Date: 2009-09-27
From: Woods Campsite, ME

To: Nahmakanta Lake Campsite, ME
Miles today: 12.6

We had another moose encounter last night. This is the second time that a moose came near our tent while we were sleeping. We can't actually see the moose, but the sound is undeniable- something like a large truck plowing through the woods. After 6 months in the woods we know what deer, bear, squirrels, rabits, toads, chipmunks, raccoons, grouse, opossum and armadillo's sound like...moose are distinctly different. This time we were able to see the moose's eyes with our headlamp before it ran away, they were really high off the ground. This is exciting for us. This morning we were able to catch up to Firecracker, Big Fish, Nadi Bumpo and Many Names at their campsite around 8:30am. Big Fish and Firecracker were ready to go so we hiked with them for a mile or two. We stopped at a pond that had a view of Katahdin. While we were there Nadi and Many Names arrived. We all were taking pictures and videos of the view. The six of us hiked together the rest of the morning, it was a lot of fun. Earlier that day we had all decided that it would be worth it to hike 1 mile off trail to "Whitehouse Landing" to get a burger. So, around 11am when we came to the trail we all hiked as fast as we could to get to some good eating. The side trail takes you to a boat dock. At the boat dock there is a flag and an air-horn with instructions to release one short burst. We blew the horn and not long after we watched as a man came from across the lake to pick us up in his boat. Bill was his name. It was lady's first, there could only be 3 at a time, then he came and got the men. The Landing was a great place. Berry and I didn't intend on stopping there but now we are certianly glad we did. All of us, except Firecracker, ordered the deluxe 1lb burger. Firecracker got homemade pizza. It was just a blast! After lunch Berry and I split a pint of Ben and Jerry's and a small apple pie. The rain was coming! We heard from various sources that there would be 1-2 inches today. We all watched it cover the horizon. The thought of staying at the landing occured to all of us, but the thought of Katahdin was stronger. We all got boated back across the lake with our rain gear in full force. I haven't worn rain gear since VA. It's cold now so it's very important to stay warm. We all had a one mile hike back to the AT and then we slowly resumed our thru-hike- a little more sluggish and less excited.The rain was actually not that bad...it's more of slight rain and heavy mist/fog. It's expected to be this way tomorrow and the next day as well. So....we didn't make it through ME without getting rained on, but we were darn close. We said goodbye to our crew. we've been hiking with them for several days now and we are well ahead of schedule. They plan to summit on the 30th, we plan to summit on the 1st. We exchanged our emails and made plans to be at the bottom of Katahdin to cheer for them as they finish on Wednesday. Since we were ahead of schedule we chose to do a smaller day today into a lake that Otter recommended we camp at. We are here, but it's so nasty outside that it hinders the view- still, it's a spectacular campsite right on the beach. Crazy Lady, Patches and Blackbird are here too!