Another specialty of Hiker's Paradise was their breakfast menu. They have separate menu just for hikers and most of the specials are all-you-can-eat. Bruno claims there's a $.50 penalty if you don't clean your plate, but he'll sell you breakfast insurance for a dime. I haven't been very hungry in the morning lately, so I just had their version of an egg McMuffin, but Ronald and Brandon both put away very healthy portions.

Somehow we got scheduled for different shuttle times back to the trailhead, so Brandon and I, along with Mr. Bojangles, drove out first with Bruce, then Ronald came next. Bruce is a wealth of trail knowledge, and rattled off all kinds of information about the AT, and side trails and roads that could be used in emergencies. He grew up in New Hampshire and Maine, and knows this area like the back of his hand.

Once Ronald got there, we started up the road toward the mountains by 8:15. The first two miles were on a paved road across the Androscoggin River, then down an old woods road. This gave us time to warm up before our first climb, a 2000 foot chug over Mt. Hays. That was followed quickly by a shorter climb over Cascade Mtn.

All morning I'd been waiting for the huge Mahoosuc boulders to start. I remembered a series of box canyon-like boulder climbs up and over. My memory hadn't failed me, although my knees came pretty close. Those familiar boulders started as we descended down toward Trident Col for lunch. There were many places where we found ourselves looking straight down a pile of boulders, and having to plot a way to get down. You could climb straight down through the middle, grabbing onto or sliding through cracks in the rocks. Or, you could grab onto trees along the sides and sort of swing down. Ronald and Brandon usually opted for the direct route, while I usually opted for the grab and swing method. What really would have been great was if there was a series of strong vines, so you could swing down over the whole mess, Tarzan style. Only with my luck, it would probably be more like George of the Jungle, "Watch out for that treeeeeeeee…" Smack!!!" But, no such vines every materialized, so the whole issue was moot.

It looked like rain as we approached Trident Col. I thought we might have to throw up the tarp for lunch, but it never rained more than a sprinkle. The campsite and water were way off the trail, so in retrospect, we should have gone down without packs, but we thought it was much closer. While trying to pump water from the stream, the Sweetwater filter totally gave up the ghost. It wasn't dirty and squirting, just no suction at all -- nothing in -- nothing out. We had just replaced the filter cartridge in Virginia. One more problem to solve.

We were right in the middle of the pack of hikers who left Gorham this morning, so we leap-frogged hikers all day. After lunch, our only big climb was up out of the Col, by Page Pond and Wocket Ledge (sounds like a little kid trying to say rocket -- I wonder how it really got its name). Easy, Whispering Pine, Rareback and Honeybear were already spread out on the ledge, enjoying the sunshine. Mr. Bojangles was off to the side finishing the lunch that the earlier threat of rain had rudely interrupted. He's a real interesting man. He's 58 years old, and just thru-hiked in 1995. Not sure why he's doing it again so soon, but he goes like a mountain goat on the rocks. He really doesn't like crowds of hikers, so tends to stay on the fringes of the big groups.

After a snack break on the ledge, the trail for the rest of the afternoon was fairly mellow, since we had our major climbing out of the way. We meandered up and down past Dream Lake, Upper Gentian Pond, Moss Pond, then finally Gentian Pond and the shelter. Stopped for water at the stream coming into the pond. Pine let us use her pump, and Honeybear offered some of their Polar iodine treatment. Also, later in the evening, two women at the shelter gave us a bottle of iodine tablets. They were leading a group of backpackers, and were going home tomorrow, so wouldn't need them again. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we should be okay until we can make other arrangements for the pump.

The 23^rd Psalm keeps coming into my head at times like this. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…" On this trip, like the last, whenever we've been thrown a problem, there has been a solution, just when we've needed it. Equipment failures close to outfitters, people giving us rides, people loaning us their vehicles (now there's an act of faith!), hikers and hiker service people going out of their way to be helpful. We've really been blessed to be a part of this all. I can feel how we're being watched over, and I'm extremely grateful.

