Date: 2007-09-21
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 2097.2

To: Antlers Camp - 2122.2
Miles today: 25.0

Day 170 ¢ 9/21/07Start: Sidney Tappan Campsite ¢ 2097.2End: Antlers Camp - 2122.2Day Miles: 25We are up early. That is Numbtoe, Shadow, and I. The other hikers are still sleeping. My tent is soaked from the dew but Shadow and Numbtoe¢s is dry since they setup after the dew fell. We talk about doing a big mile day. They need to meet family on Sunday and I am ready to be finished. I had already decided to try and make Antlers Camp by tonight. There are 3 mountains to get over this morning and one more mid-day. I am hoping I have put half the elevation behind me with the climb last night. Within a 12 mile we start to climb West Peak which is short and steep. Hay Mountain is one of those deceptive mountains that hides its¢ peak with several false peaks. White Cap is not as bad as it looked on the profile and we soon stop for a break and views of the Big K.There are some great sections along the trail. ¢Cadillac Trail¢ as Shadow calls it; fast and smooth, a highway in the woods. We stop to eat at every shelter. As long as the trail is good I do not mind ¢flying along¢ with these guys.After East Branch Lean-to we get separated on the climb over Little Boardman Mountain but meet up again before Cooper Brook Falls where we stop for dinner. The last few miles have been on an old forest road. It is close to dark but we have been making great time on great trails so we move on. Sure enough, right after we leave the shelter the trail goes to hell. Wash outs, boulders, swampy areas, slippery planks. It is now dark and we are strung out along the trail picking our way through the mess. We gather up at Jo-Mary road. As we approach the road we hear a car horn blow but no one is around when we get there. Just across the road we find a big zip lock bag with a large sub sandwich and huge cookies left for thru-hikers. Trail Magic in the middle of the night??? Cool. We grab the food and sit down and hundreds of mice come out of the forest. If we had not come along minutes after the bag was hung the mice would have had a huge feast. There would have been nothing but empty wrappers by morning.The trial is good again for awhile but then goes to hell fast. There are several re-routes and sharp turns on and off old forest roads. It would be real easy to take a wrong turn. Why am I walking around alone and in the dark in the middle of the 100 mile Wilderness? Why not?As I come around a pond I can hear moose splashing around. I see a head light and as I approach Shadow calls out to me. He thinks I am Numbtoe who was behind him and ahead of me. He had stepped off the trail for a bio-break but left pack on the side of the trail. We are now alarmed. Did Numbtoe miss his pack and go by? Did she take a wrong turn and walk off into the wilderness? Shadow throws on his pack and practically runs up the trail trying to ¢catch¢ her. I wonder if she is lost behind us so I stop and shutoff my headlight and call out behind me. I hope to catch sight of her light in the dark. I start on again slowly. The trail is rocky and full of roots. It is slow going and I pass a bridge that was on the map. I curse myself for not picking a gathering point over such a long distance in the dark.I push on since the map says there is still 1.5 miles to the camp. I get to camp and find that Shadow and Numbtoe are both there. Numbtoe had missed Shadow¢s pack and was ¢racing¢ to catch-up to him. It is 10:00 pm. We set up camp in this beautiful camp site on the edge of a lake. I had camped here years ago with my brother.