Date: 2007-10-10
To: ...More Walk on the Mild Side
Miles today: 0.0

All night long the wind blew ferociously, and I expected the temperature to plummet (and justify toting the extra cold-weather stuff...), but it actually got even warmer for a while, and leveled off about where we left off the day before. It gets dark early and gets light late, so I waited until I could actually see to get up and get started. This meant long hours in the sack - not actually unwelcome, and quite relaxing. Only problem was no morning birds to listen to while awaiting good light.I went and got the food bags down from the mouse-rope that was strung across some trees nearby, and dug out my breakfast. Tried something new - Ezekial cereal, with a little brown sugar and whole powdered milk. Just add water...it was VERY good. Usually I bring a muesli I make in the blender (oatmeal, wheatgerm, chopped dates, chopped nuts, etc.) but this was on the shelf and looked promising. It is crunchy, like grapenuts only doesn't sog as fast, and contains more different grains and less sugar. Health food store kind of thing. I usually don't do hot drinks, but Auntie M wasn't up yet so I lit the stove and had hot chocolate and instant coffee mixed together. It makes the instant coffee bearable. And gave me more experience with the Caldera Cone system. It's getting easier.The water supply here is a brook, 50 yards or so downhill, which I negotiated when we first got here so that there was enough water for breakfast and to start out hiking. In summer the brook is really beautiful, and cold - a treat. Now, it's so covered in leaves it's hard to see the water, and the path is really hard to negotiate with so many leaves hiding rocks and roots. We were ready to go by 8 or so, and shuffled our way out of the notch, slowly up the side of Little Bigelow. Many viewpoints along the way, of Flagstaff Lake to the east, and Sugarloaf to the west, all the views quite hazy today. Avery Peak loomed right over us at first, and as the morning went on, receded into the background, giving us a lift as we could see how far we'd come.Lunchtime on one of the tops - Little Bigelow has MANY - and we sprawled and stretched in the warm sun as we ate and looked at the maps and took pictures. Real nice.The warm day continued, but the clouds were banking in so we got on our way to the shelter, the first ones in. Of course, you never know whether you'll be by yourselves or in a big crowd by evening's end, so it's kind of hard to plan. If I KNEW it was going to be crowded, I'd set up a tent. Otherwise, I would probably stay in the leanto...but before this inner pondering got too far, in walked a couple of hikers, father and son-in-law I gathered, who come up to Maine every year for a five-day hike. And before much longer, a south bound long sectioner, and then a group of University of Maine students who come out to this leanto every year to set up camp and dayhike the area, and then it started to rain...and presto! Up went the tent. That was an easy decision. Plus, we'd get to see how sea-worthy the Rainbow was.This time there was ample audience for the suppertime fumbling, but alas, I was pretty smooth with the set-up - I guess they all got what they paid for. Then, a little time around the campfire that the UMO folks supplied, and to bed to write my notes. It rained and blew, but by morning it was crisp, cool and very very clear. The (remaining) leaves were even more vivid than before, and the contrast was so high with the deep blue sky and clear air. It made us wish so much to have a full hiking day ahead, but it was down the path and hop in the cars for home.