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"Chimney Pond, Baxter State Park" an oil on gypsum wood board 16 x 20 inches by Michael E. Vermette.

A WILD KATAHDIN ADVENTURE AND A PBJ SANDWICH

Because I was so busy finishing up on a painting commission and participating in the 10 Days of Prayer events, I was only able to paint for one day in the Trails End Festival and North Light Gallery's first annual Plein Air Competition. Since I could only request one day off from teaching at the Indian Island School, I decided to challenge myself by painting what many feel is the very heart of Katahdin, Chimney Pond. Although supportive, my wife was against the idea, but I still felt I was meant to go there and paint for the day. The night before I taught at Bangor High school and wouldn't get to bed until midnight as I prepared for the trip. My wife made my lunch as I prepared my pack of art supplies. My plan was simple to start out with. I would climb to Chimney Pond on Katahdin, paint a 16 x 20 inch oil, then hike down and enter my painting. I laugh about it now, because I brought along my Guerrilla Painter wet paint carrier and thought I would bring two panels because I might have time to paint on both of them. Needless to say I only managed to complete one painting.

I also booked a stay at the Big Moose Inn and rented the small Boathouse cabin that proved to be perfect for me to crash by the end of the day. But things never go that easy, in fact they can be down right difficult, steal your peace, and make you question everything you thought valuable about your plan. It brings to mind that bible verse:

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NASB

I left my house on Indian Island at 4:30 am, so I didn't get more than 4 hours of sleep that night before. I also gassed up the car, set the coffee machine, and had everything ready to get that early start. My adventure began.

I arrived at The Tongue Pond gate house in Baxter State Park and got in line by 6:30am and didn't reach Roaring Brook Campground until 7am. By then I finished drinking my few cups of coffee in my thermos and drank a quart of water before hiking as the AT hikers and Search and Rescue hikers have taught me called, Tanking Up!"

My pack must have been 30 lbs to 40 lbs in weight and my paint carrier was slung over my shoulder. I was in high spirits and excited to paint on the mountain. It was easy going at first as I took my time and even entertained painting a second painting on my way down. But all of that was soon dashed when the trail got progressively more difficult as I had to stop several times to rest and lower my heart rate. Many hikers passed me on the trail excited to see a painter who was headed to Chimney Pond to paint, but half way up the mountain I began to feel the straps of my pack dig into my shoulders. I finally reached Chimney Pond and took my fist drink of water at 10:00 am and rested with the weight off my back. I was tired and exhausted as I marveled at my subject. I hadn't painted here since I was a Baxter State Park resident artist in 2011. I had forgotten just how difficult the hike can be with a heavy pack.

As I looked around I could see two older gentlemen sitting on the rocks to my left. I walked over to where they were and noticed one of them writing in his journal and thought he must be a writer. I so admired his view that I set up right next to him to capture my version of Chimney Pond. I later found out that he was a painter who was staying with his friend on the mountain whom he met in the service. His name is Brechin Lee Morgan and we talked quite a while as I drew out my composition and he rendered a beautiful watercolor study in his journal. Brechin is a painter from Guilford, Connecticut who eventually came over to see my preparatory drawing for my oil on the day. Although he was there most of the week, He didn't even know of the Trail's End Festival or the North Light Plein Air Competition 2018. So I encouraged him to enter or at least check it out on his way home for next year. He eventually left and I was alone with my painting for hours after that. It became very clear to me that I misjudged the complexity of this subject and the effort to reach this place with my studio on my back was more than I ever want to do again, at least at this scale.

The day got warmer with very little wind as the mingy flies, much smaller them black flies and much more aggressive, came out to plague me all day. They were very brutal as they swarmed my head all the time I painted looking for any bare skin to attack. It became a real challenged as I picked them out of my sky color and had to fix it many times throughout the day. It was almost like they misjudged my painted sky as the real sky and flew into it time and time again. I though of the quote by Paul Cez'anne:

When I judge art, I take my painting and put it next to a God made object like a tree or flower. If it clashes, it is not art.

