Date: 2007-10-02
From: Gulf Hagas Cutoff

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 14.3

See Katahdin!I woke up early but laid in my hammock as the crew was cooking breakfast. I have just been eating pop tarts for breakfast so I didn't need to cook. I got packed up and started my way along the trail. It followed the gulf hagas stream for about 3 miles to the next lean-to. I took a break there with the crew and Stoneage told us about the three moose he saw. A bull, cow, and calf! He and I left the lean-to together and climbed gulf hagas mountain. Yeller and misplaced caught up and the four of us hiked together. On the back side of the mtn we got our first unobstructed view of Katahdin. We stopped dead in out tracks when we saw the mystical mountain and just stared. We could have stood there forever, I lost track of time. It looked HUGE and beautiful in the hazy blue distance. None of us said a word, we just had a moment, and then continued walking.The crew stopped at the next spring for lunch. I ate a pb and nutella sandwich then some cheese and peperoni. After lunch I climbed west mtn, hay mtn, and finally white cap. The first two had no views, only brief glimpses of Mama K. I stopped on top of white cap and ducked behind some small trees to block the 30+mph wind. I grabbed a snack and walked over to the view of Katahdin. I could see the end and every small hill I had to walk over to get there. Mama K seemed so close, like I could walk there in a day, but was still 73 trail miles away. The jagged peaks reminded me of the Teton range in Wyoming. There were no other mountains around it and the expansive valleys were filled with the Autumn colors. It was a truly breathtaking sight, not to mention an emotional one. I could finally, clearly see the end of this journey.After braving the cold wind for almost an hour, I hiked down White cap. I got to the next lean-to and we all decided to hike on. Our plan was to find a campsite before the next shelter. The trail went through an amazing stand of white birch with bright yellow leaves. It reminded me of the Autumn yellow aspen Ken and I got to see in Rocky mountain national park two years ago. Near the bottom of the mtn I found a delicious pipe spring and chugged some ice cold water. Next the trail went through a dense stand of fir and hemlock trees growing among tons of glacial erratics covered with deep green moss. Stoneage and I were walking together and got that strange feeling like we would see something cool. A few minutes later we heard what sounded like trees falling. It was no doubt a bull moose pushing his huge antlers through the forest. We dropped our packs and walked towards the sound be he walked away from us. We could hear him huffing and knocking down trees in his way.We never found a good campsite so we hiked to east branch lean-to. I set up my hammock near the river. We made a HUGE fire, maybe even a bonfire, and cooked dinner. Everyone was silent as we ate, food was all we could pay attention to. After dinner we chilled around the fire then I crawled into my hammock and listened to the water flow downstream.Today's StatsStarting Point:Gulf Hagas CutoffEnding Point:East Branch Lean-toMileage:14.3Elevation Gain:4150ftElevation Loss:4000ftHiking Time:9:06Weather:Overcast Cool WindyPain Factor:2