Date: 2013-09-14
To: Boardwalk B&B, South Arm Rd
Miles today: 10.1

Omigoodness did I sleep well last night! Apparently Fireman snored so loud that Hobo reached over and shook his bed, and Walking Stick yelled at him to stop. I missed all of it. I must have been in a coma. I woke up, and Hobo told me to keep my phone nearby. I headed to the bathroom, and as if on cue, my phone rang. It was Tom. His timing impeccable as always. It was fantastic to hear his voice. I curled up in a chair in a nook with a skylight overhead, and we chatted away until it was time for me to go up for breakfast. They had an impressive spread set out for us. Blueberry pancakes, bacon, fresh melon, biscuits & gravy, coffee and juice. Yum! Don drove us back to the trail. Hobo, Walking Stick, Indigo and I are slack-packing today. .I brought my pack stuffed with a few extra layers of clothes. It had rained a cold rain all morning, but it let up by the time we got started. I LOVE my fresh new hiking boots, oh how I¢ve missed you. On a side note, I gave Jamie of the Flying J¢s my other boots. Hers were past the point of no return.The terrain was pretty easy. Some ups and downs. A few vistas that showed off the changing foliage. The air smelled like fall. A few peaks had grey, exposed rock sides.We stopped at the Hall Mountain Lean-to for lunch. The Flying J¢s were there. It¢s always nice to run into them. There was a long steep down followed by a nasty looking up which turned out to be not very bad at all. There were lots of rebar steps and metal hand-holds that looked like horse hitching posts. Piece of cake. We got a gorgeous view from the top of Moody Mountain. The trail took us down an easy descent to South Arm Rd. I¢d managed to keep my feet dry, but there was a river to ford at the very end. There was no avoiding it. The river was shin-deep at the crossing. I wasn¢t thrilled in the least. But we did meet another Nobo, Hotshot. We all crossed together, and as we climbed the bank on the other side, Don pulled up. His timing couldn¢t have been better. We all jammed into the mini-van; Hotshot and I climbed in the very back with the bags. As we headed back to the hostel I heard a gasp, and the mini-van breaked suddenly. There standing broadside in the middle of the road was a HUGE bull moose. He looked as us and then turned slowly and began trotting down the road in front of us as if he were leading a parade. Hotshot and I strained our necks to see. He was impressive in size, though Don said he was only a juvenile. Apparently, they get a lot bigger. The moose led us down the road for a quarter of a mile before turning into the woods and vanishing in among the trees. Anita was waiting for us when we got back to the Cabin. She flashed us a smile as Honey led her away for a tour of one of the RVs. She already had a B&B room booked for her and Hobo, but she went along with it anyway. Walking Stick and I had planned to stay another night at the Cabin, but Hobo and Anita treated me (and Walking Stick) to a night at the Boardwalk B&B as well as a birthday present to me. Thank you, guys!We packed our stuff and headed to the Andover General Store to get some sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. Then we headed across the street to the Old Red Hen Caf© for all you can eat pizza w/soda and freshly baked cookie for $8.99. The place was swarming with hikers. I don¢t know how the place made any money tonight. We drove 20 mins away towards Rumford and our B&B. We had an entire wing to ourselves. The owner kept referring to Walking Stick and I as ¢the kids¢ and Hobo and Anita as ¢the parents.¢ We found a pipe running against the ceiling of the hallway and discussed whether or not that was an acceptable place to hang our food. We decided it was unnecessary to hang our food and would to just sleep with it instead. I stuff newspaper in my boots to try to get them dry. Walking Stick and I admired our plush room. We each had big comfy beds with awesome pillows. There was a sitting area, a small kitchenette and a breakfast nook. Again, you just never know when you wake up in the morning what the day might hold. Thank you, Anita and Hobo for a luxurious birthday treat!