Once at the shelter, the chaos of the evening began. I thought there'd been a lot of hikers last night in Gorham, but that was only the beginning. Hikers poured in steadily until almost dark. Someone counted 27 people in the area - 12 in the shelter, and the rest on tent platforms, or any "flat" spot they could find. Some were out for short hikes of a few days, but most were thru-hikers. It was like a class reunion, because many of them hadn't seen each other in weeks. We met several hikers we'd been hearing about. Spaz, Tumbles and Carni were there. Spaz and Tumbles were two women Northbounders. Carni (short for carnivore) was Spaz' brother. They used to be The Fab Four, while Carni's girlfriend Herbivore was still hiking. But, Herbivore fell and broke her hip outside of Harper's Ferry, so now they are the Fab Four -1. However, this week, another friend Rob (who's working on a trail name) was with them, so their number is temporarily back to four. (Would that make them the Fab Four -1, +1? It's all very complicated!) Also met Smokin' Joe and Lone Wolf, and several Southbounders who's names I didn't get. It was exciting listening to them exchange trail stories and catch up until well after dark. But, I also felt just a little out of the loop, since we aren't official thru-hikers this time out. That's probably more my own insecurities than anything else.

The view from the huge double decker shelter down to the valley below was striking. It was even lovelier as the sun faded, and the flickering lights from the occasional house mixed with the warm light from the campfire. Went to bed thinking of the challenge of Mt. Success in the morning.

Leaving town is never easy and today was no exception. Bruce came around last night to schedule our shuttle to the trailhead. We were able to schedule and early ride. Still, sitting in the restaurant and watching a light rain falling did little to raise my enthusiasm for hiking. By the time I'd managed to finished my heaping plateful of food, the rain had tapered to a slight drizzle. Another thing killing my desire to leave was the memory of this section from twenty years ago. Then there was a brand new relocation that added a number of miles to the trail. The relocation was over a couple hot and dry mountains, while the old AT traveled downhill along a stream for most of the distance.

Luckily today's hike wasn't as bad as I remembered. I also think the ATC has done some additional rerouting. For the most part the trail climbed a couple of mountains this morning. It was far less steep and easier than the last few days in the Whites. There was an added benefit to the hike. On the rocky top of Mt. Hays there was a patch of blueberries. We stopped for awhile with RareBack, HoneyBear, and Easy 8 to enjoy our good fortune.

The rain last night kept the temperatures down making hiking more comfortable. At the same time it made all of the rocks wet. There were a number of times when the trail climbed or descended the steep slick rock faces. We had a time trying to keep our footing. I fell as many times today as in the entire southern section. After awhile I quit keeping score of our falls. None of the fall was serious, but they tended to diminish ones confidence.

By this afternoon the weather had improved greatly. The sun made an appearance and we felt better. By the time we reached the shelter things were looking up. The only down side was our Sweetwater pump died. When we stopped for lunch it was difficult to pump more than a couple of quarts. It finally wouldn't pump at all. We were able to borrow Whispering Pines pump to get water for dinner. The leaders from a camp gave us the rest of their bottle of Iodine tablets. They were leaving the trail tomorrow and wouldn't need them.

Gentian Pond Lean-to is one of the nicest we've encountered. It's located near the outlet of a pond with a great view of the valley below. The structure is more like a cabin than a lean-to. With two levels sleeping platforms and a broad floor it can accommodate a lot of hikers. That was fortunate, because there are a lot of us here tonight.

In addition to Cowboy's group, the Fab Four joins us. Composed of Spaz, Tumbles, Smokin' Joe and Carney, they had taken time off in Gorham allowing us to catch them. There are also a number of southbound hikers here. I'd swear there are more thru-hikers here tonight than completed the trail in '77. It's an amazing site to see. The shelter is full of people along with every available campsite.

Today we left Gorham with the sky looking like it was going to rain. It was overcast it and very humid. That made the first climb of the day very tough. Easy 8, Rareback and Honeybear caught us before we were at the top of the first mountain. At the top we sat and ate blueberries then left them there to continue eating blueberries. The trail continued to be going up and down and up and down. Finally the trail to Gentian Pond got easier. Dad's knees were still in pain from the Whites. So I let him borrow my two Leki Super Makalu Cor-Tec Anti-shock Trekking poles for the rest of the way to the pond. We eventually reached Gentian Pond. Mom and dad pumped water while I staked out a spot for us to sleep. After a while people started arriving one after another. The shelter soon became packed. Any flat ground around it was filled with tents. I met six new people today: Lone Wolf, Spaz, Tumbles, Carne, Smoking Joe, and Rob. The rest of the evening we sat around talking then we all went to bed.