Date: 2013-07-03
From: Frye Notch Lean-to

To: Speck Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4

DAY 24MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 10.4MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 10.4Got up early and decided to head out around 7am. Nightwalker decided to hike on with us again which was nice. It was pretty foggy and first thing out of the shelter was a pretty good climb up to Baldpate wherever had to hit two peaks. On our way down from the peaks the sun decided to come out for the first time really in a few days! We passed by a red spotted newt which I had never seen before. This is why having my high school science teacher Aunt Tina around was handy As we came down into Grafton Notch more and more people passed us on the trail. It was turning into a nice day and Grafton Notch is a more touristy area apparently. Grafton Notch was sort of our half way point so we decided to have lunch there and thank God we did! They had trash cans, picnic tables, and outhouses near the parking lots! The things that make you happy as a hiker. It really was amazing though. We could throw away our trash and lay out our wet clothes while we ate at a TABLE. I had forgotten how much easier and nicer it was to eat at a table. Cutting my pepperoni and cheese for my wrap was a million times easier!After our surprisingly amazing lunch we had to hike 3.5 miles up out of Grafton Notch up to Old Speck Mountain. Why always these brutal climbs right after lunch? It didn't help that it was now hot and sunny which my body wasn't used to (not that I'm complaining about nice weather in Maine). We passed a stream with a tub about a mile up that was just calling our name so we said screw it and decided to indulge! I'm so glad we did. I hadn't showered in a week and felt disgusting. The cold water helped soooo much! I felt totally rejuvenated after. I was able to finally soak my hair too which I would need to comb out later... A project in itself after staying in a braid for days to contain it!We continued up and as we kept climbing the sun slowly went away. The fog and mist returned... just in time as we reached what would have been a view from Old Speck Mountain. Oh well. Can't win them all! We headed steeply off the mountain face to the shelter below which was extremely slick now from the mist. It's not even the fact that its so dangerous but also that it's just so painfully slow going when all you want to do is get to the lean-to! As we climbed down we could see the pond that the lean-to was at and knew we were close! Finally we were there. This lean-to was different than the others. It was the first I had been to that wasn't raised off the ground. It was apparent that we were getting near the ME-NH border and things were changing! We also had a bear box which was a change. Guess that was going to start becoming a concern. AND we had to pay an $8 caretaker fee. It went to the AMC to maintain human waste along the trail. Ill support that. In the shelter were 4 NoBo "LASH" hikers as they called themselves which apparently meant "long ass section hikers" haha. They were finishing off their last section of the AT through the white mountains and Maine. Their names were Gershwin, Sky, Short Bus, and Stead Fast. They were some of the nicest and friendliest NoBos I had met! They gave us a lot of info on the whites since they had just come through them and it actually made me a little nervous. Most NoBos I had talked to said they loved the whites but these guys said it was very rough. They warned us about the afternoon storms that close in on you and even showed us a video. It helps to talk to other hikers to know what you're going into. They also have us some good info on the hut systems up there and some good stealth campsites if you get turned away. Overall talking to them was bey helpful. They all went to bed early so I guess we decided to go to bed early too. We had a big day the next day hitting the Mahoosuc Notch or "The Notch" in the morning which I couldn't wait for! It's supposed to be the most difficult or most fun mile on the AT, and with my mindset I decided it would be the most fun.