We were thinking of going a full service breakfast but we end up making a Dunkin stop for expediency. I don't know how long the hike is going to take today; I don't think it will take much more than six or seven hours but I'd like to get back early enough to have some down time and prepare for my day tomorrow.
Dad drops me off at Grafton Notch and I'm on the trail before 8 A.M. I'm pretty curious to see what the trail is going to be like since this will be the first full day of hiking where the trail is maintained by the Maine ATC and not the AMC.
The trail starts out straight uphill from Grafton Notch, but its easy enough to maintain a steady pace. When I get to the turn off for the Baldpate Lean-to (all Maine shelters are called Lean-tos), I start down this blue-blazed trail because I want to check out the Maine shelters and see how they compare to other states. Additionally, I like stopping by the shelters and reading the logs to see if there's any familiar names in them and I can see how far behind I am from other people I might know. I get halfway down the trail and then decide I'll wait until the next shelter, which is right off the AT.
Once I am back to the split with the Appalachian Trail I see a woman hiking up. She has a small pack and a very long pony tail and the look of the thru hiker. Her name is Rapunzel. She is section hiking and just started from Gorham. She is going to Katahdin for this section, where she will finish her journey of the Appalachian Trail. We chat for a few minutes and she says I can go ahead since I'm probably faster because I've been hiking longer, but I defer to her and say that I am taking it easy today. I really don't like to break a sweat when it's cold and blustery.
We chat for a few minutes but the chatter ceases when we encounter hundreds of tall rock steps up to the summit. The trail starts to get very steep and I follow her up. She sets a good pace for the next thousand feet of gain. She says she doesn't like to "stoppy until I get to the tippy toppy," which I think is super cute, but a little masochistic.
We reach the summit (3,332 feet) at the same time and stop to take in the gorgeous views. Two men are hiking up in the opposite direction. They are flip-floppers who flipped up to Katahdin from the Vermont/ Massachusetts border and that is where they're going to finish. One gentleman is named Father Time and he is almost to his home in Massachusetts. The other man hiking with him is from Ireland and named Blue Jeans. He says he is really enjoying his time on the AT.
There are some pretty views on West Baldpate, but the mountain that stands out is East Baldpate. It is a huge rock monolith directly in front of us. Rapunzel and I say "happy trails" to the hikers and we descend from our vantage and then go up Baldpate.
The short hike up Baldpate is a series of rock ledges that are stacked on one another at a canted angle. They are quite easy to climb up and walk across, with no strewn boulders. It's easy to navigate with many cairns to lead the way. At the top of Baldpate Mountain we have the most incredible view - 270 degrees of mountains. I use Peakfinder to identify the mountains around us. I don't recognize most of the names, but I do recognize Mountain Mitchell that's in Northern Vermont.
To the South, I can see many mountains I've summited for the last 70 miles, from Mount Washington in the background to Goose Eye Peak to Old Speck in the foreground.
I was going to eat my lunch up here but it's way too cold. I don't stop to put on my down puffy, I want to descend to take me out of the wind. Rapunzel plans on stopping at the next shelter and that sounds like a great idea.
The descent down is rock scrambly but manageable with several well placed ladders. I like the Maine ATC already!
As soon as I descend a short way, I stop to shed layers and tell Rapunzel I will meet her at the shelter. I take it easy on the way down, because my knees are still sore from the Whites.
When I arrive at the shelter It's 12:15 Rapunzel's pack is here, but she is not. She must be down filtering water. There is an older gentleman sitting in the shelter and I guess from the gear that is laying behind him that he is trail maintainer. We introduce ourselves and he confirms my guess.
He is out here scoping out trail maintenance projects. Rapunzel returns and he tells us how the Maine ATC is replacing every single privy along the length of the trail. A southbounder arrives and we are all captivated by his description of the process; a helicopter lifts out the old privy, then up to 3,000 pounds of supplies are lifted or carried in, and it takes 20 to 30 people to do all this work. They are also flying in bear boxes when they do the privy replacement. This guy and the other volunteers who do this are amazing!
My stomach is filled to the brim with a ham sandwich and blueberries Dad packed for me. I say goodbye and thank the gentlemen for all of his hard work and effort and how wonderful it is to have people like him taking care of the trail that we love and enjoy.
From the shelter the trail starts another climb over large rocks for 650 feet of gain. On the other side of the rise is a delightfully level dirt path. While quite rooty, it's still very nice compared to the constant rocky torture of New Hampshire.
The vegetation looks like summer is waning and fall is here, even though it's only the middle of August. Fallen leaves cover the ground in spots, and many of the plants that I've seen green and lush for the last few months are turning yellow and dying. The witch hazel, Solomons seal, and the toxic red baneberry are yellow and brown. I wonder how much is attributable to normal New England weather or due to the drought.
The next three miles of hiking are absolutely heavenly. If this is what Maine is going to be like I will take all the rocks scrambles just to have these little stretches of nice dirt trails. I am just enjoying the wind blowing through the trees and watching the leaves flutter to the ground, not a care in the world!
I'm almost to the road when I near a stream with a waterfall. The Dunn Cascades are very pretty even with the lower water levels. There's a much larger waterfall on a side trail above the AT but I pass on that one because Dad is going to be waiting for me at the road crossing.
I make it to the trail head on East B Hill Road by 3:00 p.m., which is one of the fastest days since leaving Vermont!
Today's Stats: 10.5 miles, 3,655 feet gain
Trail Stats: 1,941 miles, 398K feet gain
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