The rain of last evening was replaced this morning with clear blue skies and cool temperatures. Those factors greatly contributed to the ease of the climb and the beautiful views off Baldpate Mountain. Brandon and I left early this morning while everyone was still in the process of breaking camp. It is our first day of hiking without Linda. There certainly is a hole in our hiking party.

The hike down Baldpate was steep. The large slabs of rock slant at an angle that constantly makes me question the traction properties of my soles. Metal ladders were placed in some spots to aid in the descent. One of these ladders was just propped into place and poorly secured. It was almost worse than not having the ladder. I was glad when the descent was over and we reached the ridge.

A short time later we hit a side trail that was formally the AT 20 years ago. It travels down to the falls on Frye Brook. That was an area that had special meaning to Linda and me on our '77 hike. We spent the afternoon of July 4th there relaxing and playing in the water. We had intended to hike further, but once we hit that spot we had to stop. A year later the AT was rerouted away from the falls. Linda and I had intended to skip the new AT and hike the trail down to the falls. I wanted to take Brandon to see one of our favorite spots.

The old AT still exists as a blue blaze trail, although the trail is not well maintained. For the most part it follows an old road down off the ridge. As the trail gets closer to Frye Brook, it improves. When we reached the area of the falls, it was just as I remembered. Linda's absence at that moment was greatly felt. We stopped for lunch and I took some photos in the same places as twenty years ago. This time Brandon was the subject.

A short hike put us on East B Hill Road. From there we did a two and a half-mile road walk back to the AT. By the time we got back to the trail I was in a real state of confusion. Part of me wanted to go on, but mainly I wanted to get into town and find out what happened to Linda. We had agreed yesterday to meet in Rangeley. Still I didn't like not knowing if she was safe. I knew Whispering Pines' parents were planning on meeting her at the road crossing. So we stuck around to see if we could get a ride into Andover. I figured from there we could get in touch with Linda then possibly skip around to Rangeley for a few days until she recovers.

We didn't have to wait long at the road before Mama and Papa Pine arrived. After introductions and some discussion, we were offered cold drinks and whoopee pies. That drink was well needed after the hot road walk. While we were waiting for Whispering to arrive, Mama Pine gave Brandon and I a ride into town. She even offered us a ride to Rangeley to meet Linda if we needed it.

It took a couple of phone calls to locate Linda at Hiker's Paradise in Gorham. She'd gotten a ride quickly and was obviously in good hands. So there was no need for me to worry. Bruce was going to shuttle her up to Rangeley on Friday. With no need for Brandon and I to get off the trail, there wasn't much for us to do but continue on. We had a couple big hamburgers in the only restaurant in town. By now the Pines had returned with Whispering and Lone Wolf, who were planning to stay in town. After dinner Papa Pine shuttled Brandon and I back out to the trail.

Back on the trail, Brandon was a man on a mission. It was almost 5:00 when we arrived, and the rest of the group had gone on to Hall Mountain Lean-to some six miles away. I figured we'd hike for a couple of hours then find someplace to crash. Brandon obviously had other plans. He was determined to make it to the shelter. With the shelter in mind, he took off like a rocket. When we blitzed the two miles to Surplus Pond in about forty minutes, I knew we were flying. We pulled in to the shelter around 7:30 much to my amazement. Cowboy and Easy 8 were also quite surprised since they didn't expect to see us until at least Rangeley.

Today we left Baldpate Shelter and hiked our first day without mom. The hike up Baldpate was steep, but beautiful from the top we could see everywhere. Down Baldpate was fun because it was very steep so we had to hold on to trees and swing down. At the Bottom of Baldpate was a side trail that was part of the trail when my parents did the trail 20 years ago. We took that trail and dad was happy to go down Memory lane. The series of cascading waterfalls at Fry Brook were beautiful .We got some of the same pictures mom and dad got 20 years ago. When we took the side trail it took us off the AT we had a two and a half-mile road walk to get back to the trail. The road walk was long and tiring but it finally was over. We waited for Whispering Pine's Parents to show up so we could get a ride to town. They did show up and they came with a cooler full of pop and candy. I took a Coke and a Twix then we rode into town with the Mama Pine. We called mom when we got into town then went and got a drink. Dad said that mom was doing great so we went and got dinner then got a ride back to he trail. We had originally planed to go to Hall Mt. Lean-to but it was already 5:00 and we were just going to hike until we saw a flat spot for setting up the tarp. We just kept hiking and hiking really fast until we got to the shelter. Once at the shelter we set up our tarp and ate dinner. We talked for a while then went to bed.

