Date: 2013-09-02
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: Mahar Tote Road 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Start Cooper Brook Falls lean-to, mile 2146.2Stop Mahar Tote Road (Whitehouse Landing Hostel), mile 2140.2Sleep bedCell poorHiked 14.0 miles Northbound 45.7 miles remaining 187.8 miles hiked 2013 ATOld Goat's notes:We stopped early yesterday because it was supposed to rain last night and today. Well the weatherman got this one right, it rained hard all day. We awoke at 5:45 am and started our morning routine of packing and breakfast. We have been eating protein bars for breakfast to get an early start. We also had packed oatmeal packets for a change of pace. Today we ate the oatmeal for something warm. We started hiking at 7:10am, just about our usual time. We made good time all day, about 2 mph which is about equal to our best pace. I think the level terrain and adrenalin kept us going all day. Also anytime we stopped or slowed down we got cold very fast. When we started hiking this morning it was in a light rain. As the day progressed the rain got harder and harder we eventually stopped worrying about getting wet because we were soaked to the bone. It has been raining hard off and on all evening since we stopped. We are at a place called White House Landing on Pemadumcook Lake. It is on a site of an old logging camp which originally had a big White House as the main structure. The folks here now have a bunkhouse and a few smaller buildings with beds. They cater to anyone who wants a place to stay in the wilderness, especially hikers and fishermen. They said the fishermen come in on their own boats whereas the hikers need to be picked up from a dock across the lake. To get here from the AT we had to walk .9 of a mile on a side trail. The warmth of the building, a shower, a bed, and real food make it worth it. We arrived here soaking wet and very cold. The first thing we did was take hot showers and put on dry clothes. Then we went to dinner in the main cabin I had a pizza that I didn't eat all of, they put the rest in the refrigerator for me for tomorrow. We sat around the dining area talking with the other guests and the owner, it was a nice way to cap the day. As we hiked today I thought a lot about fear and how people react to it. There are people with a lot of fears and then there are those who don't fear anything. For those who have fears they can either face them and challenge them or they can let fear win and keep them from living their lives to the fullest. The reason I've been thinking of fear so much is because I've been watching Check 6 battle through them a lot. I see her battling her fear of being cold, not having enough food, and the biggest one is fear of falling. She has shown a lot of strength in that we are out here doing this hike and we are facing these challenges constantly. I admire her for her courage and I love her for her strength. I too have fears I face from time to time but out here I have the experience to know we will be all right. Knowing the skills and having done this before gives me the confidence everything wii be all right. Right now I'm sitting on a couch with my sleeping bag draped over me. I'm warm and comfortable and ready for bed. Goodnight. Check 6's notes:WHAT A DAY!!!!!! It started raining at 2am, and never stopped all day. We hiked in pouring rain all day! The terrain was real easy, but since it poured all day, we had a lot of mud puddles and small ponds in the trail to figure out how to get around. Some could be done by rock hops, others by hiking alongside the trail, and some we ended up accidentally slipping into. By the time we finished hiking for the day we both had soaking wet boots and socks...and very little of what we had on us was dry! It was a wet, wet, wet day. Luckily we had lined our packs with plastic garbage bags, so the important stuff stayed dry. Whew!We did go over one hill, but all the rain made the hill seem like nothing, so I was hardly aware we hiked any elevation at all!There were two places that are supposed to be real nice to see, but with so much rain neither place was very impressive...Antler's Campsite and the huge artesian spring at Potaywadjo. Antler's looked as if it probably is a nice campsite. If the weather was nice. By the way, for any of our 2009 hiking friends who might read this entry, sadly "Fort Relief" is no more. There us a new privy there now so Fort Relief is no longer used and actually looks quite dilapidated. It feels great that we hiked 14 miles today! In reality, we hiked nearly 15 miles! White House Landing is .9 off the trail. It's interesting to get here. You follow their blue blaze trail (.9 mile) to a dock and then blow an air horn (or raise a white flag in foggy or rainy weather) and wait for the owners to come across the lake in a boat to get you and take you to their side of the lake. We now are in a private room in a shared cabin (common living room, 4 bedrooms, only one other guy in this building with us). We have to use a privy (a 4 hole privy...two separate rooms for women and two separate rooms for men. It's interesting.). They do have a shower building with 2 showers so we were able to have nice hot showers when we got here...that sure felt good!!!! No clothes washing, however, so if our clothes don't dry tomorrow we'll have to put stinking wet clothes back on when we start hiking again. Ugh! One of the miserable parts of long-distance hiking. This section of hiking really feels like we're back in thru-hiking mode. We have decided to change our plans yet again and zero here tomorrow to see if we can dry out our clothes. It's supposed to be somewhat wet through the night and into the morning and then turn sunny and be nice for a few days. Perhaps if we zero here we can dry out some of our stuff and then have a couple more nice days of hiking!!! We hope so. Plus, they have a great breakfast, a good lunch, and an interesting dinner (a choice of a one pound hamburger or a 14" pizza!). I had the hamburger and I was surprised that I was able to eat almost all of it!!!Nice place. Tomorrow will be a nice day, and then we press on on Wednesday. Only a few days left!!By the way, I'm composing this at a table inside a dry, medium warm (not heated, but there are 4 walls and a ceiling) building. Luxury!!!!!!!!!!Sent from my iPhone