Date: 2008-08-15
From: Logan Brook Lean-to ME

To: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to ME
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: light rain

Day 180 Friday August 15 ¢ Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to ME - Miles Today: 23.1 Total Miles: 2127.9We had an unplanned super long day ¢ 23 miles! We decided to do 20+ miles on our last 3 days so that if the weather is nice on Monday, but not on Tuesday, we can summit the big K a day earlier. We are just so done hiking big mountains in the rain and this way we can give ourselves a couple options for summit day. Based on an old forecast, it's supposed to be nice on Saturday and Sunday, so we're thinking that perhaps Monday might have higher odds of being nicer than Tuesday. But we won't really know until we see the posted forecast at Abol Campground, which is the day before our summit. We'll just have to play it by ear. The only bummer news with perhaps summiting a day early is that we are in the middle of Timbuktu land and we cannot get a cell phone reception to call Mr. & Mrs. Grasshopper to let them know that we may be summiting a day early. Perhaps we'll plan a day hike for the 19th as we await their arrival. Today we saw our first moose! We were rock hopping a stream, got to the other side, looked downstream and there was our moose, standing in the river. We had said that we could not end our hike until we saw a moose, so now we are good to go on wrapping up this trip. All goals have been met. Well, almost all goals. We still need to kiss that pretty little sign at the top of Katahdin.Grasshopper's lower intestines are doing a bit better - not perfect, but better, so we're hoping that tomorrow will be a perfectly normal day. But to continue the drama, yesterday her shoe was irritating her right anklebone. She spent half of yesterday and half of today hiking with Brakeman's insole, but Brakeman needs his insole back, so tonight we¢ll perform surgery on the shoe by cutting away the side. There just always seems to be something going on.The trail was very sweet today. We did 23+ miles in less than 11 hours ¢ perhaps just 10 hours taking out our breaks. That would mean that we averaged way over 2 mph, which for us is really good. We enjoyed the flat terrain and had some stretches of trail that was totally smooth without rocks and roots - just some, not all of it, but it was very nice going. (Y A W N ¢¦ Didn't think we'd get through another journal entry without a yawn, did you?)After 3 nights in the wilderness with every night being a packed shelter, we are the first ones here. It's about 5:00 and we're sure others will join us. It's a nice shelter with a skylight so it's not a dark dungeon. Of course, the mosquitoes are out but so far we're winning the battle against them. We met Knuckles today as she headed south on the trail with her boyfriend. She is the thru-hiker that was headed north until the high water in the Big Wilson Stream stopped her, causing her to flip from Monson to Katahdin, and then continue south back to Monson. We had heard about her in Monson. She¢s a little, bitty girl, smaller than Grasshopper in both height and weight and based on her size, we could imagine that the river crossings were a bit much for her. She looked very young with her pigtails hanging in her bug net, but we are really not sure of her age.We took a nice afternoon break at the Antlers Campsite, which is on Jo-Mary Lake, watched a plane land and take off, washed our hair, filtered water and ate. It was a nice little break before we headed on our 3 additional miles. It was a beautiful day - sunshiny with absolutely no rain whatsoever. The last rain we had was that good hour long downpour last night. All day today - no sprinkles, no rain, no storm clouds¢¦ life is getting good.   Brakeman is really getting weird. He has been talking non-stop about the really cool spring near this shelter. It reminds him of the one in Boiling Springs Pennsylvania, in that the water is coming up from underneath the ground. The pool of water is crystal clear and has a fine silt or sandy bottom. The water is extremely cold and refreshing. He¢s going to make sure he takes Grasshopper by it tomorrow on the way out. I¢m sure she can hardly wait. She¢ll probably be up all night with anticipation. It's hard to believe that in just 2 more hiking days of about 21 miles each and we will be at the base of Kahtadin, waiting for whatever day we summit, depending on the weather. It's 5:00 and Brakeman is eating more than his share of the remaining gorp while I do the recording, so it is time to sign-off and get my share of the gorp for survival. Goodnight from 2 days shy of the Big K!