[at-l] Trip report: Western Maine Part 1 (long)

[papa_bear_nyc@yahoo.com (Papa Bear)]

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Dear friends

This is the first part of my trip report for my recent section hike from Go=
rham New Hampshire to Stratton Maine.  This part covers some introductory c=
omments and the first 4 days of hiking -  from US Route 2 in Gorham (actual=
ly Shelburne) to Maine Highway 26 (Grafton Notch).

If don't like long emails, you may prefer to read this report on my web sit=
e, complete with pictures.  Go to
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2h6gy/papabear/papabear.html  and click=
 on the link: "AT Section #5: Gorham NH to Stratton ME - 9/7/2002 to 9/2020=
02"  on the right hand side of the list, towards the bottom.

You may also enjoy the full set of pictures from this section on the Backco=
untry.net gallery:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_section_5

For a smaller album of just the Abraham and Redington side trips, check her=
e:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_peaks

Note: the urls for these two albums has changed from what I originally post=
ed several weeks ago.  Use the links above and they should work fine

For a gallery of all the albums from my AT hikes this year, check here:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_2002_sections

The web based account and the email versions should stay in synch, so read =
which ever one you prefer.

Enjoy
Pb

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INTRODUCTION:

Maine!  They all say getting to Maine (from Georgia) is 90% of the distance=
 of the AT, but only 50% of the difficulty.  Reminds me of what we say in r=
unning a marathon: the 20 mile mark is the half-way point!  Is it true? (It=
 is for running a marathon.)  Well I didn't hike from Georgia so I don't kn=
ow about percentages, but I would say it's as tough as any section I have d=
one.  Is it harder than the Whites?  Good question.  The altitude and amoun=
t of hiking in alpine areas is greater in the Whites, but the trails in the=
 Whites are just so civilized!  Consider, many of the trails over the Franc=
onia Ridge and the Presidential Range pre-date the AT by decades: they are =
just so well built and maintained. As I said in a previous report we came a=
cross exactly NO BLOWDOWNS in the entire hundred or so miles crossing the W=
hites. NONE!  In Maine it's just more raw, more remote, more wild.  Good tr=
ail maintenance, yes, but sure there were blow downs, maybe a few per day. =
 So yes, in a way the trail in Maine was tougher.  No switchbacks, many roc=
k scrambles, or just slab climbs that seem to go on for ever.  Some good ro=
ck stair work here and there, but generally it's you against the mountain. =
 Raw and wild and tough!

We also hit this section in an unseasonably warm period.   It was 85 degree=
s and humid crossing the Mahoosucs, which added to the difficulty of that a=
lready daunting section.  A few things we learned (the hard way): 1) Don't =
go over exposed peaks (e.g. Baldpate, Saddleback) in a rain storm.  Wait a =
day and enjoy the beauty.  2) Build some off-days into your schedule.  You'=
ll need to be flexible when you go slower than planned or when storms postp=
one your plan for a given day.  From the start this year in New Jersey, we =
were always able to stick to a schedule - more or less. Here in Maine we ha=
d to cut back and rethink our goals several times.  Ultimately we decided t=
o come off the trail in Stratton rather than Caratunk.  A smart decision - =
after all, the Bigelows and the Kennebec will still be there next year for =
our enjoyment.

Our original hope was to hike all of the AT from the Delaware Water Gap to =
Katahdin this season.  This didn't happen due to time constraints and sched=
uling conflicts, but I've come to realize that this is a life-long endeavor=
, and the trail and all the other trails will be there next year, and the n=
ext and the next.  In a way it's good that I'm not "done".  I guess I now k=
now that with this sort of thing I will never be "done".  Always more mount=
ains to climb.  Or as Bilbo Baggins said "The road goes ever onward ..."

Peak Bagging: We "bagged" the following peaks, among others, which were on =
the trail, or off the trail by a greater or lesser amount:

Mt. Success (3565')
Mt. Carlo (3565')
Goose Eye (3870', 0.1 mile side trail)
Mahoosuc Arm (3770')
Old Speck (4180', 0.3 mile side trail)
Baldpate West (3662')
Baldpate East (3790')
Saddleback (4120')
The Horn (4041')
Saddleback Junior (3655')
Mt. Abraham (4043', 1.7 mile side trail)
Mt. Spaulding (4010', 0.1 mile side trail)
Sugarloaf (4237, 0.6 mile side trail)
South Crocker (4010', 0.1 mile side trail)
Mt. Redington (4010', 1.5 mile bushwhack from South Crocker))
North Crocker (4228')

IMHO, all but Abraham and Redington are MUST DO for any AT hikers, especial=
ly Sugarloaf.  If you can spend the night there in the "sugar-shack" in cle=
ar weather you may bag a Katahdin sighting and a beautiful sunset (we weren=
't able to do that, but hikers a half day ahead of us did, and bagged both =
of the above).

