8/19 What a Sunset!

20.3 hiked today, 2147.7 miles N, 26.3 miles left
Rainbow Spring Campsite

Today started well. I got up early and borrowed a kayak. I was told that I stood a very good chance of seeing a moose feeding on the far side of a point on the other side of the lake. The wind was calm and temps cool as I pushed off from the shallow beach. It had been a long time since I had paddled a kayak but the motion came back to me rather easily. I wish I had a spray skirt though as my legs got fairly wet from the splashing and dripping off the paddle. I glided slowly across the lake enjoying looking at the shoreline, horizon, and birds. Also my upper body has been badly neglected during my hike and I didn't want to tire out my arms to quickly. At the far side of the lake there were numerous submerged rocks and I had to be attentive to where my boat went to avoid beaching myself on one of them. Unfortunately after paddling along a good long stretch of the far shore exploring every nook and cranny I did not see any moose.

Finally the time came to get back for breakfast. I turned around and headed back, now directly to save time. That is when I saw the view of Katahdin in the morning light with it's summit wrapped in clouds just peeking up over the trees on the far shore. I got a couple pictures and kept paddling but the trip back, though shorter, was harder. The wind had picked up and there was some chop in the water so I had to put a lot of energy into keeping the boat straight. In the end I made it back in time for breakfast.

Breakfast was supposed to be a all you can eat but turned out to have some restrictions namely being that that only includes pancakes and everything else was eat what you were given. That was the start of Dent and my realization of just how unpleasant Bill, one of the owners, is. In the end we were both glad to be away from the place by the time he dropped us off. I suspect that is why his wife dealt with us last night. It is a shame because it is very nice place but he was just so unpleasant, impolite, and unreasonable that I can not say that I would ever recommend anyone got there. Also the side trail is a bit of a slog and pizza, bunk, a hand full of candy bars was $55.

Todays hike was the last full day of hiking for the trip as the next two days will be fairly short. Dent I hiked together nearly the whole day and had a great time. The hike was easy going though and we easily made our goal of getting to Rainbow Springs Campsite while still taking the opportunity to take relaxing breaks when they presented themselves. At our first break we stopped on an auto bridge over Namakanta steam. There I meet Steve and Ellen again who were just completing their hike. It was nice to see them again and they very generously offered food, lift, or water if we needed but we were doing fine. We talked for a while before they started their trip home.

The day pretty much consisted of walking near water. Either it was hiking next to a stream from one lake to another or it was hiking near a lake, above or next to it. This gave us many good views including more of Katahdin with a clearer summit though a ceiling of dark clouds still hung around. We stopped and admired the views at the beaches and found a very nice pair of binoculars at one that some lost. I would have picked them up but I really didn't feel like carrying and extra pound up Katahdin in a couple days.

In Maine some prankster has been leaving crutches and band-aids at most road crossings. I always though it was a funny joke and possibly useful for some of us. Today they toped that by leaving a oxygen cylinder at one with the message "In case you need to finish..." written on it's side. Dent and I got lots of good pictures with that and the crutch.

In the end after all our breaks we ended up rolling into camp with only about an hour of day light to spare. The camp was empty and we stared setting up as if we owned the place, spreading out. About a half hour before sun set about half a dozen other hikers rolled in making for a fairly busy site.

The camping is near the water and we were treated to a spectacular sunset over Rainbow Lake. The pictures don't do it justice. Imagine a large, wide lava flow. It rolls across the ground glowing red with irregular black regions where the rock gets cold or carbon and impurities oxidize. Now stand on your head while looking at this so that it looks like the lava is above you. That is roughly what the sky looked like. Every minute the sun descended more and the hues and luminosity would change. FInally it cooled to a red glow along the horizon.

In the privy here there are impressive spiders. I would hate to tussle with one but they sure give the hiker something to look at while answering the call of nature. Some were about the size of my thumb! I am sure they could give a nasty bite.

Dent has a suggestion as to why the mice have been so difficult recently. The recent weather, according to him, has set them off into their "store food for the winter" mode. Hence they have very little fear of humans or death. This sounds plausible to me and he says he has observed it in squirrels too back at home.

FInally the fact the end is near has really started to hit me. For the last 5 months I lived in a world where days of the week don't exist. The only way I know the weekends for the weekdays usually is because I see lots of day hikers and weekend warriors. Now I have realized that I plan on summiting on tuesday and I will go home on thursday. It how people usually think , in terms of days of the week, and for that matter I have lived by that system most my life. That is why is feels so weird to speak of them. I both are unaccustomed to them and know they are a accepted part of life. A stranger I am intimately aware of.

That is enough for now. Monday I plan on hiking to the last shelter before Katahdin.