A Love-Hate Relationship

What I loved: The 100 Mile Wilderness spans a very remote section of Maine.  It is dotted with ponds, lakes, bogs, streams, waterfalls, and beaver ponds. There is an abundance of water for drinking, swimming, dipping, or soaking one’s feet.

The haunting call of loons and the melodic trill of hermit thrush delight the ears. The lush, moss-filled conifer woods soothe the eyes. The pine-needle trail is soft underfoot.

There are two significant, yet lower elevation, mountains: White Cap, which is above treeline and has alpine vegetation, and Chairback, which has a series of four summits, ending with Barren Mountain, which has an abandoned fire tower. There are often open ledges, especially at the southern end. Views abound.

What I hated:  My feet were almost constantly wet. Every day, but one, I forded streams, many with difficult footing and some with challenging currents. Most people crossed in their hiking footwear for safety. I would remove my socks, gaiters, and inserts, and cross in my trail runners. After crossing, I drained and squeezed the water out of my trail runners and stuffed each with a bandana to absorb excess water.  Once or twice a day, when I reached a sunny spot, I would take a break and let my shoes and socks dry off and my feet Sur out. Although my socks soaked up some of the water, my feet felt fairly comfortable.

When my feet weren’t wet from stream crossings, they were soaked in unavoidable muddy and wet areas of the trail. A small percentage of these areas have bog bridges or puncheon. Most don’t. The areas are often widened (and damaged) by people trying to avoid sinking in the mud. I entertained myself thinking about how to describe mud: mushy, gushy, squishy, oozy, slimy, slippery, and sinky came to mind.

In addition to mud, the trail is filled with roots so that one constantly has to pay close attention to footing. Roots, rocks, mud, and stream crossings slowed me down considerably.

The trail is maintained by volunteers of the M.A.T.C. There is evidence of trail work being done. I was always grateful to find a new bog bridge, puncheon, and stepping stones or stairs. Thank you!

In Vermont, much of the trail maintenance is also done by volunteers from the local sections of the Green Mountain Club. However, the main club also hires trail crew each summer to tackle the bigger jobs.  I hope that the M.A.T.C. finds ways to fund a trail crew.

The northern section of the trail was also quite buggy. I found an effective way to minimize bugs flying around my head was to wear a bandana under my hat. The edges of the bandana waved as I walked, similar to my hands swatting.

Highlights

My first night in the Wilderness, I stayed at Rainbow Spring Campsite. I arrived in the pouring rain and hastily set up my tent. As I finished, the rain stopped.

There is a lovely piped spring that empties into Rainbow Lake. After getting water from the spring, I returned to the lake to wash off my muddy legs. At the edge of the lake, I saw a leech as long as a finger.

On the path to the spring, I met several hikers, including a thru-hiker wearing a pink jacket. I told her I was a flip flopper. She asked whether I was from Vermont. Yes, I replied, I am GMG. She remembered meeting me on the Facebook page for The Trek bloggers as we live in adjoining towns. What a coincidence!

The next day, I took a dip off a rock slab at beautiful Crescent Pond, which lifted my spirits after tromping through mud, roots, rock, and water. That night I camped at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to along with several others.

The following day, I camped at Antlers Campsite, which is on lower Jo Mary Lake. I sat in the shallow water chatting with Linda and Susan, cousins, who were section hiking with niece Sarah.  Below is a sunset photo.

The following day, I went on a treasure hunt to find my resupply bucket. I had arranged a food drop with the AT Lodge and Hostel. The hostel provided instructions on how to locate the cache site. It was a relief to find the spot!

On this day, my strong right knee unexpectedly started hurting. Since my left knee was prone to getting swollen or painful, I had been following the protocol of “down with the bad knee and up with the good knee.” I decided it was time to treat my knees equally. After two days, my right knee pain resolved.

After safely fording the infamous East Branch of the Pleasant River, I stayed at the East Branch Lean-to.  The following day, I was excited to cross paths with Hiawatha, a hiker I had met in the Smokies! We both recognized each other. I remembered his trail name and he remembered my government name, as I didn’t have a trail name yet. I do look forward to seeing more NOBOs I knew from my early days in the trail.

There are few stealth or dispersed tent sites in the Wilderness, but I found one by a tiny stream. I spent a couple of serene hours in solitude beside a fire before I was joined by three hikers near dusk.

Then there was the day it poured all afternoon. About eight of us took shelter in Chairback Gap Lean-to. Although a few other people continued hiking in the rain, I was not going to climb over wet rocks above treeline. When the rain finally stopped, four of us set up tents and one person hung a hammock. I squeezed my tent into a tight spot.

The following day the sun returned as I traversed the Chairback range, leap frogging with Pacer and Square Peg, who took the photo below.

The Fourth Mountain Bog was a visual treat. Below is a photograph of a pitcher plant, unique to a bog habitat.

Finally, I arrived in Monson, where I spent two nights at Shaws, particularly enjoying the company of Bubbles, whom I met near Hot Springs, and Mimi, whom I met at the NOC. Below is a photo of me and Bubbles.

Onward to Caratunk.