Do Abraham if you have the time - its a beautiful peak and ridge line.

Redington was easier than I thought.  It was a "bushwhack", which means the=
re was no regular trail, just a hard to follow path (or none at all) throug=
h the woods. My daughter said "this is dumb".  There is no view and you get=
 lots of Spruce needles in your face and down your back. It took us about 3=
 hours (including 20 minutes lunch) round trip from South Crocker.  I had a=
 funny conversation about this in Stratton.  We were chatting with some thr=
u-hikers (Hollywood and So Far) and mentioned we had done the bushwhack to =
Redington.  They asked how far it was and how long it took.  Then they aske=
d "Well was there a nice view or something?", we said no, but it was one of=
 the New England 4000 footers.  They looked kind of doubtful at that, as if=
 to say "Well that sounds kind of pointless".  Interesting, coming from thr=
u-hikers who hike for 4 to 6 months on what many would consider a totally p=
ointless endeavor.  Oh well, one person's "pointless" is another's high pri=
ority goal!

We had great clear weather (and strong winds) on Baldpate and Saddleback (a=
fter waiting out some rain days), and pretty good weather on Abraham, and S=
ugarloaf.  We had to skip the section from South Arm Road to Maine Route 17=
 (Old Blue, Bemis) due to lack of time.  We'll be back next year for that.

Temperatures: We also had 85 degree, humid weather going up Mahoosuc Arm.  =
That turned into a 5 mile day (Full Goose Shelter to Speck Pond Shelter) wh=
ich was one of the hardest days (of any distance) I have yet done. As one t=
hru-hiker put in the register "Mahoosuc Notch may be the slowest mile on th=
e AT but Mahoosuc Arm is the hardest".  We actually did the Notch in 2 hour=
s and the Arm in 2:15. So for us the Arm was the slowest and the hardest mi=
le!

Water:  Things were very dry.  Several of the shelters were down to the las=
t drop (Carlo Col, Full Goose) and some (Bemis - we were told) were dry.  T=
hose on ponds (Speck Pond, Sabath Day) had dry springs so you had to take w=
ater from the pond.  This was the second dry year in a row and the trees sh=
owed it.  A lot of leaves were brown, not bright autumn colors, and after o=
ne wind and rain storm a great number of leaves were on the ground,  green.=
  Most of the hardwoods over about 2500' had lost a good deal of their leav=
es, without going through the fall foliage stage.  Those in the valleys wer=
e still on the trees, green, or occasionally brown.

Interesting side note:  as I checked this report with my spell checker, the=
 suggestion for "Mahoosuc" came up as "Madhouse"!  Cool - someone at Micros=
oft must know something about western Maine!  Side note #2: In areas mainta=
ined by the AMC, those wooden structures you sleep in are called "shelters"=
.  In areas maintained by the MATC (from Grafton Notch to Katahdin) they ar=
e called "lean-tos".

Equipment: My equipment was generally fine.  My pack (Kelty Flight) felt th=
e best it has all year long.  We slack packed (hiked with just day packs) f=
rom Grafton Notch to Rangeley. My water filter (Pur "Hiker") got very hard =
to pump after the first day out - that was a pain.  Several thru-hikers sai=
d they had heard of a number of similar complaints with the Pur.

Hostels: We stayed in Hostels in Gorham (Hikers Paradise), Andover (Pine El=
lis), Rangeley (Gull Pond Lodge) and Stratton (Stratton Motel) and each was=
 fine with very helpful and hospitable proprietors.

In short, we had some great hiking and did some difficult and beautiful sec=
tions of the trail.  Now for the details ...

