Date: 2012-06-08
From:  9.7

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 0.0

Walking in the rain.We made it to White House Landing....WHL HAS A LONG HISTORY WITH HIKERS ON THE ATDuring the 1920s 30s and 40s, in the early days of the Appalachian Trail, Maine¢s 100-Mile Wilderness was anything but.There were 11 logging or sporting camps along the way and the trail was routed through or near all of them. Each night was spent in comfort with a roof over your head and a hot meal in your belly. One of these places was White House Landing - where hikers actually stayed inside the White House. Most of the camps closed after WWII. Today only 3 remain: Rainbow Lake Camps (owned privately by Webber Oil Company) Nahmakanta Lake Camps (also privately owned and not open to hikers) and White House Landing, where hikers are welcome with open arms.That wasn¢t always the case. After 1950, when the landing went to private ownership, hikers were not permitted to stop at WHL. It wasn¢t until 1999, almost 50 years later, that we re-opened our doors to all of the grateful hikers.From 1992 until 1999 we operated as a traditional sporting camp. With no road access, electricity or amenities that many people look for, it was tough. We persevered through the years, at times wondering why we do it. Boat access was also hard. All supplies, propane tanks, and guests had to be shuttled 10 miles one way up the lake. A logging road was put in near us in 1996 and we were granted road access. Things began to improve but it was still a tough industry in which to perservere. In 1999, my dad AKA ¢poopajack¢ decided to hike the AT. Wanting to understand why a 65 year old man would do such a thing, I read through the collection of books that had inspired his hike. That was when it dawned on us that we were actually located in the middle of ¢the¢ 100-Mile Wilderness - not even being conscious of the past history WHL had with AT hikers. We decided, with some encouragement from my dad, to open our doors to these hikers. From that moment on, we have never looked back. Easy to please and extremely appreciative, hikers are now our most reliable and most loved guests. We are better people because of them. We work hard for them 14 hours, 7 days a week for 5 months. No days off, no employees and we still have a smile, albeit a tired one, on our face at the end of our long shift. A testament to this is that many of the hikers we have met over the years have become our friendFROM THE APPALACHIAN TRAILWhite House Landing is located 32 trail miles south of Abol Bridge and 68 miles north of Monson.To reach our dock from the trail, turn off the AT at the Mahar Tote Road. You will find the road south of the Nahmakanta Stream Campsite and north of the Potaywadjo Lean-To (on your map, it is shown as a dotted line going down to the stream).When you reach our 32-foot dock, you will find an airhorn hanging in a tree. Blow one short blast and we will come across Pemadumcook Lake with a boat and pick you up and bring you to WHL. Ironically, in earlier years, the AT crossed water in two places in the Wilderness - at Moxie Pond and at Rainbow Lake - where you would summon a boat to pick you up and take you across.....had a shower, can't charge up phone because there is only propane, Louisianna Carpay hit his foot on a rock so taking a rest day tomorrow..probably won't have cell service until the next town about 4 days away