[at-l] Hundred Mile Wilderness, Day 7

[ARTCLOUTMN@aol.com]

8/8/99  Wadleigh Stream Lean-To

    Well it rained again last night.  But we were in a nice site and stayed 
dry and free of mud.  I woke at 5:00 AM to a startling red Sunrise reflecting 
off the lake.  I peeled back some of the rainfly so John could see without 
getting out of his sleeping bag.  He also glowed red from the reflection.   
(I should have remembered Red sky in Morning Sailors take warning .....)   
    We were on the trail by 6:30 AM after a visit to the fanciest Privy in 
the Hundred Mile Wilderness.  It was log cabin stile with windows that looked 
out on the AT and curtains for privacy.  There was a mirror on the wall 
behind a stainless steel wash basin that could be lifted to empty out the 
door and a chair to sit in while washing up.  Next to the toilet seat was a 
trail register.  I found entries from Kafka and several Thru hikers I had met 
during our April hike in Shenandoah.
    Before we left Antler’s it began to rain lightly.  We put pack covers on 
but didn’t bother with rain gear.  The map showed Potaywadjo Ridge to be 
fairly small but we found it to be quite steep.  As we neared Potaywadjo 
Spring Lean-To the rain increased.  With fourteen miles to do today the map 
made it lok pretty easy.  The first eight miles were good then it got tough.
    We crossed a new road with a sign for the White House Landing Hostel.  
This place is located on Pemadumcook Lake but on the other side.  Hikers 
wanting visit this hunting, fisihing, and snowmobile lodge would sound an air 
horn at the landing and the hostel owners would send a speed boat to bring 
them across the lake.  The sign was enticing, offering cheeseburgers, beer, 
supplies, showers, beds all for “reasonable’ prices.  Several hikers we met 
had visited the White House.  All enjoyed their visit.  But most claimed the 
prices were not low.  One hiker said they were unable to accept his master 
card but offered to boat him to a store where he could use his card to get 
cash.  The problem was they charged him $20 for the boat ride.   
    We hiked next to lakes and streams most of the day.  There were numerous 
sections of boulder fields, lots of roots and frequent stretches of bog 
bridges.  All of which conspired to slow us down.  The rain changed from 
heavy to a major downpour.  We did not stop for breaks or a lunch because we 
would get too cold.  We passed another sandy beach and shortly arrived at  
Wadleigh Stream Lean-To about 3:00 PM.   A boys camp had set up tents around 
the lean-to and appeared to have been there for awhile.  They had been camped 
last night at Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to.
    We were soaked again.  We looked into the Lean-to to discover 4 men in 
their fourties.  They were loud and behaving like over sexed high school 
boys.  But they invited us to share the lean-to provided we leave enough room 
for their 5th partner.  (Again groups are not suppose to use the lean-tos but 
it was raining.)  The fifth member arived in short order with an umbrella and 
now shirt.  He was louder than the rest and excited about meeting up with his 
friends.   Apparently 4 guys spent the night at the White House Hostel 
drinking beer and eating while the fifth (John O) camped at at Potaywadjo 
Lean-To.  T-It was very crowded in the shelter.  We decided to alternate head 
to toe to make more shoulder room.  (This was my idea - it seemed to help.)  
John O found out I was a math teacher and asked if there was a name for 
alternating head to toe.  I suggested Tesselations - he liked that and talked 
about tesselation patterns the rest of the evening.  
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