Date: 2017-09-12
From: Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite

To: Baldpate Lean-to (Shelter)
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

9/12Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite to Baldpate Lean-to (Shelter)6.9 miles Total miles:  1924.9Today dawned as another beautiful, sunny day, perfect for hiking. I was on the trail a bit before 8:00 with Tengo Hambre and Gravity. Our first objective was Old Speck Mountain, reached by a very steep, but short amount of trail. Tengo and I were talking and failed to notice that the AT takes a sharp left turn and begins to descend Old Speck about 0.3 miles from the summit. We should have known, because the side trail to the summit was surprisingly easy. We were distracted by a small flock of mountain grouse we encountered on the trail. They were not impressed with our presence and continued to move slowly up the trail in front of us.  It looked all the world like Tengo was herding them.  One left the trail and kept a sharp eye on me, posing for several photos as I passed by.  There is a wonderful observation tower on the summit of Old Speck, and the views were magnificent.  The observation platform is reached by climbing a ladder to a latched door. There are dual poles at the top of the ladder to hold onto as you complete your climb. Either it is well designed or I'm getting more used to heights, as I experienced almost zero anxiety climbing and entering the observation platform. I was told you can see Mounts Washington and Madison from the tower, and I took numerous photos. Back on the ground, I noticed the quarter moon in the sky above the tower and made sure to include her in my photo.  It was only then, while searching for the trail, that I realized that Tengo and I were actually 0.3 miles off the AT.  We both agreed that the grouse and the tower were both well worth a side trip from the main show. We hiked back to the intersection, made the sharp turn back onto the AT, and began the three mile descent to Grafton Notch. The descent was surprisingly not difficult, and we made good time through the woods. About half way down, the trail went across an open area over a huge, flat, rock face, and a beautiful vista opened to our left. The scene came across us unexpectedly and was just beautiful. Snatches of red in the distant forest offered another hint that the seasons are changing, as did the few patches where red and yellow leaves already lay upon the trail where they have already fallen.  We soon arrived at the road at Grafton Notch and decided to eat lunch. I asked a southbound hiker if she had seen Gravity and learned that he was indeed ahead of us. After eating lunch and disposing of all our trash in the waste can, Tengo and I began the climb up Baldpate Mountain. I paused at the huge AT sign at the intersection of the road and the trail to have my photo taken.  Many hikers hang on the sign in various acrobatic poses, but I was content to simply stand by it. I could only imagine the future conversation: "Stick, how come your hike ended early?"  I would have to reply, "I broke my leg falling off an AT sign."  Not happening.  The beginning 2.3 miles up Baldpate were very easy, and we soon found ourselves at the Baldpate Lean-to. Maine chooses to call her shelters, "lean-tos," although they are exactly the same as a shelter.  "A rose by any other name . . . "  We met up with Gravity shortly before the shelter, and he was greatly surprised to find us behind him.  In fact, he had chosen to eat lunch on the other side of the road at Grafton Notch, and heard us talking. He did not investigate because he believed we had to be in front of him.  He told us he asked a southbounder if he had seen two older hikers and was told that we were forty minutes ahead of him.  I guess there are several pairs of old hikers out on the AT.  We arrived at Baldpate Lean-to at 3:15 and were faced with a bit of a dilemma. The weather was absolutely perfect to continue hiking, and the next possible camping site, Frye Notch Lean-to, was only 3.5 miles away. However, the dual peaks of Baldpate Mountain lie between, and they are both reportedly very steep with numerous tall and steeply-inclined rock faces to both ascend and descend. Apparently, our relatively easy ascent of Baldpate was over. We did the math. We had 3.5 miles of challenging trail and four more hours of daylight. The decision was actually an easy one, and we stayed put. It will make tomorrow's trek to East B Hill Road, and then into Andover for resupply, much more lengthy, but that can't be helped. I spent a leisurely rest of my afternoon setting up camp, obtaining water from the rushing little brook behind the lean-to, and preparing dinner. We are all nearly out of food, so we must push on to Andover tomorrow, but at least we know we won't be trying to navigate the Baldpate peaks in the dark. Hopefully, we'll have some more of this perfect hiking weather as we continue to make our way through southern Maine's challenging, albeit beautiful, terrain.