[at-l] Trip Report: The 100 Mile Wilderness

[papabear.nyc at verizon.net (Papa Bear)]

The 100 Mile Wilderness

Having been exposed to stories from hikers for some time about what to expect of the "100 Mile Wilderness", I thought I would see logging trucks roll by at every road crossing, clear cuts close by and tourists galore at Gulf Hagas.  I was wrong.  This was the most remote and beautiful area I have hiked in in my close to 1000 miles of hiking the AT.  The logging roads were infrequent and we saw no traffic on them whatsoever.  The day we hiked in Gulf Hagas, we were alone.  The mountain tops were unspoiled and the myriad lakes and ponds were pristine.  Aside from White House Landing - where we stayed one night - I saw no development of any kind.  I'm sure there were camps on some of the lakes, but there were so many of these and they were so large, we simply didn't see any.  In short, this is one beautiful remote area, even if the word "Wilderness" is not quite accurate.  

The section is dominated by water.  The lakes and ponds, the streams and brooks, and yes the rain.  This is a water hike as much or more than a mountain hike.  When we were turned back by a stream crossing we couldn't manage, after only  a few hours of rain, we knew we were in a place that humankind, civilization, couldn't claim for itself. It's nice to know that somewhere in these lower 48, there are places where nature is still boss, if only briefly.  And we were privileged to be there at one of these times.

Getting there

Originally, Funky Freddie was planning to hike this section with Rambler and myself, and I would get a ride up with him.  It turned out he had to work an extra week and he decided to join Josef for some kayaking for a few days and then meet us in Baxter State Park after we finished hiking the "100".  So I was tasked with driving his 1978 Oldsmobile up to Maine so it would be there when he met us. He planned to stay a few extra days after we left Maine to make up for some of the time he missed by having to work, so he needed his car up there.  This was a bit scary, as the car, although it ran reasonably well, looked like a candidate for the junk heap.  In fact I was stopped on Route 128 in Massachusetts by an nice man in a uniform who, after deciding, reluctantly, that I was not a smuggler or a terrorist, said "Tell Fred to get his wind shield and the side of his car fixed".  After this close encounter, I met Rambler and we drove together to Abol Bridge (over 300 miles), parked Fred's car, and then drove back together to Monson in Rambler's car.  I just hoped the tires on Fred's car would hold their air till we got back 7 or 8 days later.  They did, thank goodness.

Shaw's in Monson

We stayed Sunday night at Shaw's where a collection of section hikers had arrived, mostly to hike the "100" like ourselves.  Surprisingly there were no thru-hikers although we heard a fairly large group would likely arrive in a day or two.  As usual, Old Keith and young Keith were in fine form and the dinner and AYCA breakfast were superlative.  Rambler arranged to leave his car there, and around 6:15 AM Monday morning, young Keith drove us to the trailhead with Jeff ("Jiffypot") and Chris.

The Keiths: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/aag.sized.jpg  

Monday, August 30: Route 15, Monson to Wilbur Brook (13.6 miles)

We started hiking together in cloudy weather with a chance of afternoon showers predicted.  We soon left Chris behind, and Rambler and I hike with Jeff, a strong guy of about 40, who claimed to be carrying a 57 lb.pack, which he loved to talk about at length.  We originally planned to hike around 10 miles to the Wilson Valley Lean-to, and then around 15 miles the next day over the Barren Chairback range.  But we made good time and it made more sense to try to do 15 miles to the Long Pond Stream Lean-to today, which would mean the following day, over the Barren-Chairbacks, would need to be only 10 miles.  This made sense, so we went for it.

We forded Big Wilson Stream around 11:00 AM.  This was worse than the Piscataquis crossings I had done last year, being thigh deep with lots of rocks to maneuver over and a good swift current.  But it was not bad and we got across without incident.  We crossed the railroad tracks and had a lunch break at the Lean-to and then started over Big Wilson Cliffs, a series of ledges that afforded good views of the mountains we would hit tomorrow.  Somewhere around the time I got to the top of this hill, the rain started. It was no more than moderate but it was steady.  At the bottom of the fairly steep hill there are two brooks to cross and finally Long Pond Stream to ford before we got to the Long Pond Stream Lean-to where we planned to spend the night.  Well, when I got to the first brook - Wilbur Brook - it was a raging torrent.  It had only been raining 2 or 3 hours, but the water was well over the fairly ominous looking rocks and you could not see the bottom. Furthermore, the stream dropped over a series of cascades just below the crossing.  Rambler had managed to inch across a downed log 50 yards or so upstream but I couldn't manage that.  I shouted across that I would meet him here at 7:00 AM the next morning, hoping that the water level will have dropped by morning.  Jeff had somehow crossed and had gone on ahead.  We wouldn't see him again, but we found out his fate days later from a thru-hiker we met on Katahdin.  No he didn't drown, but had a rather bad time.

