Date: 2009-09-09
From: Baldpate Lean-to, ME

To: Surplus Pond Campsite, ME
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Southern Maine (and the trail) have redeemed themselves today! Everyone who stayed at the shelter last night seemed to wake up quick this morning, but nobody was moving too quickly. Yesterday's travels through the notch and the arm seem to have brought on some soreness and stiffness. Bark and I for sure are feeling the effects. Honestly it was difficult to get out and want to hike this morning. You would think that just being in Maine would be motivation enough, but when you are dreading the pain of another 2,000 foot climb, motivation goes out the window. As soon as we left the shelter area Bark and I started climbing up...and up. As we hiked we prayed together for strength and endurance and I specifically prayed and asked the Lord for help with a positive attitude (it has been a difficult couple of days). Not long after, the trail started to ease up a bit as we approached the summit of West Baldpate Mtn. It was a beautiful view- almost 360 degrees of morning fog deep in the valleys and thin wispy clouds overhead. We could see clearly the climb in front of us too, East Baldpate Mtn, which was in fact very bald. It looked like somebody had come through and shaved the trees right off the steep rock faces, and of course, we could see the distant cairns going right up the sides. We made it over to the next summit and then down again, and then back up one more time to Little Baldpate Mtn. The range was beautiful and surprisingly gentle compared to the past few days of climbing. The shelter was not far from the last summit and Bark and I were feeling pretty good about making it down to Frye Notch Lean-to by about 10am. We have not been able to make time like that in a while. We grabbed a quick snack and then headed out and over the next 4.5 miles to the road crossing into Andover, ME. The ease and beauty of the trail continued and we found ourselves at the road by 12:15! 8 miles by noon once again... it was a great morning! The road was not quite what we thought it would be, but we did eventually get a ride from a friendly couple who spend their summers in Maine. Turns out they live close to the trail in PA. They were very sweet and dropped us off at the General Store- deli, gas station and "grocery store" all in one. Bark and I made a b-line for the ice cream and figured we could discuss groceries while we ate- ha! We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up resupply items, visiting the post office for a special birthday card for Bark, and downloading pictures at the Andover library. Bark was able to upload all of our pics up to Mt. Washington in The Whites. We hope to have the rest uploaded during the next couple of town stops. There is just so much we want to share!While walking back to the store from the library we saw Firecracker, Big Fish and Star Trek. They had all slackpacked a 10 mile section and were staying overnite at the Pine Ellis Hostel. We were able to spend some time with them (and Bison too) over dinner, but decided we had better hike out tonight to get a few more miles out of the way. We said goodbye, but we're hoping to catch up with them in Rangley in a couple of days. Bark and I were thankful to catch a ride back to the trailhead with David, the hostel owner. It was a beautiful evening and we still had some good daylight left. About an hour into the trail Bark saw something big and black up in a tree. He first dismissed it as something just dead, like a plant of some kind. However, as we moved closer the object looked more and more fuzzy and soon we could even make out a tail. I suggested it might be a cat, but come to find out it was definitely not a cat. As we moved in on the critter, it became clear that we were staring (and scaring) our first porcupine! We've been warned about them, but had not seen one yet. They are incredibly cute little animals, at least at a safe distance. We got some video and some pics and soon decided we had better leave it alone. We made it to the pond shortly after and found some great camp spots. We set up our tent and then went for a short walk around the pond to see if we could see any more wildlife. It has been a great day and we are hopeful in what tomorrow holds as well. On another note we were sad to read that one of our hiking buddies has left the trail. We have not seen our friend Journey in quite some time now, but just found out she got off in Glencliff. We hope you are doing great Journey and healing up after your looong "walk"! One last thing, we are so encouraged by all the comments and notes on our trail journals guestbook. We are always motivated and reminded of why we are out here by your kind words. Thanks friends and family!