Date: 2006-08-25
From: Cloud Pond Lean-To

To: Chairback Gap Lean-To
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: broken clouds

So I got to talk to the ¢Students of the Frogs¢ as they passed back and forth, by the shelter, on their way to and from the privy. They are from the University of Maine and are trying to discover what effects the stocking the ponds with fish has had on the frog populations, comparing stocked to unstocked ponds, and natural fish to introduced. The PhD candidate in the group told me that that just because there are fish in a pond, that doesn¢t mean that there are no leeches ¢ even though it is true that fish do eat leeches. So now I know ¢ need to let Jeff the caretaker know also somehow.   Tried to get some sundown photos at the pond with indifferent results. Slept well and alone in the Lean-To ¢ no loons tonight ¢ but lots of stars again to marvel at.      Awoke early and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee, with my steamy breath mixing with the coffee vapors in my headlight. I managed to spill the water from my Platypus, as I was getting ready to go. I have an open topped four-liter Platypus bag and it slipped off of the nail on which it hung, as I tilted it to fill my water bottles. I stopped by the pond for additional water as I was leaving, and was surprised at how warm the water was in the pond. Passed by the tent of the still sleeping froggers, and their ¢black box¢ of froggy equipment down by the pond.    I started off my day in the mountains on a fairly flat stretch towards the rising sun. There was a surprisingly difficult rocky descent down off of Barren Mountain and an even more difficult ascent up to the summit of Fourth Mountain. In the gap between them I replace all of my water with clean, cold water from a small stream. I figured that that was what the spilled Platypus water was trying to tell me ¢ not to drink the warm pond water.   There is also a sign for the Fourth Mountain Bog in the gap, with a request to stay on the wooden bog bridges. As Red Dane wrote in the register here ¢Who would want to step off and walk in the mud?¢   At the top of Fourth Mountain I got a good cell signal and spoke with KT. The descent off of Fourth Mountain was brutal ¢ almost straight down in places - over jumbled rocks slides ¢ I was just so happy that I had decided to take this section in short mileage days.   After Fourth Mountain the ascent up to Third Mountain was far more pleasant [were the cartographers realy so desperate that they had to resort to numbering the mountains instead of naming them?] There was more evidence of the excellent work of the Master Stone Mason of MATC, and did I see some slight evidence of embryonic switchbacks? Finally there was the climb up to the top of Columbus Mountain and again another surprisingly steep and rocky descent down here to the shelter. There aren¢t no easy miles in Maine!   The shelter here is on the edge of a steep cliff and the water source is 150 feet straight down North of the shelter. The privy must be 0.3 miles south on the AT and straight up [kinda!]. There are some interesting "Mouse Hangers" here, made from old Australian beer cans - all empty [of both mice and beer] So I have settled in with my Platypus on a secure nail, and have just finished my lunch of coffee, English muffin with peanut butter, snack bars, cheese, and dried apricots, all heartily consumed.    There has been a steady parade of NOBO thru hikers so far. First came Mystic the Nuclear Nighthawk ¢ to distinguish him from all of the other Mystics I presume ¢ then Gator Girl, Chill and finally Marley. They are all hiking more or less as a group, and heading on to ¢do¢ Gulf Hagas and vague about where they were going to spend the night.   Another perfect weather day ¢ I have been fortunate so far on this section. I feel good ¢ but still getting occasional twinges in my back and knee.   So far I am liking this 100 Mile Wilderness. The weather has been kind, and I have had a lot of afternoon rest and relaxation time. I was surprised at how difficult the mountains ¢ Fourth, Third, and Columbus ¢ were today, and am amazed at people ¢ such as Don Quixote ¢ who can go 15-20 miles a day in this terrain. I found an entry in the register from Snapper and her Wundermut Chestnut, still heading north and seemingly recovered from her GI complaints. Also here is an entry from Grizzly Dave from Des Moines, who I met in 2005. Thought for Today ¢   Rejoice and Be Glad   For You are Here.