Date: 2005-07-15
From: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to

To: East end of Rainbow Lake
Miles today: 25.4

So here it dawned, the last real day on the trial. And it was a long one. I was up and out of the shelter before the other folks were stirring and headed out towards White House Landing. The leaves were damp, and I was soaked as I made my way along the blue-blaze to the pick-up point. But as I started along the shore of Pemadumcook Lake, I came upon a pair of Moose: a mama and baby.I blew the horn, and was patient... sitting on the dock in the lake, with a warm early morning sun beating down. I got a ride over to White House Landing (WHL) before the folks who had spent the night there had left, so I resupplied myself, and after hanging around for a bit, hopped back in the boat back to the trail. It was a full boat, with a bunch of southbounders, and one guy going north. I took off, and as I made my way up Nahmakanta Stream, saw 2 more PAIR of mom and baby moose. It was awesome. One of the pair were right on the trail, in front of me.I sat for quite some time in the sand at the end of Nahmakanta, as a little boat motored around in the distance, and the wind blew along the water in the crystal clear sun. I grabbed water at the spring, and ate lunch at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to. One of those little chipmunks was being especially nosey and I did my best to entice him to come close to me so I could scare the crap out of it. He learned. It was getting a bit warm, and the other NOBO guy had shown up, so I decided to take off up Nesuntabunt Mountain.It was a nice climb, with some neat rock out croppings amongst the trees. The view from the top is, of course, legendary. I had it all to myself, looking across the lake at the monolith which is Katahdin. On the way down, I took the road walk down to the bridge across Pollywog Stream, and rejoined the AT to follow Rainbow stream.It was hard to believe that I was at Rainbow stream - the stream who's shelter was on last year's Databook, and graced the cover of National Geographic in the '80s. This was it - and it was georgous. I took off my clothes and swam in one of the little georges alongside the trail. It was crisp, and clean, and I could feel the grime lift off of me. My adrenaline was starting to run - I could feel the mountain drawing me closer.There was already somebody at Rainbow Stream who was just out for a few days in the wilderness. As I marveled at the baseball bat floor, he told me that there were some little tenting spots next to Rainbow Lake at the east end. We chatted for a while, but when the other guy who had left WHL with me got there, it was time to move on. I first went up and took the blue blaze to the dam at the end of the lake. The view of Katahdin was spectacular over that expanse. There were some canoes dragged into the woods,and if I could have found a paddle, I'm sure I would have stolen one and padddled to the other end of the lake. As it was, though, I kept walking. Excited by the prospect of my last night alone in my tent, I ran at least 1.5 of the 7 miles to the other end of the lake.The sun set majestically over the lake, spreading colors everywhere. I cooked my mac & cheese, and spent a long time on a rock sticking out into the lake. My hike had ended, and although I would get up and hike tomorrow, and then climb Katahdin the next day, the ending came at that sunset on Rainbow Lake. My hike was finished. And the journey had been perfect.