Date: 2005-09-19
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Frye Notch Lean-To Shelter
Miles today: 10.4

We woke up this morning and for the first time in 3 days it wasn't raining. I was so happy. We leisurely woke up & when we climbed out of the shelter we saw blue skies and the sun rising above the pine trees. It was a wonderful sight. We wanted to get an early start but decided to dry all of our gear out instead. We gathered our shoes,tent,pack covers and other little items and began draping everything over rocks & signs. Everyone was in a great mood this morning-the nice weather does that to you. We met sone really nice section hikers-Ed,Dave and Albert- who were from Jersey and Boston. We were running a bit low on food and they hooked us up. They gave us coffee,hot chocolate,oatmeal,poptarts,awesome trail mix and a bean & veggie dinner. It took a lot of pressure off of us plus we could have a great breakfast. Thanks guys-we really appreciated it! After everything dried out we packed up & were on our way by 10:00. We started our day by climbing Old Speck Mtn. It was a gradual climb and warmed us right up. The weather could not have been more perfect. We were finally able to see Maine. The trail was much of the same -rocks and roots. When we got to the first lookout we were just blown away. Beautiful lush pine forests. It seemed as though we could see for miles. Forests,lakes and mountains. That's what Maine is all about! We took in the views and moved along steadily. Before we knew it we were at Grafton Notch. When we got down to the parking area a gentleman asked us where we were headed,"Up the mountain and on to Katahdin," I replied. "Well ,do you have time for something to drink and a snack?" he asked us. We looked at each other and in unison replied,"Of Course!" We followed him across the parking lot to a picnic table where his wife was sitting. We put our gear down as they began unloading coolers and picnic baskets from their car. Batch & MMMB had thru-hiked the trail in 1992 and said they loved coming out to do trail magic. They had soda and juices along with delicious homemade brownies and cookies. You could tell that they were past thru-hikers because they had everything that we would have wanted or needed. Fresh fruit, water,granola bars and even extra toilet paper. They thought of everything. They were just the sweetest people and treated us like we were their children. Batch kept reminding Piker that he should eat some fruit and if he didn't have room to take some with him. Wonderful,generous people!! We took a long break eating and talking about our trip with them. When we couldn't eat anymore and we were at maximum capacity we took pictures,said many many thank yous and were on our way with some serious sugar buzzes. The next section we had a 2200' climb ahead of us. We thought that all of the sugar would help us but instead we were walking nauseous zombies. We ate too much delicious food, 3 brownies and 3 cookies for me,7 brownies and 2 cookies for Piker--not a good idea. Too much excess. We both felt pretty terrible during the climb. Once we got to the West Peak of Baldpate Mtn. the strong breeze and amazing view began to revive us. It felt as though we were on top of the world. We had a perfect 360 degree view of Maine. We were truly blessed with the beautiful weather for this section today. We still had the East Peak of Baldpate Mtn. to climb. It was so much fun because we walked across a rock table and then zig-zagged up a sheer rock face. The trail was marked by cairns all the way across the flattop. We snapped tons of pictures and talked about how this is on of our favorite parts of the trail so far. Just awesome!! We checked our cell phone-our new addition- and we had service so we called home. It's really fun to call someone from the top of a mountain! After talking to family we were getting chilly and decided to head toward the shelter. The climb down was tough. More slick rocks and roots. I had one major fall, my second of the day and I watched in horror as Piker took his bad fall of the day. We were lucky-nothing serious just some scrapes and bruises. We arrived at the shelter and decided to stay. We are in the shelter again tonight, it may rain & we wanted to keep our tent dry. Just Piker,Trampas and me in the shelter. We chatted about injuries and illness all night while we ate dinner,since Trampas is an ER doctor.He has some pretty funny stories to tell. My feet are sore, I hope that I sleep well tonight. A short 4.5 miles into Andover for resupply tomorrow and then we will try and camp just outside of town and wait for our friends Dready Bear and Blaze. We really want to hike the rst of the trail with them. Maine ROCKS and we are loving every tough mile of it! Ms.Mileage