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Day 0: September 6, 2002
Hikers Paradise Hostel, Gorham New Hampshire

It's fair to start this story the day before we actually got onto the trail=
.  From the start, this was going to be a 3 person hike: myself, Fresh Air =
(who had been my hiking partner in the 4 previous AT sections we did this y=
ear) and my daughter Payslee.  Payslee lives in Portland Oregon and loves h=
iking (she has done sections of the PCT) and loves the out of doors.  She h=
as done some mountaineering - she has summited Mt. Hood, Mt Adams (Washingt=
on State) and Mount St. Helens (the one that blew up).  It would be interes=
ting to see how she reacted to these "wimpy" eastern mountains (-:

Two days before our start date I got a call from Fresh Air's wife: he had b=
roken his ankle in High Point State Park, New Jersey and was currently in a=
 hospital.  I talked to him the next day.  He took a serious fall and had b=
roken his ankle and his tibia and would require surgery and a metal pin in =
his ankle.  He was on a side trail and had to walk about a mile on his brok=
en ankle to get to the more active AT where he got help.  But his spirit wa=
s good.  He still planned to run the Boston Marathon next April and had sen=
t in his registration fee.  He hoped to be out of the cast and active again=
 in 6 - 8 weeks.

But for Payslee and myself we had some new choices.  We had been planning a=
 "warm up" hike in the Carter Range on Saturday since Fresh Air couldn't st=
art until Sunday.  We decided to forget that idea and get going on the AT o=
n Saturday.  This would allow a slightly more leisurely pace by adding a da=
y in one of the tough sections.

We took the bus from Boston to Gorham and arrived at Hikers Paradise around=
 9:30 PM.  Since we had changed our hiking plans for the morning, we wouldn=
't be able to make Bruno's shuttle, but we decided we would just hitch to t=
he trail head in the morning.

We were in a section of the Hostel with 6 hikers from 2 families (including=
 youngish kids) who were going up to Madison the next day.    It was nice t=
o be immersed in hiker talk the night before to get us in the mood.

We bought some last minute supplies, ate something and got an early bed.  W=
e would be up early to get started on the trail right after breakfast.


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Day 1: September 7, 2002
Route 2 (Shelburne NH) to Gentian Pond Shelter
Weather: Sunny, 54 degrees, rising to the low 70s

After breakfast we got ourselves packed up, got our packs on and walked acr=
oss Route 2 and stuck out our thumbs.  Bruno stuck his head out of the Mote=
l and told us to move down the road about 20 yards for optimal hitch hiking=
.  In about 10 minutes we got picked up by a 30ish woman.  She said she was=
 a 2001 AT thru-hiker named Midnight.  She wasn't going that far this morni=
ng but insisted on driving us all the way to the trail head (about 4 miles =
out of town).  She recalled coming through Gorham last year around Labor Da=
y with a big pack of thrus.  She had finished her hike on Oct. 13th last ye=
ar - I'd say that was cutting it close.

We got out by the big stone building at the corner of North Road and walked=
 the mile or so to the trail.  We soon crossed the train tracks and passed =
over the Andoscoggin River with a small dam and hydroelectric station just =
by the road.  We got to the actual trail around 8:30 and at last we were of=
f.

It had become hot and sunny by this time.  It would be the first of several=
 unseasonably hot days.  Our first climb was the relatively easy Mount Haye=
s.  We got our hiking legs warmed up a bit.  This was followed by Cascade M=
ountain which was a rough rock climb and a steep down slope.  Finally came =
the Trident and Trident Col.  This was a very steep notch.  The Trident Col=
 tentsite was nice.  We took the opportunity to refill our water.  We would=
 be drinking a lot on these hot days.

After our lunch break, we got going again around 2:00 PM and worked our way=
 over the Wockett Ledges which were basically two steep climbs over exposed=
 rock ledges.  There were nice views, particularly towards the west towards=
 the Carter Range and the Androscoggin Valley up through Berlin NH.  It was=
 slow going over these ledges.

Past this were lots of board walks down to Dream Lake.  The trail around Dr=
eam Lake was quite easy past Moss Pond and down towards Gentian Pond.  Some=
where in this are we were passed by a NOBO who introduced himself as Duck T=
ape.  He had also started that day in Gorham and was headed to Gentian Pond=
 Shelter, as were we.  He said he had started around noon, and Payslee and =
I just looked at each other with eyebrows raised at that information.  He w=
as going about twice as fast as we were.  But we were happy with this first=
 great day of hiking, so what did we care!