Paul Cez'anne

My painting and those flies from hell were clashing alright as I forged on and finally took a break at noon time. I wasn't very hungry but very thirsty as the temperature reached the upper 80's with very little breeze. I took my lunch bag out and I knew if I was going to keep my strength up I had better eat something. I didn't want to become too tired to make it down from the mountain. It was then that I noticed that my wife made me an extra sandwich. I though, to myself, "What do I need this for?, I can barley eat the tuna fish sandwich she also packed for me." So I saved it for later and proceeded to eat my juicy peach which satisfied my thirst. I was on my second quart of water by then and still had saved a third quart for the hike down.

After lunch I continued to battle the flies and paint the image that changed drastically throughout the day. I chose to depict the reaching shadows of the morning to start with, but also used some features of the afternoon's light. So my painting had a sense of time established in the painting and the color of the reflected light playing of the features of the circ.

I stopped painting and packed up my gear by 5:00pm and I had had enough of these flies. The experience was no longer about the joy of painting but about survival and getting down from the mountain. After a full day of painting all I wanted to do was take a nap, but I knew I had to enter the painting at the North Light Gallery by 8 pm and only had a few hours left. So I started down the mountain. The hike down was worse than going up because the straps dig into my shoulders upon every footfall. The very large rocky area near the end of the trail that I had fallen upon on my way up to Chimney Pond I negotiated first. I slipped a little, but I didn't fall like I did coming up the trail, taking my time and being careful. I fell on my wet paint Guerrilla Box between two huge granite stones and came away with only a small scrape where my left ribs are. The box had held up beautifully, protected my boards and might have saved me from a broken rib, as I carried it under my left arm.

I stopped every hour I hiked becoming more and more exhausted and sore until I came to the last leg of the trail. I just took off my pack and wet paint carrier and sat on the last log bridge wondering what I was going to do. I was just too exhausted to go on. It was then that I though of that peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I took it out and enjoyed every bit of blueberry antioxidant goodness in the jam, the raisins in the Ezekiel Bread and peanut butter for protein. I could feel the energy coming back to me with every bite. I was able to finish my hike. Later I asked Elaine why she packed me that extra sandwich and she said," God told her to do it because I would need it on my way down the mountain." I'm so thankful for my Godly wife.

I reached my truck at Roaring Brook Campground by 7 PM taking me three hours to desend the mountain with my gear. And like a mad man I race out of the Baxter State Park tote road and then finally hitting the tarred road with only 30 minutes to space before the dead line. I called my wife and asked her to call the gallery because I couldn't get my internet to work on my phone since I was racing to get there.

I arrived at the North Light Gallery about 10 minutes to 8PM and must have looked like the wild man of Borneo. I was sweaty, dirty, ripped shirt, and could hardly walk I was so sore. Marsha Donahue the gallery owner had a table prepared for framing art and the other painters were sitting around enjoying the spectacle. This is what she wrote about me:

"Michael always has an exciting story. He climbed to Chimney Pond with his supplies and did this painting in one day, then climbed down. 8 p.m. was the final hour for drop off and we all sat waiting in the gallery for Michael, who often is the last one in. His wife called to let us know he was on his way at about quarter of and then in the door he came. He had fallen twice while descending, once onto his paint box, which bruised his side. He is convinced it kept him from breaking a rib on the rocks. His shirt was all torn up from the granite but what a stunning result which took Third Place."

- Marsha Donahue

With the painting set into the frame I breathed a sigh of relief. My adventure was over. I went out to diner dressed as I was with my fellow painters at the Sawmill Restaurant and shared a wonderful meal and stories of the day. The next day we would find out the results of the jurying but tonight we enjoyed the camaraderie amongst friends.

I checked in to the Big Moose Lodge Inn at 10 PM that night and crashed in my bed at Boathouse cabin. It felt good to lay down for the first time as my body sunk into the soft double bed.

There will be four changes that will make this a better festival for artists next year. 1. Anyone who participates must dress up as an artist in history and march in The Trails End Festival parade. I am going to dress up as Van Gogh! 2. Work can be registered the week before and painters can paint all that week before the event. But artists may only display up to three paintings. 3. All work submitted must be framed and 4. They will get sponsors and up the prize money. For further information go to artnothlight.com. 

Have a great adventure this week everyone, but please listen to the voice of reason in your spouse. It may just save you a world of hurt.

Overcoming the World,

Michael E. Vermette