Date: 2004-09-22
From: Carl Newhall Lean-to

To: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is my 45th birthday! I suppose it is odd spending it in the middle of the Hundred Mile Wilderness with people who know me only as Mouse. On the other hand, this is also Bilbo and Frodo Baggins birthday and Lord of the Rings starts with a party for their combined age of 144 which if you add the digits together is the same as 45. So it is sort of appropriate that I am in the wilderness carrying a plain gold ring on my way to a great mountain. Don't ask about the ring unless your name is Gollum or Gandolf.The day started off less than promising, aside from birthday wishes from Little Bit, Castro and Bluebell. It was so cloudy it was long after sunrise before I could see inside the shelter. My hike started with four mountains to climb, each higher than the last with a deep dip between and the final one, White Cap Mountain, is the tallest peak in the Hundred Mile Wilderness at 3700 feet. As soon as I was up the first peak I could see that the others were shrouded by low clouds so a good view was unlikely. Then I discovered that another mouse, perhaps confused about whose birthday was being celebrated, nibbled one side of a square of chocolate I had left in a pocket of my pack. At least she was nice enough to leave a second square untouched for me.Then the day started getting better and better! I found a nice patch of blueberries on the third peak. I caught up with TOM and Dave who started two miles ahead of me and said they were going all the way to Cooper Brook Falls shelter because a weather report said clear skies on Monday and they wanted to get there in time to summit in the clear spell. The mad idea began to creep into my head to hike to Cooper as well, even though it was 19 miles. Then on White Cap I got to experience again the wild exhileration of hiking above treeline, complete with wind and even bits of snow drifting about. I got to taste again those special dwarf alpine blueberries. To top it off, the visibility improved enough to see Katahdin looming above low clouds like an enchanted floating mountain. Soon after, blue sky appeared and the day turned nice. A passing southbounder reported the trail ahead was much smoother after White Cap. I made such progress that I decided to go to Cooper. A Mouse unchained, I raced along like a demented maniac. At the shelter I had planned to stay at I hung a thousand calories of food in a ziplock for Little Bit, who had said she was running low, both to help her and lighten my pack. Then I wrote a level-headed restrained entry in the register: "Waaaaahoooo!!!! Warp drive engaged, on to Cooper Brook! Yippee!!!!!"The next river was supposed to be a ford, but I made it across dry shop on rocks and logs, saving even more time. Not even the final thousand foot climb up Little Boardman Mountain slowed me down.I got to the Lean-to at 5, tired but happy. It was my first 19 mile day since Vermont. I did not think I had it in me anymore!I had two Little Debbie brownies in lieu of birthday cake. The Trail gave me 19 miles. The mountains gave me berries. The sky gave nice weather. The shelter gave a murder mystery novel to read. Who could ask for a nicer birthday?60 Miles to Katahdin!