We made our way down to the Gentian Pond Shelter.  This was  a very nice st=
ructure overlooking the Shelburne Valley.  Gentian Pond was pristine and lo=
ts of register entries mentioned almost daily moose sightings on the pond. =
 Two older guys were there with heavy packs of tools.  It turns out they we=
re also from the Boston area (South Shore) and were up for one of their per=
iodic trail maintenance weekends.  They were AMC volunteers for this sectio=
n.  They were scouting out the corridor boundary for "infringements" this t=
rip, although they said it was too remote here for anyone to do any serious=
 infringing.  They did give us fair warning that the climb up Mount Success=
 we would to the next day would be a very tough climb. Duck Tape was there =
and well as a few others (Mike and Buckeye) and they were all using their t=
ents.

We had a good supper, caught up with our logs and had an early bed.  It was=
 a good start for us!

Day 1 Trail Miles: 11.8, Extra miles: 0.2, Total: 12.0

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Day 2: September 8, 2002
Gentian Pond Shelter to Full Goose Shelter
Weather: Sunny, slightly humid, 65 degrees, rising to the 80s

I awoke early, and hoping to see the resident moose, I crawled out of my ba=
g, grabbed my camera, put on my Tevas and made my way down to the pond.  It=
 was around 6:15 AM.  There he (she?) was!  Across the pond grazing on the =
low marshy vegetation the moose did not notice (or just ignored) my presenc=
e.  I made my way along the shore through the thick vegetation and snapped =
a number of photos.  Unfortunately they were all out of focus.  Drat!  I mu=
st read the directions for this camera!

When I got back to the Shelter, Payslee was rising and I told here the moos=
e was there.  Unfortunately it did not wait for her and had disappeared for=
 the day when she went to look around 7:00 AM.

In the other direction there was a carpet of fog filling the Shelburne Vall=
ey, with the mountains beyond getting their first touch of sunlight for the=
 day.  A beautiful sight.  Some days it's clear above and cloudy below (lik=
e today), and some days it's clear below and cloudy on the mountain tops.  =
Both are beautiful scenes from the never-ending, never-the-same-twice show =
called mountain weather! (and some days it's rain everywhere!)

In spite of my early rising, we were slow to get going and did not get movi=
ng till around 8:00 AM.  There followed first two little and then two big c=
limbs up Mount Success.  This was quite tiring (as we were warned) and incl=
uded some rock climbs and open slabs.  The surface was dry enough to just "=
walk" up the slabs, but with some of the steep slopes you always prayed tha=
t your boots wouldn't slip.  If you slipped you'd go down a long way!  The =
more cautious hiker might make their way along the margins of the slabs whe=
re there might be dirt or an occasional root to grab onto, but after a whil=
e you would say, just do it, up, up and away!  Payslee complained that ther=
e seemed to be no switch-backs anywhere in the east (actually it's just the=
 north-east).  The open summit was windy and cool - quite refreshing actual=
ly.

Coming down off the summit, there were lots of board walks - very easy goin=
g.  We moved down across a valley and then up to the NH-Maine State line.  =
Now this was a real accomplishment for me.  Since my first AT section hike =
this year back on April 7th at the Delaware Water Gap, this was now my 7th =
State (and the last for this year).  I'm sure this is a great moment for an=
y AT hiker.  Then it was up and over a hump and down into Carlo Col.  This =
involved an extremely tough rock scramble down.  I'm glad we were going dow=
n, not up that one (at least I think so - sometimes going down is actually =
worse than going up).  We dropped our packs and went down the side trail (a=
bout 1/4 mile) to Carlo Col Shelter.  The water there was rather sparse, to=
 say the least.  Basically a few puddles in an otherwise dry stream bed.  B=
ut we were able to pump a liter or two and we sat outside the shelter for a=
 nice lunch break.  After lunch we got going again around 2:00 PM.  On the =
way up the side trail back to the AT, we passed Honey and Homey and Buckeye=
 plus two day hikers (returning from a hike up to Gose Eye) all going down =
to get some water.  On a hot day like this everyone was drinking a lot of w=
ater.