Wilbur Brook: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/aba.sized.jpg

I set up my tent in the rain on a grassy spot a few hundred yards back along the trail and settled down for a night in the rain. I fell asleep early and awoke around 7:00 PM and saw a light a short distance away.  I walked over and there was Rambler cooking supper from his tarp tent. Seeing him was so unexpected that I didn't recognize him at first.  He said that the second brook - Vaughn Brook - was even worse than the first and it's crossing was just above a 20' waterfall and no way could he cross it.  To avoid being trapped between the two brooks, be crawled back over the downed log and decided to camp here for the night.  So we were together in our distress.  It rained heavily all night with lightening strikes over our head.  In my wakeful moments I knew the crossing would not be better in the morning.  Thus ended our first day on the trail, at the mercy of the rain.

Tuesday, August 31: And back to Monson (3.6 miles)

We rose early and packed our wet gear up as best we could and went back to check the brook crossing.  It was just as bad or worse than the night before.  The only consolation was that you could now see the bottom, but that bottom was well below a raging current with many difficult looking rocks.  After some discussion,we decided to hike back and go out via an old logging road about a half mile above the Wilson Valley Lean-to which was shown on the map and which headed to a major logging road that eventually would get us to Monson.  Furthermore, we knew cell phones worked around that Lean-to and we hoped we could call Shaw's for a shuttle.  We met 3 hikers moving north as we retraced about 4 miles of yesterday's hiking and told them of the difficulties ahead.  They pushed on, and in retrospect perhaps we should have too, but we had a plan so we stuck to it.  I finally got cell phone connectivity near the top of the hill, but couldn't get through to Shaw's. Then I had a brilliant idea: I called my wife and asked her to call Shaw's with our request for a shuttle.  After several lost connections I finally got through to her again and she said with great relief in her voice: "It's OK, I got through to the Sheriff".  Suddenly this adventure had taken on melodramatic, not to mention embarrassing overtones.  In any case we hiked out the old road (which would not have been passable by a normal car) and got to Ledge Hill Road about 10:30.  Whom do we meet, but Old Keith in his huge Buick complete with his oxygen bottle between the front seats.  He insisted we were in the wrong place.  He was sure we would come out along the railroad tracks.  But it was nice to save the 8 or so miles we would have walked to get back to Monson on this road so we settled in.  We spent the afternoon drying out - the weather had turned sunny and breezy.  Perfect hiking weather.  Old Keith, and Baltimore Jack, who had shown up at Shaw's, undoubtedly had a good chuckle about these city slickers who called the sheriff  over a little rain, and I'm sure the sheriff had a good chuckle too.  When my wife finally talked to the sheriff one last time after we were "saved", he said "I hope you're voting for Bush".  She said "No way".  So he said "Should have left them in the woods!".  Maine.

Drying out at Shaw's: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/abc.sized.jpg

That night when we settled our bill with Old Keith, he looked at his book and said "What's this shuttle here". We said we got picked up on Ledge Hill Road.  He said "Who picked you up?".  "You did."  "Oh well, it's been a long day for me".

Wednesday, September 1: West Branch of Pleasant River to Logan Brook Lean-to (12.7 miles)

In order to be sure we'd get to Baxter in time to meet our friends, we needed to bypass the Barren-Chairback section due to our missing day of hiking. So Rambler drove us up Route 11 to the Katahdin Ironworks Road (another major logging road) where we would get back on the trail at the west Branch of the Pleasant River.  We were a bit worried about this crossing since this was the largest river to cross of the whole trek, but we were reassured that although the rivers rise fast, they tend to drop back to normal levels in 24 hours.  The weather was sunny and cool.  Perfect hiking weather.  Our trek of the "100 Mile Wilderness", actually for us the "83 Mile Wilderness" was about to get a fresh start.

