Date: 2003-08-26
From: Antler Campsite

To: Branch of Nahmakanta Stream
Miles today: 6.0

Water hitting the shore, loons' voices filling the silent beautiful sky. Then, the hum of crickets join in song. I want my life to be like this lake, to be open for whatever the day brings, to be so beautiful, so deep, to share that beauty with others, to live in peace, to let bigger and greater things reflect off me, to be silent and so still, to listen to the noises that surround me. Even though mountains stand around me, I'm pleased with not being as strong, as noticeable, as powerful. I am pleased with being plain and simple. Sat by the lake and watched some of the sunrise. Felt good not being in such a rush this morning. I ate my last poptart, lightening my food bag even more. It was pretty humid this morning by 7:45 when we left. The terrain again was easy. We only had 6 miles to do. At Pemadumcook Lake we saw Katahdin. It was hidden in the clouds. Wow, it was so close. I felt like I was moving fast, even though I was taking my time. We made it to Mahar Tote Road by 9:30 and had 9.2 miles left. We made it to the dock, and the guys let me blow the fog horn. Forgot to turn the horn to the lake, accidentally blowing it right to the guys. Poor guys. We sat on the dock and waited for the motor boat. It picked up all 4 of us. We headed to White House Landing. We hung out until 11:00 when they opened up the main building. The place was very nice, a lot of cabins on this huge lake in the middle of nowhere. I got to see a lot of loons. They swam all the way across the lake. At times they would disappear underwater leaving you guessing where they would come up next. Found out that Do It and Fifty are summiting the same day as we are. Pretty cool.The very nice couple opened up and we all went in ordering. The sign said, "Welcome Hikers. High calories and fat." You have to like signs like that. We all ordered a 3/4 pound burger and brownies that smelled so fresh and good. When they brought out the burgers, our mouths fell open because they were huge. Very, very good. We got so messy eating our food. Diesel ate his in less than 10 minutes. He tore that sucker up. Looking at the AT map, I couldn't believe how far we had walked. We have less than half an inch left to go. Soon Speck and Slick were motored over and shared in our messy burger eating. I resupplied, took a shower, and did laundry. The laundry was fun and interesting, bringing us back to the old days of our great-grandparents. We had to handwash our clothes, getting water from the lake, rinsing them through the wringer, and then laying them out in the sun to dry.Then, Slick and I took out a canoe, going pretty far in the middle of the lake. When we turned around, we could see the majority of Katahdin. Massive! I love being out here. This place is wonderful, and it was such a beautiful day. Blessed!! After getting back on land I sat on the dock with my feet in the water, reflecting on the hike, thinking of life after the trail, but soaking up as much as I could of the moment. For supper I had Ben & Jerry's and halved a pizza with Oopu. After paying quite an expensive bill, we loaded back on the boat and were taken back to the trail. We only hiked about 1/2 a mile farther. I didn't care how far we went. I was so happy about the day. It was so relaxing and beautiful. We found a flat spot as the mosquitoes became worse. I hung the bear bag rope with no assistance and tied it off. Days like today lift me up so high. They make me feel so good. A little less than 45 miles left to go.