Then it was up Mount Carlo - steep but not a killer.  The top was open slab=
s of rock and there was Duck Tape sunning himself on one of the summit rock=
s.  A steep down slope was followed by the climb up Goose Eye.  My notes sa=
y this was the "most exhausting climb all year".  (It turns out that that r=
ecord would not last a day.) The 80 degree temperature certainly didn't hel=
p!  We were shortly passed by Honey and Homey and then Duck Tape.  I waited=
 for Payslee and helped her up some horrendous rock climbs. The trail misse=
s the summit by a small amount, so I took the very easy side trail over to =
the summit to "bag" it (one of the New England 100 highest).  This had a ro=
ck outcropping and some nice views back towards the west.  Then back to the=
 trail.  Although this first peak (called the West Peak) is the highest, th=
e other two peaks (East Peak and North Peak) are actually much more exposed=
 and there is a near alpine environment along the ride line.   I guess the =
wind is channeled around and over this range and these two lower peaks get =
more of the blast of the prevailing winds.

At around the middle peak of Goose Eye (called the East Peak) we ran out of=
 water (in spite of the nearly 2 liters we had started with at Carlo Col) s=
o we just dogged it on and down to the shelter, about 2 miles.  When I fina=
lly got to Full Goose Shelter, I must have looked exhausted and mentioned h=
ow dry we were, so Homey graciously poured a cup of water and gave it to me=
.  Besides Honey and Homey, Duck tape and Buckeye were there.  I drank the =
precious gift down and immediately got my pump out and found the water sour=
ce.  It was a stream bed which had only slightly more water than Carlo Col,=
 and was actually flowing slowly.  Payslee showed up and found me down at t=
he stream and helped with the pumping chores.

We were very tired.  Payslee later said that this was the hardest day for h=
er of the whole trip (mine would come tomorrow).  We were both dehydrated a=
nd did not eat quite enough to make up for all the effort we had expended. =
 We basically ate and got right of to bed.  Tomorrow would be the infamous =
Mahoosuc Notch, which we looked forward to with some trepidation.


Day 2 Trail Miles: 9.6, Extra miles: 0.8, Total: 10.4
Aggregate Trail Miles: 21.4, Aggregate Total 22.4
Peaks: Mount Success (3565'), Mount Carlo (3565'), Goose Eye (3870').

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Day 3: September 9, 2002
Full Goose Shelter to Speck Pond Shelter
Weather: Sunny, humid, 65 degrees, rising to the mid 80s

Today was the day to do Mahoosuc Notch!  I woke early and was up at 6:00 AM=
.  We knew we needed an early start and we got off by 7:35.  Most of the re=
st of the crew were still in their bags when we left.  But then again, they=
 moved faster than us.

The first job was to get up and over Fulling Mill Mountain.  This had some =
steep crags going up, a very rough area.  It was actually a nice walk along=
 the top of the mountain. We managed to see a Spruce Grouse right by us on =
the trail.  Then it was very steep down into the Notch.  We arrived there a=
t 9:05 AM, just as Honey and Homey caught up with us.  They went on through=
 and we didn't see them again that day.  We took our time but soon got goin=
g through.

It was a very tough trek, very slow going.  There were many rock scrambles =
over and under huge boulders.  In the lower sections the temperature was ac=
tually rather cool - down around 60 degrees.  Occasionally you would get a =
blast of warm air, actually just the normal outside air, but compared to wh=
ere we were it almost seemed super heated.  There was some trial and error =
and retracing of routes to find a better way through, and a few places wher=
e we had to step (or "leap" would be closer to it) over gaps between rocks =
- this was a little scary.  We had to take our packs off twice - both times=
 when we climbed under some rocks and had to squeeze on the way up on the o=
ther side.  At the second of these places I knocked the bite valve off my P=
latypus hose (scraped it off against the rock I was squeezing by).  I quick=
ly tied the hose into a knot (after losing a small stream of water).  I had=
 an extra valve in my pack so this wasn't a disaster, but luckily I found t=
he original valve at my feet, so all turned out OK.

At one place after about an hour and 45 minutes it seemed to end, but that =
turned out to be a false ending.  Soon thereafter the real end came and the=
 trail curved slightly up and to the left and the notch opened up.  We were=
 through.  It took about 2 hours.  We thought that was pretty respectable c=
ompared to the stories we had heard.  A stream trickled through the Notch (=
we were actually moving "down stream") mostly way below where we were scram=
bling, but at the end we could actually see a real stream.

Was it that hard?  Not so much hard as slow and tricky.  Rock climbs are al=
ways slow and only when you try to move quickly are they hard.  My advice; =
take your time, have some fun.  Don't let it psyche you out.

