Date: 2005-08-21
From: Rt. 26 Grafton Notch

To: Frye Notch Leanto
Miles today: 5.8

As I told Northern Harrier last night, I¢m not setting an alarm and will wake up whenever. But I was up before 7 and down to the breakfast which came with the room. Enjoying cereal, homemade muffins, juice, and coffee, I met 4 thruhikers - two young guys, a young woman, and a middle aged guy. The only name I remembered was Bootleg - the quietest one. Besides swapping stories, we all groused about the drizzly weather. What to do? I think I¢ll hitch toAndover - there¢s supposed to be thunderstorms and per Northern Harrier, the Bald Pates have a lot of flat, steep-angled rock which could be treacherous when wet.But after a walk into town, I noticed the sky clearing. Humidity is extreme so hiking will be sweat-intensive but hey, I can at least hike to the first shelter and then make it to Andover the next day. So after only 10 minutes of thumbing, I obtained a ride to the Trailhead from a middle aged couple. I was on the Trail by 11:42. Yeah, I have a lot of uphill but maybe I can make it toFrye Notch Leanto.As expected, the humidity combined with the steady ascent put me into a 2 bandana mode. But I felt strong and reached Bald Plate Leanto in good stead. En route, I saw a wood frog - just his kind of place! What¢s better, the sky is clearing and I can hear, if not feel, refreshing breezes. So on to the Bald Pates.Best decision of the hike. I felt very strong in the steep rock-by-rock ascent, stopping twice for very brief (one minute) rests and water. Met a southbound couple. Soon the Trail was exclusively over flat angled rock as described by Northern Harrier with cairns replacing white blazes. Then the top of West Bald Pate. Magnificent! Sunny blue sky, swift breezes which dried off my accumulated sweat from the body and clothes. Took off my shirt and lingered,gazing at the Presidentials to the south and Maine mountains ahead. That must be Saddleback over there. What¢s that one mountain straight ahead - shaped like Katahdin but it can¢t be at over 200 Trail miles away. I am so thankful places like this exist.East Bald Pate loomed ahead, 200¢ higher than West. The rock was even more slanted to get up there but it was enjoyable to see and feel each step reaching closer to the summit. I didn¢t stay as long on East but still reveled in the atmosphere. Typical of the Maine peaks thus far - scrub evergreens, blueberries, flat rocks, pools and springs, alpine flowers and grasses. Yes, I think Maine is my favorite state.On descent to Frye Gap, I met Ghost, a SOBO flipflopper. The sky had finally seen clouds move overhead producing a sprinkle or two but then they blew away. And pleasant surprise: after the expected tough initial descent, the last mile to Fry Leanto was easy. I reached it at 5:33, meeting Oly, my roomate for the night. The shelter is very dark with the dense hardwood forest around.Oly is a 69-year old (he tells everyone his age) chemist who retired from the St. Louis water system and used to deal with EPA. Like me, this is his (hopefully) final section hike to finish the AT. We¢re hiking at the same pace and will likely meet up again. Tomorrow, he¢s moving ahead while I stop in Andover, one full day behind schedule.