Date: 2006-09-20
From: White House Landing

To: Pollywog Stream
Miles today: 13.5

Wednesday, Sept 20, 2006 WHL to Pollywog Stream, S to N, 13.5 plus 1.2 blue blaze trailIt rains overnight, much cooler this morning.A big hiker breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon, Bill flipping a couple of steaming pancakes right off the griddle onto Amoeba¢s plate.Talk of issues of warm winters, with fewer snowmobilers, causing Bill and Linda to close the place now after Thanksgiving, of the wilderness character of this northern end of the AT having to be balanced by needs hikers have for signage, (look at Jersey who hiked those unnecessary miles because it isn¢t clear where the turn-off to WHL is).Amoeba hikes today with Grandpa Bear. Tomorrow Grandpa Bear will slack at least the last part of the hike from Abol to Pollywog with Zig Zag, Purple Rose and Amoeba. Purple Sherpa will meet everyone at Pollywog and drive them all back to Abol, where Grandpa Bear can retrieve his stuff. Grandpa Bear is very happy to slack that 17.4. That slack will be a pre-birthday present.Leave 9:50AM. On the dock waiting to be ferried to White House are River Weasel, The Bruiser, Rising Sun, and others.Grandpa Bear: How do you want to hike today?Amoeba: I was going to ask you the same question.Grandpa Bear: I¢ll hike behind you and give you your space. Amoeba: Great. We¢ll see how the pacing goes.Hike alongside the stream, slow and wide, flow steady and sure but not excited, not rushing. Like the Suwanee except here instead of alligators you¢re looking for moose.Lunch stop on the south shore of beautiful Nahmakanta Lake.Hike through conifer woods, 2 and 3-needle pine needle clusters, the needles stockier than white pine, the bark different from red pine.A pine needle drops and lodges in Amoeba¢s eyeglasses. A needle is nothing but the leaf of a conifer. Add another leaf to her leaf-catching score, (which right now is classified information).Last year during leaf-catching season she, Purple Rose and Zig Zag had passed along a nifty idea to Moosie. A kind of butterfly net built into hiking poles that, as needed, could be sprung and used for leaf-catching, fishing, fanning, etc. Amoeba¢s already got the netting: either her headnet, or a piece of the net mesh she uses to ventilate the Element. Just have to figure out how to construct the ring so it¢s functional and retractable.While mulling on the subject of useful hiking inventions, following through on Bama¢s suggestion, maybe the Croc company could study the dynamics of hiking feet (and jumping frogs) and come out with a line of light hiking shoes. Croccasins? Froggasins? Something very lightweight that protects the soles of the hiker¢s foot and grips the treadway and stays on due to friction, but allows unfettered movement of foot and ankle. Something that is custom-fashioned for an individual foot. Amoeba¢s favorite, the Croc Highland model (now discontinued), is near-perfect for her but could be improved by having a longer-lasting sole and by being offered in a pair whose right shoe is just a little longer than the left. Hiking in size Medium W 8-9 M 6-7 Highland (or Beach for that matter) Crocs, Amoeba repeatedly loses her right index toenail. The right shoe is just a little too short. Useful variations would be a winter model with crampon sole and a mudseason/fording model with leak-proof gaiter rising to just below the knee. When Amoeba describes this model to her son John, he says Yeah, the gaiter could be attached to the Croc zip-lock style.Beside the trail untrimmed eye-level saplings thrust fall colors literally ¢in your face¢.After the rain the greens of the mosses and the fire shades of deciduous leaves are intense. How to photograph that green? Do combinations of "cyan", "yellow" and "magenta" just not produce it?Musky sweet smell of wet vegetation and fallen leaves, sound of water flowing, touch of wind on face and legs. Another perfect day for hiking.Grandpa Bear tells story of meeting Nimblewill Nomad and reading his book. He¢ll loan that book to Amoeba. Thanks, GB!Back on trail 1:10 after lunch. Stone steps, stone trail margins, huckleberries (blacker and seedier than blueberries, same little star on the tip of the berry).If you stop at summit of Nestabunt Mtn, be careful continuing on, that you go forward and not back the way you just came. Blazes descending the mountain from S to N have red rectangles below the white.A few beech nuts. Mostly empty hulls.On a rockface viewpoint some 4:30PM views of Nahmakanta Lake, dramatic cloud formations and Katahdin.Grandpa Bear hears sounds that might be the barking of bear dogs, a bear hunt in progress. It is bear season.Past Crescent Pond, Amoeba says I remember this, we¢re almost there.They aren¢t.Pollywog is just around the corner.It isn't.Finally Amoeba stops predicting when they¢ll come out. Sorry about that, Grandpa Bear.Finally out at Pollywog Stream, they give some Poland Spring water from the cache in the Element to River Weasel and The Bruiser. It¢s sure great to see them so near their goal.On the way back to Millinocket, they spot 2 bull moose.Grandpa Bear treats Amoeba to supper at the Italian place in Millinocket. Thank you, Grandpa Bear!Rejoin Zig Zag, Purple Rose, Purple Sherpa and Dixie at Abol Bridge Campground. Too cold and too late for a shower.