Date: 2004-09-04
From: ME 27 near Stratton, ME

To: Day 129: Little Bigelow Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 15.3

On AT Day 129 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 4:00 a.m. and ate breakfast in our trailer at the Deerfarm Campground near Kingfield, ME and then drove to the AT trailhead on ME 27 near Stratton, ME in time for me to start hiking by 6:15 a.m. The skies in the morning were completely overcast and it was only in the 50¢s, but I knew the forecast called for clearing later in the day so my spirits were high. Unfortunately at the present time it was so dark under the trees, that I had to wait in the truck for 15 minutes to allow it to get light enough for me to see the trail! So much for my hoped-for early start¢¦After about a mile of easy walking from the trailhead I crossed Stratton Brook on ¢Dick Brown¢s Bridge¢ ¢ at the time I had no idea how unusual it was to actually have a bridge for the AT to cross a stream in ME. I then began a steady and not too difficult 3.5-mile climb of 2,000-feet to reach a plateau followed a mile later by The Horns Pond and then another mile later and 500-feet higher by the first peak on Bigelow Mountain known as South Horn (3,805-feet) where I stopped briefly for my morning Power Bar snack. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you consider the bonus of the ¢adventure-factor¢), it was so cloudy that I could only see maybe 100-feet, so there wasn¢t much point in photographing the surrounding panorama.After dropping a couple of hundred feet over the next mile or so, I began a steady, but not too difficult 500-foot climb over the next mile to reach the 4,145-foot ¢above the tree line¢ summit of the West Peak on Bigelow Mountain. Again not much to see looking down from the 360-degree vista since the clouds had thickened to the point that the visibility had dropped to perhaps 30-50-feet and I was having enough trouble finding my way from one cairn to the next ¢ what fun! Oh yes, and the temperature had also dropped to the low 40¢s ¢¦ After dropping a couple of hundred feet over the next quarter mile or so I reached a col where I stopped for lunch next to the Fire Warden¢s Cabin and the Avery Memorial Campground. As I was eating my bagel and peanut butter I met a couple of day hikers (mid 50¢s males) who had just hiked up the Fire Warden Trail and with them came the beginnings of CLEAR skies.By the time I had started hiking again, I could actually see my next target, Avery Peak, and I even got a few misty views of the West Peak and The South Horn. The 300-foot climb out of the col over the next half mile to reach the 4,090-foot summit of Avery Peak was exciting as the clouds simply blew away, revealing spectacular vistas of the surrounding mountains, lakes and ponds. A mile and a half away ¢as the crow flies¢ (including a 3,000-foot drop), the immense Flagstaff Lake reservoir was simply awesome! I also met lots of day and section hikers on my way to and at Avery Peak, many of whom took the time to congratulate me on my progress as my scruffy appearance clearly marked me as an AT through hiker. After taking lots of pictures I ventured on another hundred yards or so on the summit to inspect the Fire Warden¢s observation building and the bronze plaque placed on a large boulder nearby to commemorate the naming of this Bigelow Mountain peak after Myron H. Avery (1899-1953) ¢whose foresight, diligence and leadership made possible The Appalachian Trail.¢Leaving Avery Peak I immediately began to drop about 1,800-feet over the next 2-miles on my way to the Safford Notch Campsite where I was to eat my afternoon Power Bar snack. During this descent I had a startling clear views of my next target, an 800-foot climb over the next 2-3-miles to the 3,010-foot summit of Little Bigelow Mountain. The climb up and over this relatively flat ridgeline was very rocky and provided a number of knobs with excellent views to the South where I could easily get all three of the Bigelow Mountain peaks clearly in one picture.This day¢s 15.3-mile hike ended around 5:15 p.m. with a relatively easy 1,250-foot decent over 1.7-miles to reach the Little Bigelow Lean-to where I set up my tent for the night. At the campsite I met lots of other hikers, including one named One Leg, who as you might guess had only one complete leg, the other being amputated just above the knee, but supplemented with an ingenious battery-powered prosthetic leg. One Leg told me that he was an AT through hiker and ¢ amazingly enough ¢ that he averaged about one mph. He had a friend with him as a hiking partner and he also told me that his family met him at various points along the way to help with re-supplying foodstuffs and to recharge his battery. Talk about inspiring!