Date: 2013-09-15
From: Cooper Brook, Passed Jo Mary Road?

To: Crescent Pond?
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were finally able to spot a ferocious beast in the wilderness...our first animal we've seen in a long time. It wasn't the moose we'd hoped for, no, it was a mouse. It got into a bag of muscle milk Cub neglected to put away. So that's it for scary animal tales.I woke up early because I'm so crazily excited about seeing my hubbie Blueberry or known to many as Mr. Mumbles and also Chief Petty Officer of AT Command Central. It looks like an easy day of relative flatness compared to what we've hiked over. The morning looked promising and indeed it got more blue and clear as the day went on, a real beauty of a day, thank goodness. If we had more rain we would probably have cried. Our boots are still gross and disgustingly wet and smelly so the process of inserting our feet into them is still torturous. Buddy and Dion got out quickly and we followed by 7:30am. It turned out to be a wet trail full of mud, rivers to ford and water-filled trails and streams to slog through. There is no hope for our feet which itch constantly. Sores are coming out on them from the rubbing wet socks on never dry, wrinkles skin. Our toe nails are rising up and blackening like some horror movie. Putting Crocs on is a sickening experience as our toenails scrape the top going in. Gross, huh?The trail is so incredibly well maintained it's contrary to our idea of "wilderness". There are miles of stone steps and a metal staircase with railing appeared today helping us ascend from a river. It was random but thoughtful and appreciated. The maintainers of the Maine trail are duly thanked and should be proud of the supremacy of the quality of their trails. We passed 3 beaches, as labeled on the map. They are finely pebbled beaches on the edge of midnight blue lakes with lapping waves. I close my eyes and listen, imagining myself on my beloved Florida beaches. Sounds right but none of the salty smell I love though the benefit of these lakes is sweet drinking water. We spotted a small sign with an arrow stating a view of Katahdin. We followed it, emerging from the woods onto a lake edge with rocks jutting out into the lake. We jumped out onto the rocks saying, "Do you think Katahdin is that mountain or that one?" and gesturing towards the surrounding mountains. Suddenly Cub screamed and pointed to our left.. There it sat, magnificent and in all its glory...the Greatest Mountain, Katahdin!!! It was a stunning scene, the huge Katahdin reflecting in the dark lake. We were speechless. We got so excited. It looks so huge close up and we can't believe we will soon climb it. It's a beautiful landmark which we feel privileged to climb. It was a great moment for us. We were embraced by the warmth of the sun, sitting in a sparkling lake... A perfect setting.We decided to lunch there. Buddy and Dion caught up to us and joined us. Dion took photos of a smiling Buddy. Buddy and Cub sat side by side on a rock chatting and happily eating. We headed out after a too long lunch but how do you leave such a perfect spot?!We got to Sherpa by 2pm. Dion and Buddy were no longer with us. We are walking fast to get to Blueberry and Grammie. The guys seemed like they didn't want to go on when we'd seen them earlier. We want to push on. We made a hot lunch of instant mashed potatoes and packed up from Sherpa's jeep. We ate lots of our snacks so we wouldn't have to carry them. By 4pm the guys weren't there so we sadly hugged Sherpa and said our goodbyes. She really spoiled us - hiking our stuff to camp, setting up our tent, drying out our stuff, cooking kosher hotdogs...she's our Sherpa Goddess, making the 100 Mile Wilderness an ease. We hated to disappoint Buddy but we know we will see them in Millinocket.Now we had to carry full packs again! It was harder due to our luxurious break. We also stuffed everything willy-nilly into the packs. Mine was so top heavy it kept tipping me forward. We walked until dark, clearing a tiny but bothersome mountain to settle on a bed of soft pine needles by a scenic lake. It is so quiet out here its amazing to experience. There are no human or animal sounds, only soft chirping from crickets. Very sleepy. 18 or 19 miles to my Blueberry and Grammie. Early start tomorrow for sure!