Date: 2003-08-20
From: Mountain View Pond

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This has to be one of the most scenic places that I've ever camped on the entire AT. My campsite is situated in a stand of red pine right on the point of lower Jo-Mary Lake. It is just beautiful.I hit the trail early this morning because I had a few miles to tackle. You are never sure if what the map tells you is close to reality but today was for the most part a close match. I had one little hiccup to climb right at the start and it was not all that bad. I'm not a morning climber so any degree of steepness right off the bat pretty much sucks in my book. It only took me a little over 30 minutes to reach the summit of Boardman Mountain and from then on it was a nice trail to hike upon.By 10:30 I had reached Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To and stopped in to have a snack. There were some beautiful cascades to the right of the shelter and immediately in front was a picture perfect swimming hole. Today was a little cooler than it has been but the swimming spot was too good to pass up. I jumped in and was surprised when the water came up to my chest. It was cold at the same time it felt good. I grabbed my last bit of trail mix and ate that while I laid on a big rock to dry off.I still had already done a little over 6 miles but I still had 8 to go so I didn't screw around for a long time. For the next 5 miles the trail was some of the easiest that I've seen in Maine. For miles it followed an old tote road and the grade was very gentle. I could hear the wind starting to pick up but since I was deep in a forest I couldn't tell what the sky was doing. As I stopped for lunch at Cooper Pond I started to hear thunder off in the distance. As I ate my stale bagel, which I just pretended to be toasted, I could hear the thunder slowly getting closer. I finished up lunch with an excellent Hershey Almond bar and as I started to pack up the first raindrop fell. I put on the pack cover, walked 20 feet and the flood gates opened. A big thunderstorm was coming through so I just slogged on through it. The heavy thunder was a bit worrisome but I figured I was under a pretty good canopy of trees so the risk was not all that high. As I was having that thought a huge clap of thunder occurred right over my head which caused me to stop in my tracks. I had breakfast in Monson with a guy who had been struck by lightening while out on the trail earlier this year. That memory was at the forefront of my mind as I started to hike once again.It didn't take too long to arrive at the Antlers Campsite so I just relaxed on a big rock and waited for the storm to pass. Once it did the sun came out and it turned bright and beautiful out on the lake. I quickly pitched the tent and threw all my night time stuff inside. I then went and rinsed out all my clothes which I know you are not really suppose to do but everything smelled so bad that I could not resist. When you smell yourself and turn your head in disgust you know that you stink. I laid out all my wet clothes on the small pines thinking how nice everything would smell being dried out from the sun. I got in the tent to do a little reading and scan the maps. Thirty minutes later I hear the wind starting to pick up and then I hear something that sounds like a freight train rumbling down the tracks. I get up and walk through the trees to the shore of the lake. Coming directly toward me is a huge black cloud. I can see the rain coming down hard and hitting the surface of the water. Hightailing it back to the tent I grab my boots and quickly stake out the rain fly. Before I can get the right side of the rain fly closed the storm hits. Big drops of water matched by a high wind. I'm out on the point of this lake with only a small amount of cover to block the onslaught of the wind. I hop in and watch as the left side of the tent concaves in as the wind intensifies. For the next hour the heavy rain continues and to the tents credit no drops found their way inside. Finally the rain moved out but the wind remained. For the rest of the evening a hearty wind would continue to blow over the point. The nice thing about the wind was that it caused the bugs to go away. The bugs, insects, bastards, whatever names you want to give them have been super wicked. Usually when you move the mosquitoes and flies don¢t get you but up here they are far more aggressive and plentiful. They are also more cunning. They get you on the back of your shoulder where it is hard to swat at them when you are wearing a backpack. I've taken to just spraying on the 100% Deet before I start to hike each morning.Two other people were at the campsite, an older gentleman from New York and a woman who is a retired teacher and had just moved back to Maine. The three of us shared dinner together and talked about the trail. The guy, who was not in good shape, was trying to hike all of Maine. It had taken him seven days to hike the 40 miles from Katahdin. I told him about the trail up ahead and he seemed highly relieved that the next day would be gentle.I climbed into my tent before 8:00 and listened to the wind rustle through the trees and watched it push against the side of the tent. For some reason I tossed and turned all night and was tired when the first light peaked across the ridgeline.The wind had stopped and the day broke with only high clouds and a crisp feel in the air. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)