100 Mile Wilderness

After a 5x5x5x5 (pancakes, eggs, bacon and home fires) breakfast at Shaw's and a resupply for 7 days Rocko, Philly and I were ready for the 100 Mile Wilderness. In the past, this was a 100 mile stretch with no access points and no resupplies. However some of the private logging roads are now open for public use and there are 2 hostels, one five miles in and the other 70 miles in. There are signs at each end warning people to make sure that they have at least ten days worth of food. At this point my pack was not big enough for ten days of food, nor did I want to carry that much. Also after hiking for 2,000 miles in the last 5 months, we were confident that we could hike 100 miles in around 7 days without pushing ourselves. We started hiking with Rusty Rat and Meat Hook, but they were planning on one less day through the wilderness, so they quickly moved ahead of us. With our late start, but still a day ahead of my original schedule we took an easy 10 miles to the second lean-to.
The next morning we met up with Hangman. Hangman had hiked through the Whites with Philly, but was planning on summiting a day after me. I had wondered when we would catch and then pass him. This was also the first of two days with mountains in the wilderness, and we were not moving very fast. We did not reach our destination, only 15.6 miles away, until about 6:30pm. Part of the reason was the good weather, which made it easier to take long breaks on the moutain tops. Our destination ended up being one of the worst lean-tos in Maine. However that day I learned what was behind the "Green Glass Door" and why I like coffee, but I do not like tea. Both of those are riddles that Rocko tried to torment us with.
The next day was another mountainous day and we were hoping for our first glimpse of Katahdin. There were other mountains earleri in Maine that were supposed to have views, but the visibility had never been good enough. Finally at the end of the day on White Cap mountain we had our first view of Katahdin. It was in the clouds. We finished our cold day at a lean-to with a cold stream that had a pool big enough for bathing. I was the only one smart/stupid enough to go in and wash off.
The next day started off cold but warmed up and did not have a mountain in our way. We cruised 19.6 to a beautiful campsite on a pond. Philly and I swam on the sunny side of the point and enjoyed a privy with curtains and a sink. However, the sink had neither a faucet nor a drain. The next morning we had a gorgeous sunrise over the pond. Getting to the campsite put us in position to arrive at White House Landing in time for lunch. They have a very strict 11-1 lunch time, so we were aiming for getting there around 10:45. From the AT there is a blue blaze trail that leads you 1.2 miles to a dock on a lake with an air horn. You blow one short blast, and only one, and very short, and they send a boat over to pick you up. Hangman, Philly and I each had a 1lb burger. We all ordered the deluxe version. It was 9 for the burger, 10 if you want cheese or 11 if you also want lettuce and tomatoe. Afterwards we were all still hungry and split a pizza with Rocko. With the $3 per person for the boat ride it ended up being a very expensive lunch, but fun. With the return boat ride we were left a mile closer to the AT. We then continued, slowly, onto another lean-to near a lake for some more swimming.
On our last day in the wilderness we went around Rainbow lake and then onto Rainbow ledges with lots of good blueberries and a very impressive view of Katahdin. We were now 20 trail miles away and it started to look very intimidating. then on to Hurd Brook lean-to which was the one and only time I slept in a shelter that still had the "baseball bat" design for a sleeping platform. Instead of planks, we were sleeping on round saplings. Fortunately, it was hard to tell the difference under my thermarest.
The next morning it was an easy 3.5 out of the wilderness and to the Abol Bridge campground. I managed to walk out of the wilderness with almost no food. But I knew there was beer waiting at the campground, just not a good selection. We all drank some beer, had lunch and made sure we had enough food to get up and over the summit. We also realized that it was bear season when a pickup truck pulled in with two kids on lawn chairs in the bed, next to a dead black bear.
Hangman had been in touch with his friend picking him up and decided to that he would be able to summit with us. So the four of us, with a nice buzz going, entered Baxter State Park.