Date: 2006-08-20
From: Mahoosuc Notch

To: ME-26 (Grafton Notch)
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: light rain

This morning the rain continued. It started last night just after setting up camp and was still going strong when we left camp around 9:45am this morning. Although it rained through the night it wasn't until this morning around daybreak that the lake formed around my tent and Jane's tent. At one point I unzipped the door to my tent and peeked out only to notice miscellaneous debris floating by in the flood. I was tempted to pump my drinking water for the day while still in bed. It was ok for a while but then it started raining harder and the water level started to rise. At this point I gathered all my stuff and huddled it around me on my thermo-rest. Although it is only 2" thick it was the highest point in my tent and was just enough to help stay a little drier. When the rain slacked off we made a move for it and started to pack up camp. At this point the water had started to seep into my tent and poor Jane was already flooded. When she emptied her tent and went to shake it out at least a quart of water poured onto the ground. Even though my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag were soaked I managed to keep everything else pretty dry. Our first steps out of camp were straight up the Mahoosuc Arm. The trail up the arm is nothing but rock and the rain has turned it into a waterfall. I had dry shoes for about 2 minutes and even with Gore-Tex in weather like this my socks still managed to get soaked. None of us stopped until we were at the next shelter beyond Speck Pond. Cold and wet we stopped and snacked for a while but ended up putting more cloths on because the temperature was dropping as we gained elevation. I was freezing. On the way up Speck Mountain I tripped and kicked my Leki trekking pole creating a slight bend. It didn¢t come from the factory that way and was afraid it would snap when I bent it back leaving me stranded with only one. The bend was every bit of 25 to 30 degrees making it just about useless. These poles haven't failed me yet in 1,900 miles of hiking so I tried my luck. To my surprise it went back into shape and still collapses like it is supposed to. Thanks to Leki for such a good product. On the way down from the top the trail turned very slippery and Shasta took a couple of falls. In good spirits she got up every time and continued hiking. If it were me I would probably still be lying there in the mud cursing everything under the stars because I know a few of them had to of hurt. When we all got down to Grafton Notch we met up with Nancy. She had already called for a ride into town so with a little help from the lucky penny turning up heads we went with her. We ended up staying at the Chapman Inn in Bethel, ME. The Chapman Inn is known as a bed and breakfast but also has a hiker hostel built in. The inn turned out to be really cool because it has washer, dryer, kitchen, multiple restrooms, TV with lounge area. Best of all there was a big moose hanging over the game room building our anticipation to see another one. Since the town was small and we were here on a Sunday afternoon we picked up dinner at the supermarket when we resupplied. This idea worked well because when we got back to the inn it was still raining and no one wanted to leave. We cooked a lot of food and sat around the lounge watching TV enjoying a warm, dry place. This stop also gave us a chance to cram the dryer full with everything we owned from our underwear to our tents. Dry, full and happy we ended the evening with a movies the girls picked 'DirtyDancing'. The best part of this whole experience was the hot cookies that H-Bomb made. After the movie we retired to the little warm and cozy nest upstairs.Tonight: Jane, H-Bomb, Shasta, Baro, Nancy, M&M, and I.