Date: 2006-09-10
From: Grafton Notch Stealth Camp

To: Andover, ME, Pine Ellis Lodging (hostel)
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I really didn't want to get up this morning. Yesterday afternoon's rain was part of a cold front moving through and, while it was quite nippy outside, I was dry, warm and snug in my sleeping bag. Add to that the dread of putting on clothes still wet from yesterday's rain, and I think you can understand my reluctance to get moving.Around 4am this morning something was making a lot of noise rattling the contractor-duty plastic bag that lines my pack. At first I thought it was Veto, whose tent was just a few feet from mine so I called out, "Veto is that you?". Veto must have heard the noise too, because he answered immediately, "No." I switched on my red-filtered headlamp and shined it toward my pack in the tent vestibule. Almost immediately the noise stopped. "Must have been a mouse", I thought and rolled over to go back to sleep. Within 5 minutes it started again. When I shone the light into the vestibule again, this time the noise continued. I figured whatever it was, it was after the trash bag stowed in the pocket of the pack. I reached to turn the pack and the creature left, but not before I saw that it was a skunk. I was lucky it didn't spray me. I decided to remove temptation, and threw the trash bag well away from the tent, expecting trash to be scattered about by the time I got up. Turns out, it was undisturbed when I finally did get up.BigFoot sounded reveille at 6am and I reluctantly started moving. I hadn't got water, so I had to pump some this morning, as did Veto. That added some delay. It turned out all the FDOM was moving slowly. We didn't hike out until 8am.Veto set a fast "warm-up" pace, and before long we were all stopping to shed layers. The highlight of the morning was the 2300' climb from the notch to the summit of Bald Pate Mountain. On the way, we rested at Bald Pate Leanto (in Maine, shelters are called leantos).I took over the lead as we went up over the large, bare granite mountainside toward the summit. The mountain was aptly named. On the way, Iron Wolf and Bumblebee passed southbound. They were slackpacking. Reaching the top at about 10:30am, we stopped for summit pics snapped by a day hiker. Then it was down 1200' into Frye Notch, where we had lunch at the leanto at 1pm. Since we had eaten today's lunch for supper yesterday, we cooked yesterday's supper for lunch today. That extended our break until 2pm.OldDrum came through on his slack and said that, after the first climb, the trail was like Virginia. That first climb with Veto in the lead was a very steep 600' to the summit of Surplus Mtn -- it must be an "extra" mountain because there was no view. At the top, the "like Virginia" trail started a 4-mile, 1400' down to a spot where Ellis River fell into a gorge. We forded the "river", a stream at this point. After some ups and downs, we reached East B Hill Road, our destination. Perry Ellis' shuttler was there with a van, so that decided our destination.We hung our tents on the line to dry, washed clothes, showered, resupplied, ate at the Andover General Store, repacked, and finally got to bed at 10pm. Up at 6am tomorrow.On! On!