Day 22 - Monday, July 4

Linda

We ushered in the 4^th by staying in our sleeping bags all the way until 6:15. We all had trouble sleeping because of the heat and the vicious no-see-ums. The porcupines had also paid several noisy visits in the night to chew on the side of the lean-to. We never saw one, other than a dead one in the weeds, but we sure heard them. We were on the trail by 7:30 and made very good time. This section of the train was much more scenic than the stretch of 3 miles in from the road yesterday. We passed a couple hunting camps by C-Pond which we heard was a good swimming pond. We met the Van Auken crew by C-Pond breaking camp around 8:30. They were going into Andover for the day, so they quickly burned past us. We caught up to them again at Surplus Pond and we all stopped to munch and talk. We stayed at the pond for a while, watching some kids fishing and playing around on the water. There was a nice cabin on the lake with a jeep outside.

We walked the last 3 miles to Andover-B Road, mostly on a gravel road. We arrived at Frye Brook Lean-to at 12:30 and decided to cook our big meal there before going on. This was the first AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) maintained lean-to we've seen and it was easy to understand why they are so well spoken of. The AMC does a great job of maintaining trails and shelters, and are into other little flourishes here and there. We sat around enjoying the rest for a couple hours, then packed up to go up the stream a ways and get a jump on the Mahoosucs before tomorrow.

We had only walked about 5 minutes when we came to a steep part in the gorge where we watched a young man climbing up the cliff from the rocks below. It was a very impressive view. Frye Brook flows down the gorge into a flume-like waterfall, then into a deep churning pool. After finished climbing up, he said he was going to slide down the narrow rock flume. He'd already done it several times before we arrived. He told us his family comes up there each year, so he had done The Flume many times since he was a kid. We all climbed over on the rocks to watch his performance. He made it look so easy, as he aimed his body feet first, and rocketed down the frothy stream of water over the smooth channel of the flume, then splashed into the pool below. It was exhilarating to watch, but I doubt I'd ever have the nerve to try it myself. It was quite a drop. We watched him rocket down once more, and the second time, Ronald climbed down to the bottom by the pool and captured it on film.

We went on a little further and came on another waterfall called The Cataracts. This whole area was so beautiful, we were glad we had the time to stop and explore. I took some more pictures and Ronald climbed up across the top of the Cataracts. Richard went up the other side and they found a great campsite right beside the water. We decided it was worth it to stop and enjoy the afternoon, even if we had only come .2 miles from the lean-to. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring around all the rocks and waterfalls. Really a spectacular area! What a great way to spend the 4^th of July. We didn't even miss the fireworks! Turned in early at 7:30 to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow. The sky turned overcast and we had a sprinkle of rain about 6:30. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, or the rocks will be very dangerous.

Ron

We made great mileage today. After leaving Squirrel Rock Lean-to at 7:30 we were finished hiking by 12:30. Along the way here we stopped and took a leisurely two and a half hour lunch break. Tonight we are staying near Fry Brook Lean-to. The lean-to is located by beautiful Fry Brook.

Fry Brook has numerous pools and waterfalls. We got some good pictures of a guy sliding down a thirty foot chute into a pool of water. The trail was easy with only a slight climb followed by a long downhill road section.

We were planning to hike about a mile further up the trail, but stopped here because of the beauty of the place. With a long day planned for tomorrow this is a good place to rest. We plan to leave around 5:00 in the morning to make the climb up over Baldpate and Old Speck Mountain. If we succeed it will be a hard day. The weather today was mostly overcast, the temperature stayed in the upper 60's and low 70's. I hope the rain will hold back for another day or two until we are through this range of mountains.

It is a good feeling to know there are only twenty miles left to go in Maine. We've been wanting to leave for a long time. Somehow though I think I'll miss it. It's been a rough state with a hard trail. Never the less I've learned a lot about myself and my endurance. I have long felt that if we could endure Maine then we could complete the trail. I hope this is true.

I'm quite thankful for the trail because it has taught me many lessons. Patience is the most important lesson I've learned. This is one project your cannot rush. It has to be taken one day at a time. Now I am beginning to relax and take more time to enjoy the trail. The long hours of walking certainly gives me plenty of time for thought.

(10.5 Miles - 256.4 Total)