Date: 2005-09-15
From: Perham Stream

To: Caribou Valley Rd.
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: haze

start Perham Streamdestination Caribou Valley Rd.miles 8.5It was overcast and sprinkling rain when we got up this morning.Sue drove us into town for breakfast at theStratton Diner.Africa is hiking with us today.I must be a bad influence on him!!We got out of the truck at the trail head and put on our rain jackets.For what ever time they would keep us dry,which would not be very long it was more a token movement than anything else.It amazes me that something can be sold as rainproof when it is not actually nothing more than water resistant.If the fabric doesn't breath,then it will hold your sweat in and you end up wet anyway. At least without it you would be cooler.the climb up Lone Mountain had me throughly wet,so I took the jacket off and drapped it over the daypack to at least help keep it dry. We stopped at the SpauldingMountain Shelter for an early lunch since it would be our only chance to sit in a somewhat dry place to eat.It did not take long for me to get chilled though and back up the trail I went.Any vistas we had today were covered by a dense cloud of rain.It was hard to tell if it was the trees shedding the rain from their limbs or if it was raining.By mid afternoon we could see a glimpse of our shadow every once in awhile.We finished the hike almost an hour earlier than we thought.We credited it to Africa's leading,and were convinced he had taken a short cut somewhere given our poor performance yesterday. Sue met us with fresh clean towels still warm from the dryer and cold drinks.We were in heaven! We cleaned ourselves up and went into town for supper at the White Wolf Inn.The menu advertised Fiddlehead Ferns for an appetizer. Intrigued I ordered some and found them to be quite tasty!They grow wild in the woods and in the spring they are harvested before they have a chance to unfurl.The Wolf Burger we ordered had enough grease and fat to make any heart doctor shudder.A full half pound of hamburger,a large sausage patty,and three strips of bacon,cheese,grilled onion,lettuce ,tomato.It was too large to even get a bite out of after cutting it in two,so we ended up eating it by cutting it into small bite size pieces.I could not beleive it when Papermaker ordered dessert afterward,Pecan Pie with ice cream!! The Maine Roadhouse is a hostel that is brand new. So new in fact that there are workers here during the day remodeling to enlarge the place to have even more rooms and conviences. Currently there are seven private rooms all tastefully decorated with woodsy decor.Most of them have two single beds. The bunkhouse is one large open room with a row of bunk beds and several trundle beds. It can hold seventeen people.The wall,floors and furniture are all made from wood giving the place a warm inviting feel.when everything is finished there will be a living room,a coffee bar area, and a small store that will have the basic hiker supplies.The actual house was built in 1894.There has been extensive remodeling done and it is hard to tell the place is as old as it is.The main building though has been kept as close to the original as possible.There is the possiblity of year round clintele with hikers,hunters,skiers,snow shoers and snow mobilers,leaf peekers and outting clubs.With the dedication we have seen from Sue and Don towards hikers,we have no doubt that this place will become very sucessful as the word gets out.We wish her the very best of luck in this endeavor.                           5 Million Steps for PolioAppalachian Trail GA-MA BumpkinMore in 2004