Date: 2021-06-12
From: Sidney Tappan campsite 

To: Antlers campsite 
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

25 miles to Antlers campsite. The birds woke me up before 4am. I was hiking by 5:15. Today was going to be an exciting day. My last big climb was 3600 foot White Cap mountain in around 4 miles and 2 other mountains away. I was sitting on Whitecap at 7:30. White Cap and the other 2 mountains I just climbed weren¢t very difficult. Going down the mountain I saw a great view of Katahdin rising above all the other mountains in the distance. My end goal, Katahdin¢s summit, is only 51 miles away from where I¢m camping. I¢ve done 2141 miles on foot to get here. The hike down White Cap was going to be interesting. The descent down Whitecap started with some large boulders and loose scree or talus. I didn¢t want to have a mishap hiking down the last big mountain so I started picking my way carefully over the rocks and boulders. Just as I got into tree line I hit a tree root stub with my foot and fell forward towards a big rock that was aiming for my head. Luckily I turned and landed on my side. I was very upset that I could have had a extremely serious accident on my last descent. I walked away shaken and with blood pouring down my right pinky finger which had a flap of skin ripped off the knuckle. It was a freak accident, I was going slow and watching the trail but my right foot veered slightly to the edge of the trail and caught a nub of a root poking up through the dirt. About halfway down the 3 mile descent the trail got less steep and the number of rocks and roots lessened. Soon after I was able to keep a steady but cautious pace. Everything was just perfect until I saw a sign for Little Boardman Mountain. I thought that I was done climbing mountains. Apparently I misunderstood the whole Whitecap was the last mountain thing. Anyway I was very disappointed and my mood soured. I had to listen to music to take my mind off the injustice of having to climb another mountain. I know whaa suck it up crybaby. For such a short mountain (2100 feet) the climb seemed to take forever. I rejoiced when I finally got to the summit. A short way down the other side I met a grandmother and her 2 grandkids doing some trail maintenance. She informed me that I have another mountain to climb tomorrow. Soon after the descent of Boardman mountain the trail turned into the perfect example of a city park trail. I took off at a brisk careful pace. There were occasional obstacles but overall the next 10 miles were the easiest of this trip. I was a happy hiker. I got to Antler campsite around 5. It¢s a beautiful place situated on a peninsula that juts out into a large pond. This is one of the most wonderful campsites on the AT. I think that it¢s my all time AT favorite. There was a group of 6 young southbounders set up in a large campsite. They were very friendly and I enjoyed talking with them. I set up my tent further out towards the end of the peninsula for some treasured solitude. I ate dinner on the pond shoreline watching the sunset behind a mountain. A nice cool breeze was keeping the vampire insect numbers down to a minimum. All was good until I noticed that the youngsters weren¢t observing traditional hiker midnight. They were up being loud until well past 10. Aggravating when I knew that I¢d be getting up around 4am. I hope to hike another 25 miles to another campsite tomorrow. I decided to put in two 25 mile days in a row because the grade is easier with only one mountain to climb each day and I wanted to get to Abol campground early so that I could enjoy the beautiful views of Katahdin and the river. I will only have 12 miles to hike Abol Bridge where I will camp on Monday Happy Trails, Silver StreakNote: I¢m finishing the last 346 miles that I have left from my 2019 thru hike attempt. The mileage includes a week that I hiked from Springer to the NOC.