Then the real hard part came.  They don't tell you this, but Mahoosuc Notch=
 is there just to soften you up, to beat you up a bit.  Then comes Mahoosuc=
 Arm.  As my notes say this was "the longest, steepest ever".  It really wa=
s.  Although there were a few rock climbs, the hardest parts were a series =
of very steep rock slabs that seemed to go up at about a 45 degree angle th=
at went on and on, up and up for about a mile.  The total elevation rise is=
 about 1500' in something over a mile. Part way up we crossed a stream flow=
ing over a rock slab where there were a couple of weekenders getting water.=
  We were just warming up in our climb, but we should have stopped there fo=
r some water.

So first you do the notch, then you start up the arm, what else?  85 degree=
 hot and humid sun, that's what else!  By the time we got to the top of the=
 arm, we had run out of water, that's twice in 2 days.  We both realized th=
at we weren't in shape to make it to Grafton Notch, which was the plan, so =
I said, let's just get to the Shelter (Speck Pond Shelter) and call it a da=
y.  Great decision.

But I had to let my car shuttle (from Pine Ellis in Andover) know we'd be a=
 day late.  Otherwise they would be waiting for us on Route 26 while we set=
tled in at Speck Pond.  I tried to get to Pine Ellis on my cell phone from =
the top of the Arm but couldn't get through.  As a last resort I tried to c=
all my wife in New York City, and yes, the phone rang and she was there.  G=
reat.  I told her to please call Pine Ellis and tell them where we were and=
 that we would be in a day late.  The connection was flaky and I just hoped=
 she had got the number and the message right.  I had to keep walking in di=
fferent directions to get a good signal.

That done, we had to trek on the last mile on empty Platypi (Platypusses?).=
  You can't believe how good it was to see Speck Pond as we hiked down the =
eastern slope of Mahoosuc Arm.  Payslee was justifiably miffed that when we=
 finally got to the pond, we couldn't just jump in but had to walk half way=
 around the damn pond to get to the shelter.  But get there we did, and we =
were soon greeted by Tom, the care taker.  We dropped our stuff and made ou=
r way down to the pond to pump water and yes, I actually took a dip in this=
 cold body of water.  Somewhere I read it's the highest pond in Maine.

We actually had a short day: around 5 miles of hiking (in 7 1/2 hours!).  B=
ut I consider this by far the toughest 5 miles I've ever hiked. Change that=
: the toughest day of ANY length I've ever hiked!  The combination of the N=
otch, the Arm and the heat and humidity made it the worst.  But getting int=
o camp at 3:00 PM and being able to jump in the cold waters of Speck Pond p=
ut me in a good mood rather quickly and I began to feel rather proud that w=
e had got through this "toughest mile on the AT" (should be "toughest 2 mil=
es") in good shape.  Now we can go off and tell folks who have yet to do it=
 "Oh it wasn't too bad, a little rough here and there, a bit steep, but not=
hing we couldn't handle".  I love how the human mind works, don't you?

I had a nice time to relax and catch up on my notes and the book I was read=
ing.  I almost fell asleep.  Dinner was great and we were almost ready for =
bed (about 7:30 PM), when out of the dark, three hikers (Bob, Scott and Vic=
ky) suddenly showed up.  Too bad our private shelter was suddenly no longer=
 private.  And one of them was a smoker, but he knew enough to stay outside=
 to smoke.  It turns out they were from the Connecticut Lakes area on NH (t=
he far far north end of the state) and had a long drive getting here.  They=
 had hiked up a side trail and were going to go down the Arm and through th=
e Notch the following day.  Naturally since we were experts on this section=
 we assured them not to worry, it's just slow going, no big deal.  Right!

At this point I was looking to put on my nice fleece shirt and I realized "=
sh*t", I had left it at Full Goose Shelter that morning.  Payslee remembere=
d seeing it sitting there and she thought it was someone else's.  This was =
a bit of a pain, since if the temperatures turned back to the seasonable no=
rm, I would really need this.  I wrote a note in the register to both NOBOs=
 and SOBOs hoping either a NOBO would have picked it up and see the note, o=
r a SOBO would read the note and look for it when they got there.  I promis=
ed ice cream and beer to any one who found it and left my home address and =
also the place I would be straying in Andover over the next couple of days.

Then I checked the cell phone signal and it had gotten much stronger in the=
 night, so I called Pine Ellis and got Eileen on the line.  My wife had ind=
eed gotten through to them, so all was OK.  She even said that she reassure=
d my worried wife that where we were staying was safe and actually a rather=
 nice place.  With all the loose ends tied up, I got off to a well earned s=
leep.

