bridge and saw several tents and a truck with L.L. Bean on it. There were 2 women in a big white tent, and I said hi. Well come to find out, L.L. Bean is a Maine company, and the store abot 3.5 hrs away maintains an 18 mile section of the AT here in the wilderness, and twice a year, they set up a basecamp for 2 weeks and different crews of employees come out and work on the trail. How cool huh? Photo shoot? Have no idea where that guy got that from. So I chatted with Kris, Jackie, and Kim for a bit, and then took their pic. I thanked them for their work too. It was about 12:30 now, so I moved on. I was starting to get hungry so wanted to look for a lunch spot soon. As I was hiking, something caught my eye off trail and on the ground. I went over to check it out and this gets my award for the most bizarre stash of stuff yet. I saw a ziplock with a tuna pack in it..empty, but this was next to a downed log that under it, I found a big portable tape recorder\player, a microphone and cord to plug into it, hamonica, and a bottle of campsuds. I picked the recorder up to see if there was a tape...nope. I would have loved to listen to it. So, I took a pic, looked around to see if anyone was hiding, but didn't see anyone, and then left everything as I'd found it. Weird huh? It was close to Jo-Mary Rd., so it could have been anyones. I hiked a bit further and decided to eat lunch. I prepared my yummy flat bread sandwich and a girl came hiking by...Homeward Bound, from ME. Her dad (who passed me earlier) is doing the last 300 miles with her. She's summiting on the 7th too! It was pretty cool sitting there, so I ate and got moving again. I passed Cooper Pond which eventually had Cooper Brook as an outlet, running by the trail. It was running strongly. Around 2:30, it started raining..ugh. I stopped, put my rain jacket, pack cover and hat on. 2 more hikers passed me, a guy and his gfriend Darcey and Swamie. He's a thru hiker and he's summiting on the 7th too. Exciting to meet others who are shooting for that day. The rain was coming down hard, and I got to Mud Pond which had a log crossing over the outlet. Now I knew I had about 4.5 miles to go, but before the only climb of the day, I came to Lower Jo-Mary Lake and the Antlers Campsite. Would have loved to stop here, but I didn't. The lake was crystal clear, just gorgeous, pebbly beach. There was a funny privy here, with a sign on it saying "Fort Relief." The trail wrapped around the lake and then headed up about 1 gradual mile up Potaywadjo Mtn. Hardly a climb, but by now I was feeling tired. Don't remember my last 14 miler with full pack honestly. I kept climbing, the trail was very muddy in spots, but mostly leaf covered today. It did stop raining by now and the sun peeked out for a moment. Good, I think that's all the rain I'll have to deal with for my final push. I started going down and knew it was about .5 to the lean-to, so when I got there around 4:20 p.m., I almost stopped, but changed my mind. I wanted to stealth camp, so I headed on and just a little further, there's a stream and some great places to hang in the woods near it. I went back into the woods and down a bit, found a great site, set up camp. I made my hot apple cider, and it felt great to drink hot liquids. It was already 47 degrees. I ate dinner, hung my food and crawled in. I decided since I have Karen's fleece bag liner, I'll use it. I actually slipped my mummy bag inside the rectangle-cut bag liner, and then crawled in. Aw yeah...a little bit of warm and toasty heaven. Not worried at all about getting cold now even if it drops into the 20's.I'm hanging feet away from a stream, can hear the burbling of the water. 1 day down, 4 to go..only 48.4 miles left! After 7 miles tomorrw, I move to my final map and topo. There's 37 total for the whole AT. WOW! ~Certain