Date: 2006-07-22
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Baldpate Lean-To
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

A great day of hiking. And I finally had a chance to get into a hiking rhythm. But, to start at the beginning: Last evening at dinnertime, Matball SOBO thru hiking, arrived. He was bound and determined to take a swim in Speck Pond and when he got back, he was shivering from the cold water, and it took him a long time to warm up again. He said that it was worth it just to get rid of the sweaty smell! Huff, the caretaker, came by, but did not have an explanation as to why the shelter faces away from the view of the lake. I asked if it was because of the wind direction, but he said no ¢ there realy is no fixed wind direction because of the swirling effect on the winds, created by the surrounding mountains. In the middle of the night, a head-lamped hiker arrived and crashed into his sleeping bag. He was still sound asleep when I left this morning. The first part of today¢s hike was a fairly stiff climb, in a cool and cloudy morning, up Old Speck Mountain. There were good views of mist filled valleys, but I had no difficulty in not taking Yo-Yo¢s advice to go the additional 0.3 miles to the summit, and take advantage of the views from the observation tower. Huff had said that it is a stiff climb up exposed ladders to the top of the tower - not the thing to start this fear-of-heights hikers day. The next part of the hike was the descent down from Old Speck to Grafton Notch. This is 3.5 miles with a loss of 3000 feet of elevation. I am now using the Maine AT maps, which I like because of the contour shading, but the profiles use a different vertical exaggeration ¢ which makes the descent, and the subsequent ascent of Baldpate look very steep indeed. As it turned out it was a great hike. A fairly uniform grade let me get into a smooth hiking rhythm, with only the occasional rocky bit to break up my uniform pace. As I descended I met a lot of day-hikers, out to climb Old Speck on this cool Saturday. There were several family groups ¢ one with an unleashed dog who noised into my lunch bag ¢ and several couples, all apparently enjoying their hike. I tanked up on water at the last source on the descent, since The Handbook listed no further water sources until this shelter. As it turned out, after crossing the road at Grafton Notch, I immediately came across a nice stream, where I had my foil-bagged shrimp for lunch. While there, I met Small Pot SOBO and in fine spirits. He said that the West and East Peaks of Baldpate are tough, but that after Frye Notch Lean-To, it is a smooth hike to the road [or was it the father and son with the broken water bladder that I met that told me that?] Then it was a smooth ascent up to this shelter. It seemed to me that much of the ascent was on an old ¢green road¢ i.e. an abandoned old [logging] road that has been overgrown with vegetation. It has a wide thread and a smooth grade. Again, I was able to get into a smooth hiking rhythm, and I even had a little stream, gurgling and chuckling and urging me on, for that first half ¢ you know that I love streams [and meadows when dry] The trail then levels out for the final push on here to the shelter. There is a hikers registry box on the trail just before the turn-off to the shelter. This is a great shelter. It is like the one [in Mass?] where I saw the field full of fireflies. There are two skylights ¢ so the interior is bright ¢ and the front is arranged so that there is a place to sit and cook, all sheltered under the overhanging roof. Very clever indeed! After I got my water and settled in, it started to rain. It built up to a regular gully washer ¢ realy coming down in buckets, but I did not hear any thunder. It is still raining now, and I just love it! Here I am sipping my coffee and eating a spare pop-tart, surrounded by all of the things that I need ¢ warm and dry in a great shelter, as the rain lashes down on the roof ¢ giving me a feeling of thankfulness that I had a good day ¢ and make it safely to this great shelter ¢ all before the rains came.Thought for Today ¢ If you are not happy, Think about all of the good things That have happened to you. If that doesn¢t work, Think of all the bad things That have not happened to you!