Date: 2004-09-14
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

The End is in SightMileage Countdown: -71.4I pushed it a bit today, climbing five mountains and wading across a river. But I got what I came for - my first glimpse of Katahdin. More than a glimpse - a great big slap-in-the-face VIEW.After having so little energy yesterday, I surprised even myself with what I was able to do today. Maybe it was the huge dinner I ate last night. The object was to get to the top of Whitecap Mountain, the last big mountain before Katahdin, and the first place where one is sure to see K (if the weather is clear).I started out with a steep but short climb up and down Chairback Mtn. After that, the next six or seven miles had mostly a gently sloping trail, with a ford of the West Branch of the Pleasant River in the middle.The West Branch is much wider than any of the other rivers I have forded, but it is fairly shallow, and not too swift. For my previous fords I had left my boots on, and just waded right in. But my socks were just getting dry from crossing Long Pond Stream, so my ears perked up when I heard Speak Up and Megabite mention that before fording they changed into their Crocs (light rubber camp shoes). I thought I'd give it a try, and changed shoes when I got to the river's edge. My first impression was that this way was much colder. Maybe that was because it was early in the morning and the night before had been quite cold. But I think it was because the socks I wear insulate even when wet, so I didn't feel the full chill of the water before. I also felt that the camp shoes didn't give as stable a footplant as my hiking boots, although that wasn't critical in this crossing. I think that for future fords, I will use the Crocs for gentle crossings, just to keep my socks dry, but for any stronger or deeper ford I will keep my hiking shoes on.Shortly after crossing the West Branch I passed through The Hermitage. I don't know if there is (or was) an actual hermitage there. But for several hundred yards the woods gave one such a feeling of peace and serenity that I suspect that is where the name came from. Shortly thereafter, I came to the loop trail to Gulf Hagas, reputedly a beautiful canyon. But, I was a man on a mission, so passed it by. Maybe I will come back and hike it with a friend in the future.Continuing along the gentle part of the Trail, I met Pacific Bound. He thru-hiked the AT in 2002, but is now going coast-to-coast, using parts of the system of national scenic trails that is now being developed. He started on the International AT on the Gaspe Peninsula, switching to the AT at Katahdin. He will use parts of the Long Trail, the Northeast Wilderness Trail through the Adirondacks to PA or OH, thence to ND on a transcontinental trail that is finished that far, and finally out to the Pacific Northwest, using the Continental Divide Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and some others. He expects to finish in August, 2005.From there my work began, as I climbed Gulf Hagas Mtn, West Peak, Hay Mtn and Whitecap Mtn in succession, each higher than the previous one. When I reached the summit of Whitecap (3600+ ft), I could see the mountains I climbed last week, most notably the Bigelows, but also the Crockers and the Saddlebacks. As I worked my way around to the northeast side of the mountain I kept looking for Katahdin, expecting it to be a bump on the horizon amongst the lowish mountains on that side. Suddenly it was there, no bump but a mass that filled the whole horizon, even though it was still over 70 trail-miles (about 50 crow-fly mi) away. I stopped in awe. There was no doubt that this was what I had come for - Katahdin, the Big K. Tired and sore though I was, I walked down that last mile and a half to the shelter filled with a feeling of satisfaction.With me in the shelter here tonight is flip-flopper, Red Dog.