Date: 2018-07-31
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

What a wonderful day! I knew it would a great day after just 5 minutes into my hike I slipped off a rock while getting a final picture of Speck Pond. No worries, I¢ll just dry my shoe out later. Within the next 5 minutes I came across a Spruce Grouse nesting on the side of the trail. I noticed the chick first as it waddled deeper into the woods, clucking at mom along the way. But the hen held her ground and I got a good picture. As I worked my way up Old Speck Mountain the trail hit some rocky open spaces with views to the south and west. I stopped on a small boulder where I had good signal to load pics from yesterday and call WW. My shoe mostly dried while I was hanging out and I put on some fresh socks. While I was sitting there I could hear a pack of Coyotes getting worked up back in the direction of Speck Pond. It was about 1130 when I hit Grafton Notch. There was a parking area there and the trail crossed over ME 26. It was the first road crossing of any kind since Gorham. There was a thing of beauty and hiker delight in the parking area. A trash can! As I was discarding my garbage a couple of section hikers that I met at the shelter last night arrived at the parking lot. Michele and her daughter, Shannon, were just wrapping up their hike and getting ready to drive back to their home in Portland, ME. I had no intention of riding into Bethel, ME. The little resort town is about 20 miles from the trail. But, when Michele asked me if I wanted a lift into town, I said yes. The only resupply item I needed was a toothbrush and toothpaste. It seems that I left mine at the Rattle River Hostel. A hot lunch sounded good though. On the way in I learned that Michele was an RN and that Shannon was going to school at Norwich, where she was on an ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation Shannon will go into the Army Nurse Corps. Cool! Michele dropped me off at Rite Aid, where I picked up a travel size toothbrush and toothpaste. I don¢t know if you have ever gone two and a half days without brushing your teeth, but I wouldn¢t recommend it. Across from the Rite Aid sat a little country diner. I went inside, brushed my teeth, charged my phone and ordered a salad and pizza. After lunch I wasn¢t quite ready to head back to the trail. A couple of hundred yards down the road was a bakery called the Red Hen. I ordered up a slice of blueberry pie, ice cream and a cup of coffee. Now I was ready to get back to the trail. Oh, I just need to figure out a way to get there. I situated myself at an intersection and proceeded to thumb and wave at passing cars. Within 5 minutes a man named Tim stopped to pick me up. He said he could take me as far as the ME 26/2 split. There were not as many cars traveling down ME 26 and it took me about 20 minutes to hitch a ride. Eventually a couple with kayaks on top of their vehicle stopped. Leslie and Joe are from Connecticut. Their kayaks had flipped on an outing in the area and all of their gear had gotten wet. Subsequently, they had gone to Bethel to do laundry. They also went to the diner and saw me there. Joe had to clear away a bunch of stuff from the backseat to make room for me. How nice!When we returned to Grafton Notch, Leslie and Joe tossed a bunch of hiker goodies my way. More trail magic. I saw Stickers and Lady Bug sitting at the parking area when I got out of the car. It had been Pennsylvania since I had seen them. It was a steep climb up Bald Plate West Peak, but I was feeling good after a few short hiking days and my excursion to Bethel. I powered to the covered summit and dropped down into the saddle between West and East Bald Plate. I hit some foot boards across a boggy area and immediately came across three hikers. Two NOBOs were talking to a SOBO. The two NOBOs were looking my direction and laughing as I was shimmy shaking across the boards. ¢That¢s Next Step!¢, I heard them say. When I got closer I recognized the two hikers. It was Doc and Chief. I hadn¢t seen them since Boiling Springs, PA. We all hiked together up the open face of East Bald Peak and down to the Lean-to. By the way, the shelters in Maine are referred to as Lean-tos. We arrived at the lean-to a little after 6:30PM. About an hour later Kylo popped in. It was a great day of hiking, seeing new things, taking in views, meeting new people, and reuniting with old Tramily. In closing, plans are in motion for the summit of Mount Katahdin. Which Way will meet me at Baxter State Park on the 19th of August. We hope to summit together on Monday the 20th. We have a few extra days built in just in case the weather delays our summit. By my math, I only need to average 15.4 miles a day, with two Zero Days built in. I really want to finish this without feeling rushed and/or beat down. So, don¢t expect huge miles from here on out. Instead, look for really big smiles.Peace & Blessings - NSElevation Data:Ascent - 3,490Descent - 4,600Grade - 14.8Weather:Day - 76 / Partly SunnyNight - 59 / Partly CloudyOver The Horizon: Saddleback Mountain, ME