Date: 2020-09-22
From: Grafton Notch

To: East B Hill Rd
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Hopper made a large breakfast of pancakes, sausage, potatoes, and eggs to send me off on my unambitious ten mile slackpack. She dropped me off at Grafton Notch then went to nearby Screw Augur Falls to photograph the fall colors. Screw Augur Falls is a popular spot that gets its name from the pits that have been carved by rocks swirling around in eddys, as if gouged by an augur.The trail was fairly easy heading towards Baldpate, especially so with a light pack. I met Spurs coming out of West Bethel. A Texan, he sports a Spurs cap and shirt. He started hiking in February, got off in March, returned in May, and needs to finish some of TN/NC after Katahdin. He's lost over 100 pounds on the trail. But he was dragging today under the weight of a resupply.West Baldpate was mostly wooded. Descending into the saddle, with autumnal beauty spread across the valleys below, I passed a SOBO couple busy in conversation. "Where you headed?" I called. "Georgia!" was the terse reply. "Give my regards!" They kept hiking without missing a beat, but began singing "Georgia on my Mind".East Baldpate is covered in sheer bedrock and requires climbing at an improbable slope. Thankfully it's been dry. In fact there have been none of the damp rocks or mud I remember covering the Maine trail. A dreadlocked kid named Lionheart passed going south. Outside his pack hung a reusable grocery bag filled with gear, looking more tramp than hiker. He apologized that he had to keep moving because he was chilled. The wind had indeed risen as I neared the summit, and the ambient temperature was probably still in the 40s.The views continued to be absolutely gorgeous as I rounded and descended Baldpate. Truly a perfect day to be out for a hike in this magnificent area.Down at the next shelter I stopped to eat the breakfast leftovers Hopper had sent out with me and chatted with a northbounders named What's Left. He hiked 1400 miles of the AT in 1978 before going home after a very cold and wet ascent of Katahdin. He didn't return to the trail for over forty years. Then last year he came back to finish it, popped a knee in Massachusetts, got surgery, and came back again this year to finish it up. He has only 130 miles left. The forest critters are back to busily preparing for winter now that the cold snap is over. Red squirrels and chipmunks scampered about all day.Hopper met me at East B Hill road after ten miles. I rolled in at exactly two, the time I'd arranged when I was dropped off. There's a bit of adjustment throughout the day, but it's scary how accurate I can be with my hiking time. Yesterday I'd told her I'd be in Grafton Notch before 6:30, probably 6:15. It was 6:14 when I arrived.We returned to the hostel via Mills Market, the only food establishment in Andover, where I got lunch. Sure, dinner was in three hours, but I would easily be hungry again by then. The tenting couple are Swan and Rusty. They hiked most of the trail last year, meeting along the way and marrying afterwards. Swan, a Georgian, plays guitar Andy Griffith-style. He broke his foot in New Hampshire and had to get off trail. That left Rusty, from Michigan, to finish on her own as the weather turned cold and nasty. Eventually she stopped a few dozen miles short. She finished those miles this year. They moved briefly to New Orleans, then Georgia, but decided they loved Maine. Rusty is a talented artist who's painted a mural at Boots Off hostel and works on oil landscapes of Maine.The RV tenant is Malcolm, who thruhiked the AT in 1977. He longs to return to hiking, planning to hit the PCT in 2022 and the Florida Trail this winter, but developed plantar fasciitis while hiking Katahdin in August and is trying to work through that.Also wandering around are Honey's new dog Paloma, a two-year-old rescue still being trained, and Leila, Rusty's older dog.At family dinner, which also included Honey's stepson Don, we feasted on corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage, and plenty of it. And brownies for dessert. The dining room is filled with photos and memorabilia of hikers. Earl Schaffer, who stayed here in 1998, various groups organized by Warren Doyle, numerous Wounded Warrior groups. Honey seems to know everyone in the hiking world. Watched a hiking double header after dinner: Wild (PCT) and The Way (Camino de Santiago).