I read with interest the story of the Bigelow watchtower burning (April 21). There was one thing that was inaccurate, however.

Dusty Goodrow and his wife were on the mountain in 1972. I was the watchman on the tower in 1973 and believe I spotted the last forest fire that was ever spotted from Bigelow that summer. It was located in Copeland Plantation.

Back then there were nowhere near as many people climbing the mountain as there are today. I remember one stretch of about two weeks of either cold, fog or drizzle when I saw no one at all.

Thunderstorms can be quite dramatic on the mountain. One night, there were some hikers I talked with who had intended to camp on top of Avery Peak. There was going to be a thunderstorm that night and I convinced them to stay in the Appalachian Trail lean-to behind the forest watchmen’s cabin.

That night, in the middle of the storm, the ground started shaking. I turned on the radio and found out Maine had just had a small earthquake. The next morning, I went over to the lean-to to see how the campers had fared. Before I could tell them about the quake they jumped up and excitedly thanked me for talking them out of camping on top of the mountain, saying they actually felt the ground shaking from all the lightning and thunder that night.

I have many great stories from my time on the mountain.

Richard Marble, Farmington