Date: 2004-10-06
From: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Mt. Katahdin from Lake PemadumcookStart: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to @ 0855 Finish: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to @ 1700Miles: 10.1Weather: Very cold morning (low 30¢s), mostly cloudy afternoon with occasional sunBreakfast: Chocolate CIB, Chocolate Poptarts.Lunch: 14¢ Pizza, 1 12 brownies.Dinner: 12 brownie, hot cocoa.Trail Conditions: Mostly flat. Several small PUDs. Lots of rocks and rootsAnimals: Birds, Squirrels, Dog, ChipmunkPeople: Bill & Linda of Whitehouse Landing, Sanguine, Wu-li, Colin, Patrick, John, Momma¢s Boy, Section hikers.Last night got cold! I learned it dropped all the way down to 21 degrees. Definitely my coldest night of the trip. It was so cold even before I went to sleep that I didn¢t journal because my fingers were numb and my pen barely worked. Quality.With it being so cold I was in no real rush to get out of my sleeping bag this morning. I was also going short today so time was not an issue. I got out of the sack around 0700 to take a leak and the thermometer read 34 degrees. I thought to myself ¢Maine, the land of the meat popsicles.¢I really took my time this morning and did some journaling and just bummed around trying to stay warm. When I finally did get going my toes were completely numb and it took a good thirty minutes before I regained any feeling in them.My first stop of the day was to Pemadumcook Lake where I got my second viewing of Katahdin. This time I was at ground level looking up and thirty-five miles closer. Katahdin is huge. And it is an intimidating mountain. It amazes how it just rises out of nothing dwarfing all that surrounds it. I could distinctly identify the Gateway, Tablelands, and Baxter Peak. As I stared at the mountain I realized today there are people I know summating it. As I look forward they were in progress toward Baxter Peak. It seemed so surreal. In three days that is were I will be. It is becoming overwhelming for me to think about. I just stood there examining Katahdin with a grin of satisfaction on my face. Mt. Katahdin from the Shore of Lake PemadumcookThe water levels at the lake are steadily falling every year as it is dammed for power and being drained at a rate faster than it can refill itself through natural processes. It is a real shame. About 200 yards of the shore is now a former lake bottom. The area is mucky, as it slowly dries out, and strewn with boulders ranging from the size of my fist to the size of my car. As I traipsed across the waste land to gain a view of Katahdin¢s reflection on what remains of the lake, I passed large patches of ice, from the cold night, melting in the morning sun.After my time on the lake I headed to the Maher Tote Road and took the mile long side trail to White House Landing. I have heard great reviews about this place and wanted to check it out. I was not disappointed.I got to the shore of Lake Pemadumcook, opposite White House Landing, and tooted their air horn to summon my boat ride. A few minutes later Bill motored on up to the dock in his tin boat and shuttled me back across the lake to the landing. Shuttle to Whitehouse LandingIt was a very quaint place nestled in the woods. It reminded me a lot of a place in the Les Cheneaux Islands, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where my family and my cousins would vacation when I was little. I dropped my pack off at the lodge and poked my nose around the grounds. I had arrived just in time for lunch and decided I would have to eat there. It was a legitimate debate between the one-pound hamburger and the 14-inch pizza, but I settled for a pepperoni pizza. It was definitely the best pizza I have eaten this entire trip. I will never forget the size of the hamburger either, as another guest had ordered one. It was the biggest hamburger I have seen in my entire life. The patty was a good 1-1/2 inches thick and 6 inches around. It was gigantic. I bought some homemade brownies to take back on the trail as well as a few other treats to get me by until I meet up with the folks. After nearly a three hour stay there I got ferryed back across the lake and resumed the days hike.As I was headed back to the AT I ran into Momma¢s Boy. We shot the breeze and he was equally disappointed in the Gulf Hagas loop when he took it. I talked up the WHL enough that he just might be stopping there tonight.Back on the trail I was so full from the pizza it actually sucked to walk. My stomach gargled away as it digested the greasy goodness. I felt more inclined to just bivy along one of the lakes and call it a really short day, but I toughed it out and pushed on through the pain of glutony.The hiking today was pretty tedious. There were lots of small ups and downs and the trail was peppered with rocks and laced with countless tree roots that continually tripped me up. It was another beautiful day, however, and I relished the cool temps, changing leaves, and pretty lakes. Nahmakanta LakeI rolled into the shelter for the night at 5pm. There are two other kids here that are about my age. They have been out for the week and are hiking the 100-mile Wilderness.Tomorrow will be my last long day of this trip. Just shy of 20-miles. The end is near, so very near.