The crossing was not bad.  The river bottom was easier than Big Wilson, but the current was a bit higher and stronger, so all in all it was no worse than what we had done on Monday.  Under normal levels of flow, this would have been easier than Big Wilson.  We walked through the old growth White Pine of the  Hermitage and decided to make an abbreviated side trip to see Gulf Hagas.  Gulf Hagas Brook was a tricky rock hop and then we visited Screw Auger Falls and the first viewing point of the gorge, the Hammond Street Pitch.  These were both impressive and I highly recommend doing at least this much of the gorge when you pass this way.  Apparently the trail is much more rugged further on and the gorge even more dramatic, but for us, those views will have to await another visit.

Crossing the West Branch: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/abf.sized.jpg

The main job for today were the 4 peaks of the White Cap range.  These rise above 3000 feet and in several places are rather steep. We climbed the first peak, Gulf Hagas Mountain, and then found the lovely campground in the col amidst (surprisingly) hardwoods just starting to turn to Fall colors.  Then we climbed successively West Peak, Hay Mountain and finally the highest, White Cap.  It had turned out to be a beautiful clear blue sky day.  White Cap is the highest peak between the Bigelows and Katahdin and there were great views from this mountain both north and south. There was Baker and Number Four rising before the distant Moosehead Lake.  Big Spencer far to the north. Big and Little Boardman and Jo-Mary to the East, and in the far distance, Katahdin, the Greatest Mountain, stood beckoning.  

We descended steeply over much new trail work and arrived at Logan Brook lean-to at 6:30 PM.  We met Suzie, a ridge runner working for the MATC who was there for the night, as well as another section hiker moving south.  It was a cold night but we felt good to be moving again with the major water crossings behind us and a forecast of good weather for most of the week to come.

Thursday, September 2: Logan Brook lean-to to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to (11.7 miles)

The day started with a beautiful view of the sun on the ridge above the lean-to with the just-past-full moon in the sky above.  It had been in the 40s overnight and it would be another great hiking day.  We crossed  the East Branch of the Pleasant River.  Rambler simply waded across but I thought I saw a good rock hope route a bit upstream.  I got across fine but getting back to the trail through brambles and bogs almost did me in.  We climbed the  Boardman Mountains which were moderate in steepness with a very broad flat col between Big Boardman (which the trail skirted) and Little Boardman.  The lovely Mountain View Pond sits in this col and is as lovely as the name implies.  We crossed the Kokadjo logging road and then hiked along the shore of Crawford Pond.  We had moved from the mountain terrain of the first 40 or so miles of the "100" to the lakes region.  In the next few days we would pass ponds and lakes of increasing size and number.

Mountain View Pond: http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_2004_100MW/acq

We followed Cooper Brook down most of the afternoon and finally arrived at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to which was situated on a beautiful spot right on the brook a short distance below a cascade.

Friday, September 3: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to to White House Landing (15 miles)

Today we would pass two of the largest Lakes in the section: Lower Jo-Mary and Pemadumcook.  In the late morning we arrived at the Antlers campground, site of the former Antlers Sporting Camp, one of the original camps that stretched across Maine and provided the early AT with nightly stops.  This is a truly beautiful spot and if it were not for the fact that it was still morning, we would have considered staying there for the night. We met 3 thru-hikers there packing up to move on, and in a win-win situation, I unloaded some food I wouldn't need. I saved 5 or 6 lbs from my pack and they saved having to buy more supplies.

Antlers campground: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/adr.sized.jpg

But we had a special destination in mind for tonight: White House Landing Camps on Pemadumcook Lake.  It seemed every one we met that day was either going there (like us) or had been there (those moving south).  Everyone was obsessed over the 1 lb. hamburgers. "Awesome" was the operative adjective.  We crossed over the Potawadjo Ridge, passed the Potawadjo Spring Lean-to and skirted the north end of Pemadumcook Lake.  We noted the way to White House, which is unmarked from the AT, was the third road after the Lean-to.  It's a grassy, muddy road leading to the right, just after a more recently used dirt road.  There were signs and blazes leading about a mile to a boat dock where we blew the air horn. A few minutes later, Bill, the owner, came across, unloaded 3 or 4 thru-hikers sated from their ice cream and 1 lb hamburgers, and picked us up.  Rambler and I were joined by Mike, a section Hiker we had met a few days earlier.  He was one who managed to cross the brooks that stymied us on the day after the storm.

