Date: 2016-08-24
From: Grafton Notch ME 26 Andover ME

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: light rain

I started my laundry at 10 pm and put it in the dryer at 3 am.I purchased $12 worth of food bars from the Pine Ellis resupply.Red Squirrel arrived early for our shuttle from Pine Ellis to Grafton Notch. She changed her mind about the knee braces.She wanted to use the knee braces that Naomi purchased at Walmart and yesterday she wanted to send home. She wanted the knee braces I had fallen in love with. So I mended my original knee braces with the sewing box at Pine Ellis. I started to put my cooked quinoa in a ziploc bag because now I was running late. Red Squirrel encouraged me to eat there. We left on our 7 am shuttle at 7:45 am. Sherlock my afternoon driver from yesterday was our driver today. We had a great conversation with him. I wanted to talk with him longer but we were already getting a late start. I started the hike with the back seam of my pants blown out. I had sewn it before yesterday's hike but it was blown out by the end of the hike. A couple with day packs started a few minutes before us. It was a steep climb to the top of Old Speck. The rock was still draining from the rain two mornings before. It was much drier. After summiting Old Speck, we came out of the trees to an awesome beautiful view of tree covered mountains and ponds. It was steep solid rock slope down to the intersection for Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite. I threw my hiking poles down the mountain 4 times. It took us almost 2 hours to hike a little more than a mile to the shelter.We arrived at Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite a little before 2 pm. There was a big sign on the shelter asking people not to eat in the shelter. We had lunch in the designated eating/dishwashing area under a tarp. Since it was later in the day, we thought it unwise to continue on to the steep downhill of Mahoosuc Arm and then on to Mahoosuc Notch, the most difficult mile of the trail. We had heard varying reports of how long it takes to get through Mahoosuc Notch, from 90 minutes to 4 hours. As we were talking, I got tired. I quickly setup my sleeping pad and bag and took a three hour nap.Doing my laundry at 3 am was catching up with me.While I took a nap, Red Squirrel set up her tent and befriended the people as they arrived. There was a father and young son in a tent near the shelter. A group from Colby College arrived. At Colby College and other colleges in the area, the freshman class is required to go on an adventure. Traditionally it is a three day backpacking trip on the AT. This group from Colby were the leaders who were scouting out the trail prior to taking the freshman class. Two men came into the shelter. One was a GI surgeon at MD Anderson and the other was an insurance adjuster. They had been friends since college. This was their sixth year hiking the AT. Another man came into the shelter. He was in his 20s-30s and was hard of hearing. He read lips very well. The caretaker came by. He said he wasn't particularly strict about no eating in the shelter because during the day, he is doing trail maintenance and can not enforce the rule. People come by and have lunch in the shelter. He mentioned that he would appreciate it if we peed in the woods and not in the privy. I told him my personal belief that with more women hiking the AT, there was more peeing in the privy, due to anatomy. He explained that because the privy is so close to the pond, when a person pees in the privy, the pee goes through the feces on chicken wire, and is funneled into a holding tank. It is his job to empty this holding tank. He has noticed that when there are more women at camp, the holding tank is more full. He would appreciate it if we peed in the woods and not in the privy. He was pleasant and matter of fact stating these things. He collected our $8.I fixed dinner. The hard of hearing man joined me. Then Red Squirrel. The Colby kids had offered Red Squirrel dinner but they were not ready to fix dinner quite yet. The GI surgeon and his friend joined us. A woman thru hiker joined us. She was ex-military and it showed. She seemed tough as nails. She had started late in April and was already in Maine. She said she had things to do. She wanted to become a mental health counselor, specializing in suicide, but not working for the military. The GI doctor asked why she chose to specialize in suicide. She said everyone who goes into mental health counseling has their story. Her husband, who also was military, committed suicide 6 years ago. She felt it was not due to the military but due to childhood issues. I was stunned and did not know what to say. "I am so sorry for your loss", did not seem to acknowledge the depth of loss. We sat in silence for a time. The Colby kids arrived. We were almost finished, so we packed up and made room for them.The pond was lovely and peaceful.I tried to call my husband on my Verizon TracPhone. No bars. I walked closer to the pond, hoping less tree canopy would help. One bar would appear and disappear. On the fifth try, I called my husband and talked to him. In the middle of the call, I noticed the hard of hearing man was sitting in yoga pose, in the shade/dark of the trees, overlooking the pond. I turned my back to him and took a few steps away, as I finished my call.I slept in the shelter with my new friends. I snore. I am told it is not too loud and consistent, so it is easy to tune it out.