Date: 2010-09-28
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 10.8

We're less than 80 miles from Katahdin and I think everyone's minds are starting to stray to home. Just like how we only allow talk about town food on the night before we're going to be in town, we're within a week of the end of this adventure so the shelter talk last night was about what the first things we would do were when we got home. Long, hot bubble bath, four showers a day, put on clean clothes twice a day, run a faucet often just because we can, catching up on all the TV shows and movies we've missed for the last six months, go on vacation, drive my car everywhere¢even to pick up my mail at the mailbox, find a place to live, spend precious time with family, and the list goes on and on. I've had a sharp pang of longing for my family for about three months now but haven't written about it because I really needed to lock it up in its own (mental) compartment or I would have been an emotional mess. That truly was the hardest part of this trip¢well, that and the whole hiking part, too, I guess. I'm proud that I CAN hike 10 or 12 or 15 miles up and down mountains day after day, but I certainly won't miss it¢at least not for awhile.Whenever there's no photos for a date, you know the weather was wet all day. Chilly day and raining. Tough to get out of the sleeping bag in the morning but excited we're going over Whitecap Mountain today; the last big mountain before Katahdin. We headed out in light drizzle to an 800' climb up Gulf Hagas Mountain, then another 600' up West Peak, then Hay Mountain and finally Whitecap. The weather progressively deteriorated the higher we climbed so when we went above tree line over Whitecap, it was pouring rain. The wind breathed up from some damp mountain lung running at full tilt with hellacious 70 mph wind gusts. Hardcore nasty.The wind tore my pack raincover right off my pack. It was attached so didn't go anywhere¢just viciously flapped in the wind, but my pack got soaking wet. Fortunately, all my "must stay dry" items (i.e. sleeping bag, dry clothes and food) were in waterproof stuff sacks. It's hard to stand upright with that kind of wind much less negotiate rocks and boulder fields. Wild Poodle was knocked over and took a hard fall. I had to totally stop forward motion many times and just brace myself with my poles to keep from going down. The descent was hard but we were thankful to be off the summit and out of the worst of the wind. We made our way to Logan Brook Lean-to and stopped there for a hot 2nd lunch. The two of us were joined there by Peru, Radar, Puma, Forest, Chef, Timone and three others. Everyone was planning on going to the next shelter to camp for the night.The rain stopped as we were leaving but threatened to start up again at any time as we headed out. I was in the lead followed by Wild Poodle, Peru and Radar. It was 3.6 miles to the next shelter and although I usually prefer tenting, I really wanted to be under roof if it was going to rain again all night long. However, the shelter only slept six and there were eleven heading for it. I was in the lead finishing off a Snickers bar and figured that everyone would pass me as usually happens and there would be no more spaces at the shelter when I finally arrived. Don't know if it was the hot lunch or the Snickers bar or just determination, but I really got into the zone and started moving fast. Poodle later said she looked up and I was gone like a shot. Peru and Radar tried to keep up but couldn't. So I used all the stamina, muscles and coordination that I've earned over the last 2,000 miles and smoked those 3.6 miles in 65 minutes. No one passed me and normally they ALL hike faster than me. So I got a spot in the shelter just as the rain started up again.The Canadian Geese were there and also Likely with whom I went to the movies while in Rutland, Vermont. So we had a full shelter and a number of people tenting.