Date: 2018-08-05
From: Pollywog Stream

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 13.1

I awoke at 2:20 last night and saw shadows of leaves on our tent made by the moon. Big drops of water still fell from the trees above us, but the moonlight suggested that perhaps the rain had moved on.We started moving at 5:40 - a good twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off, and we were packed and on the trail by 7. We each ate a bar to power us up the 3.2 mile, 503 foot rise to a nice overview looking north out on Lake Namakanta and Mt Katahdin in the distance. We stopped there at 9 for a hot breakfast of mash potato, cheese and bacon burritos. A father out for a day hike with two young children and his father joined us to take in the view. They were kind enough to give us a liter of water as we were out and had about 3 miles to the next reliable source according to our guide.  We got moving again at 10 and went up and over Nesuntabunt Mountain - only 1560 ft high, but very vertical up and down (lots of stone stairs). We appreciate the hard work that trail maintainers have put into building these stairs, but wouldn¢t switchbacks be easier? Maybe not. Mainers apparently don¢t believe in switchbacks. We¢ve done quite a few ascents that were in excess of 1000 feet per mile, though, apart from the climb up Katahdin, none have been very long so far.Today¢s hike, and much of the hiking over the last few days, was all about foot placement. The trail in Maine is covered in roots and it¢s not generally a good idea to step on them because they are slippery, especially when wet. My picture today shows what I¢m talking about. So on much of the trail here, you can¢t develop any semblance of a pace. Each footfall has to be considered carefully, so progress is slow. Also, the roots tend to grab your hiking poles if your pole tip is too close to the edge of a root. The poles are a big help for balance and stability, but learning to manage pole placement and foot placement to navigate these roots has been . . . frustrating . . . and interesting. Interesting because you do learn, almost to the point that the process is automatic. Almost. We struggled to do 2 miles an hour today.Laura had what she has classified as a ¢slip¢ today meaning that she went down on her butt slowly. I, on the other hand, had a genuine ¢fall¢ when I inadvertently stepped on a root about the thickness of my pinky finger on a slanted (side to side) trail. I went down hard, but pack and shoulder absorbed the impact, so no bruises - except maybe my ego.  Despite the fact that there wasn¢t much elevation gain or loss and that it was only 13 miles, the roots, mud and high humidity made today¢s hike a real workout. We managed to get to the White House Landing pick-up dock by 4, called the owners and then soaked our feet in the lake for a bit while we waited for the boat.We enjoyed a fresh tomato and cucumber salad and split a large burger and pizza for dinner. We ate with a NoBo through hiker named Scar and his significant other named Random, as well as SoBo Elevation. There is another couple here - also SoBos, so I don¢t think we will lack company on the trail. Other than ourselves, there¢s at least 10 other SoBos that started the day we did or the day before: Cold Brew, the couple with the 2 dogs whose names we don¢t know, Social, another young gal whose name I don¢t recall, Rebecca and Steve, Charles and Sam (brothers from Florida), and Elevation. We¢re hiking at similar paces, so I expect we¢ll get to know some of the characters over the next few weeks.  Rebecca and Steve took a zero here today, and Butterfly and I have decided to do the same tomorrow. We¢ll catch up on our journals and correspondence, do a pack shake down to get our loads lighter, read, canoe, swim, and let our bodies do their healing and building thing. Though it¢s only been four days, we¢ve done 52 miles (45.7 AT miles) over rough trails. We¢re just starting out, and our bodies need the R&R. I didn¢t have to twist Laura¢s arm too hard to get her to agree. We will enjoy a relaxing day on Pemadumcook Lake. Today I am thankful for the beautiful mushrooms all along the trail, for the young eagles we saw floating in the thermals while we ate breakfast, for water from strangers, for a well deserved foot soak, for a great dinner (with beer - even Budweiser tastes good to hikers), for canoeing after dinner.