Date: 2005-06-15
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Andover
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I am meeting my shuttle into Andover at 5PM, and I¢ve got 15 trail miles to cover before then. I¢m up at 4:30AM out of paranoia of missing my ride. No way to tell how much the terrain might slow me down. By the way, sunrise is now at 4:30! It is overcast but not raining when I start hiking at 5AM. I am able to walk freely, just like the olden days and I¢m to Grafton Notch by 8AM. Five miles before 8, wahoo! Then there is a little bit of uphill to Baldpate Lean To. I haven¢t seen a register since before the Whites and I check up on the March Marathon Men. Everyone seems to have made it thru and is still on the trail. I have been worried about these speedy hikers, it is so easy to have a fall on this terrain. On to Baldpate Mountain. Wow¢an intense experience! The trail is above timber line for one mile. High winds of 45 degrees on the Leki-meter and the rain is starting up again. I have to stop to put on my rain pants for warmth and I also put my spare socks on my hands. Baldpate is bald, and here I am scaling up steep wet rock again. This mountain must have an incredible view on a clear day. Near the summit I saw some kind of cat I can¢t identify. The cat was stouter and slightly bigger than a house cat, all black with a bushy tail, high up in the Alpine Zone. (Thanks Deb, it must have been a Fisher Cat!)I am up and over as quick as possible. This peak is not a pleasant place to be today. There are actually ladders on the way down this mountain, very helpful.The Frye Notch Lean To, right on the AT, is full of Canadians, two without shirts on. They are speaking French and are fired up about something. I am fully clothed and still cold and I am shocked to see exposed skin! They claim to be warmer without putting on their wet shirts. They are taking short video clips with their cameras of each other suffering thru the worst part of the day: putting on the damp t-shirt!Can you say maildrop in French? They are telling me about the International AT, extending 700 miles into Canada and ending at a cliff overlooking the ocean. Why would you stop at Katahdin, they wonder, pretending to be offended that I¢m discriminating against their country. ¢Our AT miles count too.¢ Not for this hiker!The remaining hike to East B Road is a cake-walk. I¢m two hours early for my ride. East B Road is gravel surfaced, but not unused. Two logging trucks pass, then a pickup truck stops and brings me to town. They drop me off right at the Andover Guest House, one of two hostels in town. This is where all the SOBOs are! I was expecting to start seeing a steady flow coming down the trail. Six are in town, the largest congregation of thru-hikers I have ever seen. Starting in May, I don¢t think any have climbed Katahdin yet.The SOBOs really have some adventurous tales of their beginning days in Maine, particularly the stream crossing. They hit the crossings right at snow melt, on top of heavy rains. They have built bridges and been swept under by the currents. Such a contrast is the start of a southbound hike versus a northbound. SOBOs jump right into the 100 mile wilderness. I was sleeping in a hostel on night two. SOBOs see the toughest part of the trail first. These hikers are going to be tough. But lord help them, they are asking me for advice!