Date: 2014-07-17
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-To

To: Cooper Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

A heavy rain came once again in the middle of the night, soaking my tent and refueling the Maine bogs. Yet after a good night¢s sleep and time for my body to repair, I found myself recharged, significantly less grumpy, and ready to tackle one of our most emotionally satisfying days.Our day began with four quick climbs over the last significant peaks in the 100-Mile Wilderness. Packed closely together, these mountains gave me a brief flashback to the Roller Coaster way back in Virginia, with steep climbs, steep descents, rinse and repeat. Unlike the Roller Coaster, however, we were finished with these climbs within an hour of hiking. The largest of the four was White Cap Mountain (3,650 ft.), with a steep, rocky ascent that we hadn¢t really dealt with since southern Maine. Yet this type of obstacle was old hat by now; we¢ve been trained for pretty much any terrain by this point, and we simply flew up the side knowing that the trail would become flat as soon as we passed over the mountains.At the top of White Cap, we rested briefly in the sun and enjoyed a cool breeze while taking in the views of complete solitude. We were also admittedly delaying, knowing what awaited us as soon as we started our descent: our first clear look at Katahdin. After four months of hiking, we were given a tremendous view of Maine¢s largest mountain emerging from a distant cloud. It towered over everything, showing us that even the considerable mountains we had just climbed were more like overeager hills. We were just 60 miles away from the finish line, and soon we will be resting in its sizable shade, sipping water from Katahdin Stream and celebrating an accomplishment I had only dreamed of a few years before.Seeing Katahdin was definitely the emotional highpoint of the day, but the remaining miles were incredibly smooth and easy hike on, allowing us to truly take in the scenery of the Maine forest. The trail will remain like this for the rest of the way to Baxter State Park, with only a few bumps to slow us down. Today we were able to reach our shelter by 3 PM, and we hardly even got sweaty after climbing White Cap¢the trail was simply that conducive to fast, easy hiking. Even the weather has begun to cooperate, with partly cloudy skies and cool temperatures (which, according to a southbounder passing by, are suppose to last well past our summit date. Fingers are appropriately crossed). It was almost the exact opposite of the conditions from yesterday, and my recovering body was extremely grateful.Birdman and I are tenting by Cooper Brook Lean-To, one of my favorite shelters so far on the trail. The campsite is situated by an impressive series of waterfalls and an excellent swimming hole, and I found a flat spot for my tent just 15 feet away from the rushing water. I can only imagine how soundly I can sleep with the white noise of the brook splashing against the shore. Socks and Spider-Man arrived before long, shortly followed by Nails and LoJack, so the NoBo crew is all here (though I still haven¢t seen any sign of Ranger or Sloth). A small group of older women hikers are staying in the lean-to tonight, and they were so thrilled by the swimming hole that they immediately ripped off their clothes and underpants and jumped in for a dip. Birdman was already washing off in the brook and hadn¢t noticed them enter. My trip on the AT has provided me with experiences that I will never forget; the look on Birdman¢s face when he saw four nude women swimming up behind him will forever be cemented in my memory.