Date: 2004-06-16
From: Mountain View Pond (tent)

To: Mahar Tote Rd (White House Landing)
Miles today: 20.0

Log entry 137Start time- 0810End time- 1700Weather- Sunny all day, a nice breeze in the morning.Breakfast- fudge rounds and strawberry CIBLunch- MRE pop tarts and nutty barsDinner- cheese burger, Barqs root beer, and "half baked" Ben and Jerrys ice cream (brownies and cookie dough, wow)Trail description- Flat and fast. I kid you not, Gina May pulled almost 3 miles an hour. From Cooper pond to Antlers Tentsite she did it in 65 minutes, 2.9 miles. Atta girl. Yeah, it was a nice day.People- Some SOBOs, a really annoying SOBO here. He will ask you a question, cut off your answer, just to lead into a story about himself. (And he's NOT interesting.) He¢s about to get a boot to the jaw. Animals- snakes, toads, frogs, and 2 moose.Money- none so far9- Skeeters. By far, the worst I have ever experienced. That is ever in my whole life. They were overwhelming. Narrative- We finally got to bed on time so in turn a great night of sleep had by all. It never did rain and the wind was cool and fresh. The bugs weren't an issue, yet.We cruised from here on out. We hit the Cooper Pond by 12:30 and took a half hour lunch. I just bounced the idea of pushing on 2.4 miles past Potaywadjo shelter to White House Landing for a cheeseburger and shower. It didn't take much. So with the smell of ground beef on our minds, the rest of the afternoon was cake. The bugs were bad on and off during the afternoon, but once we stopped to apply DEET, they were for the most part, hindered. Not until just before we got to the side trail to the White House Landing did they really come out. It was unreal. Swarms and clouds that I have only heard about in books. Gina and I ran parts of the trail to the landing, and finally found solace on the dock on the lake. Actually we just put raingear on. White House Landing is one of the few camps left in the Wilderness. There used to be 11 of them. Back in the day you could hike the Wilderness and spend every night in a bed. We heard many great things about the Landing, especially about the cheeseburgers. We also met people that thought that stopping there was like cheating. Who really cares? Gina and I were not resupplying there, just grab some hot food, a shower, and soft bed. Forgive me for showering once every 4 days. Anyways, to get to the landing, you have to walk 1.2 miles on a side trail to a dock, directly across from the camp. The trail itself is flat but a little hard to walk. There were people at the camp complaining about how poorly maintained the side trail was. They were spoiled from hiking on the AT. The trail itself was free of blow downs but the trail was fresh, not like the well trodden Appalachian. Once you get to the dock, a toot on an air horn brings a small boat across the lake, piloted by Bill. A super nice guy. Once at the camp, Linda cooks up dinner. Pizza or 1 pound cheese burgers. You can¢t go wrong. The shower is hot and bed is soft. A great stop. After a huge breakfast in the morning, Bill brings you back to a different spot up the lake, only .2 of a mile back to the AT. They can¢t hear the air horn from that point on the lake.Gina and I got there in time for dinner, the kitchen closes at 18:00 so that Bill, Linda, and their son Ben can have some family time. Please remember that if you come in late.After dinner, we showered and retired to the bunkhouse where we were pestered by ¢Pete¢. He openly admits to have smoked too much weed. Boy, you would never guess either. His short term memory is shot and lacks the ability so stay on one subject or task for even a few minutes. He had already smoked his ounce baggie, that didn¢t even last out of Baxter State park he said. I am not sure what he was looking for from me, but I bit my tongue and let him ramble mindlessly.