Date: 2008-07-11
From: South Arm Road, Andover, Maine 

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Up at 4:30 am. Just in time to see the gray fox that wanders through the vegetable garden around sunrise each morning here at the Cabin. I joined ¢Bear¢ in the kitchen for coffee and trail talk while he prepared breakfast, which, as always, was scrumptious! Paul (¢Bear Bag Hanging¢) was not hiking today because of a flu bug or cold, so he drove ¢Gator¢ and ¢Nails¢ to South Arm Road where I left my car. They hiked south toward East B Hill Road which is where Paul dropped me off. The ladies and I would be hiking the same 10-mile section, only in opposite directions ¢ me going north and them going south. This way we could each hike at our own pace and still meet up for and have lunch together.My route involved six miles of gradual incline, rising 1,400¢ to the top of Wyman Mountain. Then, over the course of the next four miles, a steep drop of 1,500¢ into Sawyer Notch, and then a 1,500¢ climb up one side of Moody Mountain immediately followed by a descent of 1,100¢ down the other side to my awaiting car and the end of this section of the Appalachian Trail for Bumpo. The day was cool and sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon. I arrived at the Hall Mountain lean-to, which is part way down the northerly slope of Wyman in just a few hours without even breaking a sweat. I napped in the sunshine with my head against my pack, lying on the space blanket I carry for emergency purposes. About one hour later the ladies arrived ¢ ¢Nails¢ and ¢Gator¢ ¢ and we had lunch together as planned. Tomorrow will be ¢Nails¢ final 10-mile section to complete her four-year Section Hike of the Appalachian Trail! It is hard to believe she only has 10 miles left to go. After the ladies left, I followed a Blue-Blazed Trail to a lookout point above the lean-to and enjoyed the view. Having probably been the longest lunch break in my hiking history to date (212 hours), I headed off at a brisk pace for my last junket over Moody Mountain; hiking aggressively and strongly while stopping only to enjoy scenic overlooks and tranquil views of waterfalls and streams. I made it back to the cabin before the others, and was showered and changed by the time they arrived. In anticipation of ¢Nails¢ (as in ¢tough as nails¢) completion milestone tomorrow, I made arrangements with ¢Bear¢ for a very special dinner, which he cooked in large pots over an open fire in the back yard ¢ steamed lobsters, corn on the cob, and ¢Honey¢s¢ special potato salad! Besides ¢Hunter¢ (who is rapidly becoming a fixture at the cabin) and ¢Bear Bag Hanging,¢ we were joined by ¢Trill,¢ a college-aged Thru Hiker who was a friend of another Cabin Alumnus who had made arrangements for him to stay there. (¢Bear¢ and ¢Honey¢ have closed the Cabin to the hiking public simply because it is just too much work; especially during the height of the season. They extend invitations to the people that they know and their friends, which keeps the feeling of the person¢s stay at the Cabin as one of particular intimacy and a sense of family. It is all very personal and most enjoyable, only underscoring my earlier comments about the ¢hominess¢ of the relationships one feels with those he/she meets on the Trail). For desert, we had Bear Tracks ice cream and a special cake Paul and ¢Bear¢ had purchased for the occasion in honor of ¢Nails¢ achievement tomorrow. It all added up to yet another very special evening of camaraderie and fun on the Appalachian Trail. Another perfect day!