We got to meet Cimarron, the 82 year old who would be finishing the trail the same day as we did.  He was amazing.  White House was everything one could hope for. Formerly a logging camp, then a hunting camp, it now is largely devoted to AT hikers.  I highly recommend stopping by, either for lunch, or overnight as we did.

Papa Bear relaxes with a cold one at White House: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/aec.sized.jpg

Saturday, September 4: White House Landing to Rainbow Stream Lean-to (15.8 miles)

It seemed like most of today was spent in passing along the shores of Nahmakanta Lake, one of the largest along the trail. After a great breakfast, we got a later than usual start from White House Landing, since the owner was not only chief cook and bottle washer, but also mechanic, crew and captain of the boat that would return us to the trail  A busy man.

We started passing through some terrain that would become commonplace in the last miles of the "100": upland Spruce bogs.  These were areas of very poor drainage consisting of moss covered boulders and bog in all directions for miles, with an open canopy of Black Spruce above,with some Red Cedar mixed in.  This would be hellish to pass through without the trail  There were literally miles of bog logs to help us through this area.  When we got toNahmakanta lake we skirted it's west side and then arrived at the summit of Nesuntabunt Mountain.  This was a gem!  The views of the Lakes with Katahdin in the distance were unbeatable.  Just hope and pray you pass this spot on a clear day as we did.  After an easy descent we passed the lovely Crescent Pond and then after crossing a rocky ledge followed Pollywog Brook down to a logging road.  The road led to another camp (Rainbow Lake Camp) which caters to hunters and fishermen. 

View from Nesuntabunt Mountain: http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/aew.sized.jpg

The trail crossed the road and started up along Rainbow Stream, which runs from Rainbow Lake down into Nahmakanta Lake.  This had a series of cascades and finally some still sections (called "deadwaters").  Just before the largest of these we arrived at Rainbow Stream Lean-to, tonight's destination. We had arrived shortly after 5:00 PM. Rainbow Stream is one of the few remaining "baseball bat" lean-tos. If you don't know what that means, you must go there and check it out. Just bring a good sleeping pad!  Later on, Cimarron and his friend Possum, and later still, Tortoise, a woman we had met at the East Branch crossing and again at White House Landing, showed up.  It was another lovely spot, a bit like the Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to.  It had been a satisfying day. 

Sunday, September 5: Rainbow Stream Lean-to to Abol Bridge (15 miles)

We got an early start on this, the last day of the "100".  We were among to spend the night at the Abol Bridge campground.  Most of the morning would be spent hiking along Rainbow Lake.  The trail was rather wet and muddy along the lake. It could use some of the bog-log walkways we had seen in the Spruce-bogs.  One amusing sight was a young Sobo with a large guitar strapped to his pack along with what looked like everything but the kitchen sink.  He said he had just started and was headed for Georgia. Good luck!

Once past the Lake, the trail got dryer and better maintained.We crossed the Rainbow Ledges with some nice views and finally arrived at Hurd Brook Lean-to. This is the last lean-to in the "100", and we planned to take a lunch break there, but mosquitoes, which had been rare so far, drove us quickly away.  As we hiked the last 3 or 4 miles, we knew we were getting back to "civilization".  We saw a number of day hikers, actually you might call them "Sunday strollers" with their tennis shoes and off the shoulder tank tops (love them!) with no packs or water, making their way over the rocks and mud. I'm not sure what they thought of this small AT experience they were "enjoying"

Shortly before 2:00 PM we got to the Golden Road, the major logging road that runs from Millinocket to Greenville, and soon found ourselves crossing the Abol Bridge.  We were done with the "100 Mile Wilderness".  It had been wild. It had been beautiful.  And not least it had been great fun.  Looking across the Penobscot from the bridge we saw the goal we were soon to attain that had beckoned us these last days: The Greatest Mountain!

Katahdin from the Abol Bridge; http://gallery.backcountry.net/albums/papabear_2004_100MW/afp.full.jpg

For a full album of this trip: http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_2004_100MW