Day 3 Trail Miles: 5.1
Aggregate Trail Miles: 26.5, Aggregate Total 27.5
Peaks: Mahoosuc Arm (3770')

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Day 4: September 10, 2002
Speck Pond Shelter to Route 26 (Grafton Notch)
Weather: Sunny, 65 degrees, rising to the mid 80s

I awoke refreshed and got up around 6:40 AM.  I could tell this would be an=
other hot day.  We had a nice leisurely breakfast, broke camp and got going=
 around 8:15.  This would be an easy day since it was really just the secon=
d half of yesterday's hike, according to the original plan.  We were defini=
tely more rested, better fed, and more fully hydrated than we had been for =
the last couple of days.

Today's job was to climb the short stretch up to Old Speck (although the tr=
ail doesn't quite make it to the summit) and then the long but relatively e=
asy descent to Grafton Notch.

The climb up Old Speck was actually quite steep, with many very steep, roug=
h rock slabs.  But mercifully it was rather short compared to Mahoosuc Arm =
and it helped to be up and at 'em first thing in the morning.  We reached t=
he top about 9:45 AM.  This wasn't really the top of Old Speck.  The side t=
rail to the summit continued straight ahead whereas the AT took a left hand=
 turn.  It was obvious that the Old Speck trail used to be the official rou=
te of the AT, but that had somehow got rerouted off the summit sometime in =
the past.

I dropped my pack and Payslee decided to take a rest at this point while I =
went on to bag the peak.  It was a very easy 0.3 miles with little elevatio=
n gain, and I was there in about 10 minutes.  I took some pictures and clim=
bed the observation tower for some views and more pictures.  I was very pro=
ud of doing this since it was the first tower I was able to climb all the w=
ay in all our hikes this year.  I was getting over my acrophobia of towers,=
 a bit at least.  To be honest it was a rather wimpy tower, but I did it!  =
I also called Pine Ellis B&B in Andover and arranged for a shuttle to pick =
us up in Grafton Notch in the early afternoon.

I made the short trip back to Payslee, had a bite to eat and we got going o=
n our long descent (2500' down in about 3 1/2 miles). The descent was not t=
oo bad, a few rock ledges interspersed with easy hiking down the ridge.  At=
 one point we came to a wide open ledge with a precipitous drop over the ed=
ge.  A cliff to be exact.  At first we didn't see which direction the trail=
 took and recalling what we had been over in the last few days we assumed i=
t was just possible we were expected to descend over that sheer rock face. =
 But thankfully it was not to be.  The trail took a right turn and made a l=
ong circuitous detour around this rock face.  When we got to the bottom and=
 looked back we saw just how precipitous this cliff was.  I guess even in M=
aine there are limits to where they put the trail!

The lower part of the descent was largely along side of a practically dry s=
tream bed.  This had many large boulders and ledges and it would be marvelo=
us to see this at full flow in the Spring time.

We got to the parking lot around 1:00 PM and had a nice rest since the shut=
tle wasn't due for about an hour.  Down here in the valley it was a rather =
hot and humid afternoon.  We were picked up by the Ellis' grandson, and soo=
n arrived at Pine Ellis, a lovely old home in the midst of Andover.  There'=
s not much in this town: 2 little general stores, a restaurant, a fire stat=
ion, a post office, a town hall (whose bell tower counts the hours all nigh=
t long - 5 minutes late!),  and three (count 'em 1 - 2 - 3) hiker hostels. =
 Lots of competition for hikers in this minimalist town.  Paul Ellis and hi=
s wife Eileen (whom I had spoken to a number of time over the phone) were c=
harming and hospitable.  They informed me that the segment of the trail we =
had just done was the hardest of the entire trail.  (Seems like everyone al=
ong the trail wants to claim that distinction.  But in this case at least I=
 believe it was true).  We had ice cream, did the laundry, did some shoppin=
g, and got a good rest.  We had a scrumptious and very cheap meal at Addies=
 Restaurant.  This little town was a god send for the tired and broke AT hi=
ker!

Day 4 Trail Miles: 4.6, Extra miles: 0.6, Total: 5.2
Aggregate Trail Miles: 31.1, Aggregate Total 32.7
Peaks: Old Speck (4180')

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To be continued ...