Date: 2017-08-26
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 29.6
Weather: clear sky

It's cold again this morning, 46 by the thermometer in the shelter. Another breakfast of poptarts - I don't think I will ever eat them again - and I'm off at 7 with Waterboy close behind. Bangles, a fifty-something woman who started in Front Royal and the only other occupant of the shelter, was up and out well before dawn, headed to White House Landing.Today promises to be more relaxing than the last two days. The terrain is flatter and I'm told less rocky and rooty, and I have more time to get the miles in. I'm aiming for a shelter 30 miles away or a campsite 34 miles away, to be in good position to exit the 100 Mile Wilderness tomorrow and get to the base of Katahdin.The trail is easier, as promised. It passes a number of large ponds and lakes. It also crosses several gravel access roads, including one with two cars parked and one driving by. I stop at a shelter to rest and meet northbounder Ropeburn, a young man with a Thor-like blonde beard who likes rock climbing, and his girlfriend Bugs. Waterboy and I hope to stop at White House Landing for lunch. It's a backwoods camp like Harrison's where you hike a side trail to Pemadumcook lake and the owner comes over with his boat to pick you up. But Waterboy calls and finds out the owner is only interested in overnight guests like Bangles. So we walk on. I break for lunch at a campsite where they are building a new shelter. The frame and walls are up but the platform and roof are to come. There is a lot of maintenance work evident in Maine, from new stone staircases to planks and stepping stones over bogs, much more than other states. Yet there are still many deadfall trees across the trail that have obviously been there awhile. The chainsaw takes lower priority it seems.I'm eating more than I thought and drinking more as well. I upgraded from carrying 1.5 to 2 liters of water but I am still refilling it a couple times a day. My food is running thin, but it's enough to get to the Abol campground store tomorrow and resupply for the final day of summiting Katahdin. I suspect my hunger/thirst stems from the consecutive big days I've been putting in, and the fact I've only been in town one night in the past week. In fact I've logged almost 160 miles over the last six days. I figure I'm burning about 7000 calories a day. My tuna packet advertises it's only 80 calories, though it's protein-dense. Nuts, cheese, chocolate, and crackers make up some of the deficit.On Nesuntabunt Mountain, one of the last climbs before Katahdin, I get a close view of the final destination. It's only sixteen air miles away. It dominates the horizon. It's getting late in the afternoon, I'm tired and eaten almost all my food for the day. I have to scrub the 34 mile option and aim for the closer shelter. It's still a stretch. The terrain seems to get worse just as I need a break. Lots of boulders, rocks, roots, side hill walking, and up and downs. Waterboy is waiting for me up ahead at a section hiker's campfire so he can share the misery of the last few miles with someone.Finally we tumble into the Rainbow Stream Lean-To, where several southbound hikers are gathered around a fire. Squid, a flip-flopper Bucks County kid trained as a welder and reluctantly headed for the Navy, an 18-year-old true southbounder from Hawaii getting a late start, and a flip-flopper couple hiking with their dog. We eat and chat but it's off to sleep shortly after dark. Another big day lies ahead. The final full day of hiking.