Date: 2008-07-07
From: South Arm campground, Andover, ME

To: Grafton Notch to Upton Rd 10.3 MI.
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Subject: 7.7.08, Mon. So. Arm CampgroundGrafton Notch to East B Hill Rd, 10.3miToday was Day 1 of the 4 days of slackpacking I had come for. Signage, Yvonne and I were up and about getting ready, while Mary Anne, who deserves major kudos, was fixing our eggs and sausage scrambles, rich dark coffee, and the fixings for our trail lunches. I have landed in heaven's lap! The screen house was a jumble of baggies, plates, deli meat and breakfast food as the three of us bustled about preparing our lunches and wolfing down our breakfasts. By 8:30a.m. we loaded up in Mary Anne's Forester, and took off for the trailhead. Upon passing one trail junction, we saw two fellows sitting by the roadside. One looked reaalllly familiar, and I called out, "Kirby!". Mary Anne, skilled trail supporter that she is, pulled in and hopped out to see if they needed anything. I hopped out to give Kirby a hug. I met him once, briefly, and have followed his trail prep and progress on Trailjournals. I was tickled when I got out of the car and he said, "Auntie Mame"! He looks great, although pretty played out with the heat and humidity, as all the hikers are. He just turned 17 recently and will likely be among the earlier finishers of the AT this year. With him was a familiar face, whom I suddenly recognized as Cookie, a hiker who began while V8 and I were at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega. He, too, looked wonderful, and we wished one another well.We arrived at the rt 26 trail junction and took off for our section at 9:15. It was a later start than we had hoped for, but not bad considering the energy this crew had been expending for the last week or so in preparation. The air was close and the windless heat encouraged the insects to swarm about us. Our sweat attracted them even more. I sprayed myself with Ben's 100, a very effective repellant that I save for occasions such as this. As a new hiking group, we played around with front person and sweep, and while doing so made a wrong turn onto the Table Rock trail instead of the AT. It took us a good hour to get that detour squared away, and we all agreed that we had to remember that white blazes trump signs every time. By 11 we were laboring up the 2200+ feet up to the Baldpates. I noticed that my breathing was off, and I felt as if there was little oxygen transferring to my blood somehow. I couldn't seem to get a deep breath, and my legs felt weird. Ordinarily I would just figure I was out of shape, but since I had hiked with Tom in the Whites just recently, I knew that wasn't the situation. Later I spoke with Jan about it and she said she once had exercise-induced asthma, which she treated at the time with a Ventalin inhaler. If that happens again, I may consider getting it checked out. It was scary. It was also embarrassing, as I did not want to come across as a complainer on my first day out with these new acquaintances. We eventually crested the hill onto the West peak and were totally uplifted by the scenic views all around. We stopped for lunch there, along with Topo, a young teacher who had thru-hiked in 07, but left the trail with a broken leg in the Grafton area. She was back to complete the trail, much like Signage, so we hit it off well from the start. The valley between the two peaks went quickly, and we arrived at the east peak in good shape. We passed Frye Notch and leanto, and gathered ourselves for a brief ford at Dunn Falls. We came out at the east B Hill Rd trailhead a bit later than we had hoped, but were met by mary Anne who had brought ice cold chocolate milk and Pepsi for us. Talk about support! Signage had invited Topo to come back to the campsite with us for a shower and a hot meal, so she did. We were treated to chicken marenga (?) with a spinach, raisin and pine nut side dish. I was bushed by then, and quickly washed up and got into my tent for the night. I tried to read but I was reading the same sentence over and over, and decided to call it a night. Marcia JamrogAuntie Mame