Date: 2020-10-08
From: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-To

To: Rainbow Spring Campsite
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: few clouds

I woke around 4 and couldn't sleep for a time. The mice were scratching away at the Clif bar and cheese on the other side of the shelter. Eventually I dozed off and didn't wake until quarter of eight. Almost 11 hours of sleep! I probably needed it. It was chilly and windy, but not nearly freezing as the forecast had threatened. The worst part was pulling on yesterday's wet, and now cold and wet, socks. I grabbed water from the artesian spring on the way out. The pool was covered with leaves but crystal clear. It looked a bit unearthly, even mythical, like a place Narcissus would sit by to stare at his reflection.A quarter mile down the trail I came to a dirt logging road. Normally these are deserted and not noteworthy in any way. But as I approached I saw a truck through the trees, and thought perhaps I'd lucked out to find Shaw's dropping off some hikers. Well, it was even better than that. It was trail magic!Pat and Mike Holt, brothers and retired locals, had set up a table and were making hot coffee and, impressively, fresh donuts by deep frying them in a cast iron skillet - Fastnacht style. They had just arrived and I was customer number one. They did this a couple of years ago, and had no idea if they'd get any hikers today, so they seemed as thrilled to see me as I them. Mike leases property from the paper mill for a family camp down the road. He's been fishing up here for decades. He didn't realize the AT went through until one day while fishing he heard voices and saw people walking along the other side of the stream. Up til then he'd been bushwhacking in from the logging roads. Mike also served in the Army at the same base in Fairbanks, Alaska as my dad. Turns out some of the wild stories my dad told me actually happened there, like the guy who drank Wild Turkey that'd been left outside in -40 degrees and froze his insides.Not only was trail magic totally unexpected this deep in the 100 Mile Wilderness, but this was my first traditional trail magic of the entire thruhike! And it only took 2145 miles! I've passed coolers with cold drinks and snacks a couple of times, and gotten a serendipitous drink from someone who happened to be sitting at a trailhead, but nothing like the rolling feast that I saw almost everyday in the South last year in March and April. I don't mind - I actually think trail magic is overdone and I'd rather these wonderful trail angels feed people far less fortunate than hikers - but it does feel good to see people care.Pat and Mike kept cooking up donuts and I kept eating. Must have had 8 or 9 over the course of an hour, along with 3 or 4 cups of coffee. With the morning chill and cold wind they were just what the doctor ordered. Another truck came through at one point and we had to move the table. It was what Pat called a couple of "heater hunters", guys who look for grouse while they roll along in their heated truck and shoot them if they can. If they don't see anything, no big deal, they had a couple of beers and a relaxing day. Sounds a lot like fishermen. The truck returned about twenty minutes later to troll in the other direction.No other hikers appeared, but Pat and Mike were planning to stay most of the day and come back tomorrow. I thanked them profusely and headed off, having done exactly 0.3 miles by 10:30.The trail was generally easy, even compared to other states, for several miles. I got my first view of Katahdin across Lake Pemadumcook. She was in the clouds, but still massive. A few minutes later a trio of southbounders that looked familiar came by. It was Yard Sale, who I last saw at the hostel in Hanover, and Reese's Pieces, the girl who had been recovering from plantar fasciitis at Charlie's in Vermont. They had picked up a companion Jeremy who had thruhiked in 2013 and was sectioning now. I gave each of them one of the donuts Pat had packed up for me.The wind turned ferocious as I approached a campsite right on Lake Nahmakanta. There were actual whitecaps on the swells as they crashed on the narrow beach. As the trail wound around the lake I passed a lone backpacker asking if there was a privy at the campsite. I reached Wadleigh Stream Lean-To, where the log had a note from 5-Oh and Water Queen saying they'd had lunch there today. I probably missed them by just two hours. They had been 17 miles ahead of me when I left Shaw's two days ago, but now they must be just a few miles away. I figured they'd stop at either the next shelter or the campsite beyond it. Either way I'd catch them today and could accompany them until we summit.I followed the trail around Crescent Pond. Several canoes and rowboats had been left at the water's edge. There was a dirt access road close by. If the wind hadn't been so cold I might have gone out for a paddle. Instead I followed the AT over Nesuntabunt Mountain, which just barely touched 2000 feet. It too had a lovely view of Katahdin, which was now in the clear and looking majestically imposing.A SOBO passed me who was just starting out on his thruhike. I thought he was a flip-flopper at first due to his long beard and focused stride. I was startled to hear he was starting this late. He said he had left Katahdin yesterday and was trying to get to Monson in 4 days.I made it to Rainbow Stream Lean-To at 5:30 after several miles of a tediously winding and rooty climb along the stream valley. I was hoping to find 5-Oh and Water Queen here, 8 miles from their lunch spot. But I guess they pressed on, hoping to get to the base of Katahdin tomorrow. So I donned my windjacket, hat, and gloves and got out my headlamp for another hike at dusk to a campsite 3.6 miles further.The miles were Maine Easy - no big climbs or descents, just the usual rocks, roots, erratic turns, blowdowns, and occasional ledges. In any other state a section like this would have some grand name like Jacob's Ladder, Fatman Squeeze, the Rollercoaster, or Clarendon Gorge. Here, it's just a "flat stretch". However my tolerance for uneven terrain had grown to the point I was able to bang out the distance in under an hour, and without turning on my headlamp. Rainbow Spring Campsite is a few flat spots set well back from Rainbow Lake, with another artesian spring for water. A tarp was already set up and two people greeted me without getting out. They were sectioning the Wilderness. No sign of 5-Oh and Water Queen. Either I missed their tents somewhere or they hiked even further, though that seems unlikely. I was already 12 miles from where they'd had lunch, a long distance for them. Given the early darkness and rough terrain, it was plenty long for me as well. I stepped out to relieve myself before bed to a sky that was studded with stars. The moon hadn't yet risen and the Milky Way was transcendent. The wind had cleared the sky for tonight.