Date: 2003-10-01
From: Antlers Campsite

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 7.2

start Antler Campgrounddestination White House Landing I was woke during the night by an awful howling noise. A long mournful sound that went on and on. Then it was repeated over and over again. Each time it seemed to come closer and closer to the campground. I finally fell back to sleep and when I woke up again it was just before dawn. The sky over the lake was filled with pinks and lavenders. The colors were broken up by thin layers of clouds,shimmering with whites and greys. It was colder than it had been when I went to bed last night,and I got to thinking about how warm my sleeping bag still would be. In a matter of seconds I was back in bed. I never did go backto sleep,but lay there watching the sun come up the rest of the way,and listening to the earth wake up. Finally my hunger pangs got the best of me and I put my warm clothes on and crawled out of bed. Another thru hiker,Vic,was camped here last night and he said he thought it was loons making all that noise. It sure sounded lke one sick loon to us! We fixed breakfast ! and ate together facing the lake. A brave chipmunk kept us busy as he tried to get into first Vic's pack,then his food bag.He was looking for a handout,but came up lacking with us. Do not feed the animals ! I kept telling myself.I packed up and headed down the trail. The trail was as level as yesterday,but instead of flat easy walking,it was walking through roots and rocks,hunting a place to put each footstep. Then it was boggy bayou time,as bog bridge after bog bridge paved the way for hikers over wet soggy terrain. It was on one of these bridges that I took my first hard fall of the trip. I was being super careful as each bridge was as slippery as could be covered in some places with thick green moss. Then I put my foot down onto another plank and down I went,hitting right on my tailbone. I only hope my butt is as hard as my head! My teeth chattered with the impact and I slid off into the wet marsh,moaning in pain. I had been so careful today as I walked on these slipper! y boards. I was finally able to undo my pack and was sitting there wiping tears from my eyes when Vic came up behind me. After checking to make sure I was relatively okay,he hiked on. I hoisted my pack back on,winching some with the swing of it,but buckled it and tentatively started on again. I stretched as I walked and continued on thankful that today was a mere 7 mile hike. Noon found me at the cut off for the White House Landing. I had heard so much about this place and I was anxious to experience what it had to offer. The blue blaze trail was very easy to follow,but it was discouraging to hike through a forest that had been stripped of it's trees. It is owned by a papermill and it does not look ike it is being replaneted. I guess maybe it is selective cutting here. The terrain seems too rocky to be conducive to reforestation. As I hike I can feel my lower back tightening up. It is a good thing there are not any climbs today! I get to the landing and find a sign instructing me to blow the portable air horn and wait for the boat to come ferry me across. I blow the horn and listen as it reverberates thoughout the mountains and over the water. The sheer sound of it makes me want to blow it again just to listen to the noise and the echos it makes. Pretty soon Bill comes toward me with his motor boat and pulls up to the floating dock. I set my pack in the boat and climb in. He makes an adjustment on the placement of the floating dock and I find myself being spirited away to this oasis in the w! ilderness. This lake is the seventh largest in the state of Maine and the power company uses the dam north of here to create electricity. Trouble is that every spring the water level is lowered,but is never returned the following winter. As a result the lake becomes lower and lower,which has affected the fishing here,which in turn affects White House Landing income . Now the majority of it's business is from hikers who hike the 1.5 miles off the trail to get here. It is the only resupply spot in the hundred miles wilderness. I opt for lunch right away and in short order,Linda sets before me the biggest cheeseburger I have ever seen in my life. I have to cut it in half just to pick it up off of my plate. It takes me an hour to eat it,but I finish it and top it of with a huge double chocolate brownie fresh from the oven. I join Vic over at the guest house where I have a room all to myself. Before long we are joined by Opposite George and Fluffy Nutter. Fluffy Nutter is fro! m Chorley Lanca Shire in the UK. He has that great accent and keeps us laughing at some of the situations his chioce of English has gotten him into! He reminds me of Carnethy Bob with his talking,making me miss my tea drinking buddy even more! I join the guys over at the lodge for dinner,where I watch in admiration as Vic downs yet another burger. I down two colas and a brownie for supper. We mosey back over to our house and after the guys all finish with their showers,it is my turn. By now the shower house is nice and warm. I bend over to take my socks off ad almost cannot straighten back up. Now they will find me ,in the shower house still bent over in the morning. It takes me awhile but I finally get into the shower. It feels so good to wash a weeks worth of trail off of me,using real soap and real shampoo. I wash my hair three times,each time taking great pleasure in the soapy lather that I work up. I have got to get out of here before the hot water is all gone. It is extremely hard for me to bend over to dry off then put my clothes on. I! notice as I go down the steps that any weight on my right leg causes pain to shoot into my hip. Not a good sign. Linda has given me a bag of ice to sit on and I spend the rest of the evening in a recliner sitting on an ice bag. My tush is frozen so I don't feel a thing. We sit around soaking up the warmth ofthe wood stove,sharing stories of the trail. For three of us this is soon to be the end of a long walk in the woods.A culmination of months of rugged hiking under the best and worst of circumstances. It is a bittersweet time. I hope that I am better able to move come morning. I am too close to Katahdin to be sidelined now. But if I have to take a day to rest,then I am in no better place. total miles 7.2