Date: 2004-10-11
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

Its midnight and we just pulled into a full shelter in the rain. Today was an intense day. I witnessed intense beauty, had an intense time of prayer, & faced the intense struggle of night hiking through the rain. Now we will sleep under that rain¢¦ ¢in-tents¢. We awoke early and hit the trail by 7:15 a.m. Our first 7 miles would consist of 3 rock and root laden climbs with steep ups and downs. The going was slow as we took our time to attain proper footing. Sunshine¢s knees hurt as well, but he kept moving along. The terrain was rough and the weather cold. We passed over extended sections of rock and scree and neither of us were fully ¢with it¢, but the views off the peaks and ridges were spectacular. Silver lakes lay glistening at the foot of the mountains. Those mountains stared at their reflections in the mirror before them, admiring their collage of red, yellows, and oranges. The clouds hovered as a billowing grayish swirl crowning the image of majesty. With every glance I was set reeling. After about 4 miles, I was in a daze so I told Sunshine I would hike ahead to the shelter. In just over an hour I descended Columbus Mountain, and after another glimpse of splendor I reached the shelter. There at the shelter I met a friendly couple of day hikers. On a positive note they gave me Fritos and Reeses Sticks. While they talked to me like a zoo attraction, they meant to be nice so I did not let it bother me. Then came the bad news: ¢Did you hear about the Tropical Storm?¢ What? Last I heard we had 4 clear days coming. Suddenly I was informed of 50 mph winds and up to an inch of rain that night or might not hit us tonight and tomorrow. As they left I was mildly bewildered and Sunshine still had not shown up after an hour. I was distracted for a moment by a sobo, Baloo who arrived at the shelter. Baloo actually started in early June and knows my friends Tinkerbell and Tapeworm. He told me that Tapeworm has a hurt foot, but that my friends are OK. We chit-chatted for a minute and then exchanged predictions of the sections ahead. As we finished talking Sunshine finally arrived. Apparently he took a break and then accidentally hiked in the wrong direction. It was already 12:30 p.m. and we had only managed 7 miles through the tough Chairback stretch. The next 5 miles dropped from Chairback to the West Branch of the Pleasant River. I continued to zone as yellows and reds swirled about me and red squirrels chirped in the distance. Each time a squirrel could be heard Sunshine looked ready to kill something. Still we made it to the river and I snapped out of my daze. We had to ford the ice water shin deep. I took off my socks and shoes and stepped in¢¦woooo! Numb, brisk, cold¢¦keep walking¢¦avoid slippery rocks¢¦and its over. After the cold crossing we both took a break.Over the next 2 miles we passed numerous day hikers. We were near the Gulf Hagas Trail, a 6-mile loop that hovers above waterfalls and a 500 foot ravine known as the Grand Canyon of the East. I hear it is awesome, but I have a bigger objective to attend to currently. We ran down the story of our hike, as quickly as possible, to numerous people and kept walking gradually upward. Soon we were past the ends of the loop trail and hiking in solitude again. That is when I prayed. With a nice trail before me I was focused on God and singing. As I was singing ¢Amazing Love¢ I slipped on a root and fell down hard. At first I was tempted to be upset but instead I dusted myself off and kept pushing. That is when I had my first of 2 cool moments. It hit me how much this trail is a metaphor for my spiritual journey. The path is narrow and difficult, easier some days than others, but full of beautiful experiences. Despite the beauty only a select few reach the final destination. Many take the wide easy path (its called a ¢highway¢), but a few people prevail through the falls and the perils of walking. I hear the reward at the end is sweet; I can¢t wait to reach my final reward. As I sang and prayed I felt touched. As I walk these mountains I often feel carried, but the words of the following song hit me as especially real and ¢amazing¢.         Verse 1: ¢You love is amazing, steady and unchanging,                 Your love is a mountain firm beneath my feet.                Your love is a mystery, How you gently lift me                When I am surrounded, Your love carries me.         Chorus: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing (x 2)        Verse 2: Your love is surprising, I can feel it rising,                 All the joy that¢s growing deep inside of me                Every time I see you, all your goodness shines through                 And I can feel this God song rising up in me¢¦¢As I¢ve walked out here God has been a support stronger than the granite of The Whites. I feel so much joy and contentment and I know where that comes from. As I sang I cried and thanked him. For five miles I worshiped and prayed, especially for my transition to home and my family. The time was intense and ended near dusk as I hit a shelter 17 miles in. Sunshine arrived shortly thereafter. In the shelter I found notes from ¢Dapper Dan¢, who is just ahead, and my friend from Trail Days ¢T-Bird¢. T-Bird thru-hiked in 2003 and left me an encouraging note that made me smile. As dark set in the wind was picking up readily and 7 tough miles lay before us up and over White Cap. White Cap is our last 3,000 plus footer before Katahdin and is the 4th peak of 4 in succession in 6 miles. While our desire was low, we knew it was now or never. We would not rest in a shelter early tonight¢¦on to the windy peaks. Windy peaks, quickly became wind-covered, fog-clouded, steep, rocky, rooty, ridiculously hard peaks. Guided by our lights we struggled up with barely a word. The top of the 1st peak no offered no view and the cold set in. Still we pushed on slipping, tripping, and sliding. Sunshine looked miserable and soon I was not far behind. We reached a campsite and nearly got lost, but we did not stop. We were doing it. The best I could do was keep taking one difficult stop after the next. It was hard to see, full of treacherous footing, and I was sweating like crazy. I was deliriously tired but I kept forcing it¢¦soon I hit peak #2. I knew I had to pick up, so I prayed God would help keep me up: be careful what you pray for. Thinking of Katahdin helped me up the 3rd peak, Hay Mountain, where it began to rain. The rain was not too bad at first, but more of a mist blown wind. As we began to climb White Cap that changed. The rain picked up and fog rolled in where we could barely see 6 feet ahead. Slowly, but not surely, we reached the top. There, boulders lie strewn about an open mountaintop. It was ridiculous. White Cap is supposed to be the first awesome view of Katahdin, instead we struggled for the view of the next blaze. The wind was intense and easily near 50 mph. We struggled to traverse wet rocks, not to be blown over, and not lose our way. Sunshine seemed ready to die, so I pushed on and had him follow me as I stumbled across the summit. After 10 of the most difficult miles of the trail we were finally over the top. Then it became worse. The final 1.4 miles were straight down. The rain was soaking us and the rocks were horrid. Still, we had no option but to walk. Grabbing for trees and anything to hold with wet gloves we catapulted downward. I tripped multiple times and took 2 hard falls. Whenever it seemed it would end another twist to the rocky descent unfolded. I just kept praying I could make it. My eyes were strained, my mind numb, my body fatigued. Then, I saw it: the shelter.Usually a shelter would be a glorious sight at this moment, but this one was far from it. There inside, lay 6 closely huddled sleeping bodies filling every inch of the lean-to. Cold and wet, we set our tents in the rain. My tent spot is rocky and confined, but I did not care. I just wanted it to be over. As I write this it is over and slowly in my bag I¢m de-thawing¢¦ahh.As I said in the opening today was intense. Though it¢s cold and wet, this will all be over in 71 miles. If all goes well tomorrow we will cover 23 more miles. Though today was tough, I was amazed by beauty and blessed in prayer. Furthermore, someday I will be able to tell my grandkids how Sunshine and I climbed Whitecap Mountain in a Tropical Storm at Night¢¦and barely survived. Hopefully my body and my tent will hold out the night. After a long day and a long journal, I¢m ready to curl up, close my eyes, and drift away. Goodnight,BEATBOX   ttt