Didn't sleep soundly last night. The cold symptoms are gone, but I kept waking up during the night with muscle aches. My back and legs are really stiff and sore. The knee stiffness I understand, but I haven't had any back pain until now. My face is still all puffy, and I have big bags under my eyes, so I'm truly a sight to behold. I feel like I'm 100. Am I gradually falling apart or what? This is truly depressing.

I waited until the hikers went down to breakfast, then took a long hot bath to soak my weary bones. After that I felt well enough to hobble down to the restaurant. Most everyone was still there, so I had good company for breakfast. "Travelin' Light" was there. He’s from Florida, and the first hiker I’d seen packing a video camera. With accessories, it weighs in at over four pounds. I was a bit taken aback when he pointed it at me and said, "tell me about yourself". He’s sending the tapes back home so his wife can get a truer sense of his experiences on the trail. At first I thought he was nuts, and I still don't think I’d ever carry one, but for him it makes sense. He feels it is his way of thanking her for letting him take off for the entire summer. Other thru-hikers there were: Bat; Southbounders Tailor-made and Tenderfoot; and Top and Mobile, a French Canadian couple.

Yesterday's intermittent rain was gone and today was sunny and warm. I settled myself into the lounge chair on the second floor porch and began to write. At least this time off should allow me to catch up on my journal and some letters. I have three days to do nothing more than get better.

As I sat there in the sunshine, my thoughts frequently wandered off toward my physical dilemma. I was really struggling with the choice I'll have to make between now and Saturday morning. Do I "suck it up" and blast on, ignoring the knee pain? Or do I admit my own limitations and send Ronald and Brandon on to finish without me? That question will be foremost on my mind for the next few days.

The bright spot in my day came about 11:00 this morning. Mary Ann suddenly popped up the stairs with a basket of flowers in her hand. They were from Mom and Dad, and really lifted my spirits. I called Mom when I got in yesterday and I guess she could tell her "little girl" needed cheering up. I sat them on the window ledge to enjoy all day. In the evening, I took them downstairs to dinner so everyone else could enjoy them as well.

Ronald surprised me by calling this afternoon. I was really glad to hear from him, since I didn't think he'd be anywhere near a phone all week. He and Brandon managed to get a ride into Andover with Whispering Pine's family so they could check on me. They had a great trip through Mahoosuc Notch yesterday and were doing well. They didn't get the rain we had yesterday in Gorham, so the notch and Mahoosuc Arm were dry for their trip through. It looks like they are going to push some long days and try to get to Rangeley by Friday night. Ronald promised to treat everyone to pizza and beer for Easy 8's birthday on Friday. That's more than enough incentive for most hikers, so there could be a crowd. I'll meet them at the Farmhouse Inn. It's about an hour and a half drive from Gorham to Rangeley, and Bruce has already said he will shuttle me around on Friday afternoon.

Had grilled salmon again tonight. What a hardship! That's really roughing it, I know, especially since Ronald and Brandon are eating one of our dried dinners tonight. They're good, but can't compare with salmon. I feel guilty. I truly do… Hiker's Paradise has a TV and VCR in the restaurant, so when there is a big group of hikers, they'll sometimes rent a movie. Tonight Bruce rented "Jerry McGuire", so we all settled in, each with our favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry's for dessert, and watched Tom Cruise "show me the money!" Again, what a hardship! I realize this is getting me negative sympathy points, but I there's not much else I can do at the moment, but rest. So I might as well make the best of it, right? Right!