Day 1 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #11
Day 1 – Appalachian Trail – Kokadjo B Pond Road to Jo Mary Road 7.1 miles with 148′ gain and 781′ loss with 3 Water Crossings
We piled into the white van, a nagging sensation of forgotten items lingering in the back of my mind. It’s a feeling many of us know all too well, isn’t it? I realized I had neglected to download the topographical maps for the Far Out and All Trails apps. Without these digital guides, I was reduced to a mere dot on an expansive white canvas on my iphone, which also screamed SOS from the top right corner. I zipped it up in my bag and wondered what else I may have forgotten.
The journey continued as the van’s tires crunched the gravel as we veered onto the dirt path leading into the 100 Mile Wilderness. Our arrival at Jo Mary’s guard station was marked by a brief pause to collect our park passes. But it was the lineup of pickup trucks, their beds laden with barrels, that caught our collective Debbie eyes.
Curiosity drew some of us towards these mysterious visitors, and we soon learned they were bear baiters. The barrels, it turned out, were containers for luring bears—a practice unfamiliar to me. They even shared a glimpse into their world with a live camera feed from a tree stand in Baxter State Park, revealing a bear rummaging through a barrel for food.
But the true astonishment came with the revelation of what lay within the smaller barrels—20,000 pounds of Poptarts. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that my snack of choice for the day wasn’t a Poptart, vowing to myself to never bring one into the woods. It’s fascinating, the lessons the wilderness imparts—Poptarts as bear bait would have been the last guess on my list. Indeed, the woods are a remarkable teacher, offering insights in the most unexpected ways.
Are you hungry for a Poptart now? Did I mention we were hiking today?
Leading the pack for today’s hike was Tori, our trailblazer and naturalist, who unveiled the secrets of the forest floor, from wild plants to elusive mushrooms.
Among the day’s revelations was the Destroying Angel Mushroom, a name as foreboding as its reputation—one of the deadliest mushrooms. With such knowledge, the list of what not to consume grows, as white mushrooms join Poptarts in the culinary blacklist.
Our journey continued, with the water crossings mercifully dry, sparing us the need to pull out our water shoes. The trail was dotted with LBM’s— little brown mushrooms—and our lunch was graced by the serene beauty of Cooper Brook Falls shelter.
Sandwiched between the Debbie cakes (Debbi and Debra), I found myself in a rhythmic march, capturing moments through Christine’s lens—the one from Cincinnati. Her enthusiasm for photography was infectious, snapping pictures of every conceivable sight. Lucky for me, she was willing to share her visual bounty with me. Christine rocks!
The laughter, the snapshots of time, and the quiet reflection by the falls, all wove together into the rich fabric of our first day. As I sit at the table in the hostel finishing up today’s blog, I am reminded that the beauty lies in the journey, not just the destination.
It’s a day of unexpected lessons: Maine’s climate defies its chilly stereotype, bears love Poptarts, and the forest floor is a trove of both beauty and caution. Now just a little prayer for no storms as we embark on a long 15 mile day tomorrow.
