We awoke this morning to the sound of rain on the roof of the shelter. I slept pretty well considering I was on the round sapling poles that comprised the floor of the shelter. This was one of the old shelters and its sleeping platform had not been replaced with flat planks. Instead we slept on saplings about the size of baseball bats. Twenty years ago, all shelters in Maine had that type of floor. Now days only a couple of them are left. There was a leak in the roof where a couple of big trees had fallen on the shelter. We rigged a tarp last night so everyone in the shelter slept dry.

I still didn't like the sound of the falling rain. Our last experience of hiking in the rain was still too fresh in my memory, and it wasn't a pleasant one. Still, we would be leaving the wilderness today, and there was a camp set up where we could dry out when we were done. Brandon and I started hiking in the light rain a little after 8:00. It was 11.5 miles to the next shelter. Fortunately the terrain was relatively flat, because I knew that once we started we probably wouldn't stop until we reached it.

In the four-hour hike to Hurd Brook Shelter, we stopped once for a couple of minutes to eat a package of cheese crackers. The climb up over Rainbow Ledges provided us with no views and little temptation to stop and browse on the blueberry bushes along the trail. Instead we walked through a river of cold water flowing down the rock ledges. After a while there was no point trying to keep our boots dry. So we gave up and simply slogged through the pools in the trail. Our only warmth came from the exertion of hiking. Within an hour our jackets were soaked but they provided some protection from the wind. We knew that if we stopped hiking we would be cold within moments.

At Hurd Brook we stopped to dry out a bit and warm up. Virginia Creeper and Lone Wolf had passed us on the climb to Rainbow Ledges and had gone on to Abol Bridge without stopping. I wanted to stop long enough to make sure Brandon would be ok. Hypothermia is a real possibility in this kind of weather. Seeker Street also decided to stop for awhile. When Whispering Pine, Joplin, Shadow, Minty Fresh arrived, they decided to push on without a break.

After snacks and cups of hot chocolate, we put our wet clothes back on and set out for Abol Bridge. We covered the last 3.5 miles to the bridge in under one hour. There was a lot of incentive driving us. The bridge represented the end of the wilderness and a nice warm camp. Just before getting to the store, we passed Whispering Pine's brother, Pine Stump shuttling Loan Wolf and Virginia Creeper back to camp. We proceeded on to the store to pick up supplies and he said he would pick us up in a bit. The first things Brandon and I bought were hot drinks and donuts. Then we set to work getting things we'd need for the next couple of days.

Soon Pine Stump arrived to take us to camp. Once there, we quickly climbed into the camper to change clothes and get warm. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and eating. Soon talk turned to going into Millinocket and getting a hotel room for the night. It didn't take much to convince me that it was a good idea. I like the outdoors and camping but I like being warm and dry much more. Now that the trail is winding down I'm looking forward to spending hours indoor.

In town we got a room at a hotel and Brandon and I got showers and spread out the wet clothes to dry. There is a Chinese Restaurant here at the hotel and we went down for supper. All in all it's not a bad way to end a cold wet day of hiking.

Today we woke up after it rained all night. We had an easy 14 miles to cover. It was a crowded shelter last night and everyone was getting up and slowly packing up, because nobody wanted to go out in the rain. We were definitely in no hurry, but we still left before most everyone. We got completely soaking wet before we had even gone five miles, and eventually gave up and stepped in all the puddles instead of taking more time going around them. We got to the shelter after hiking 11.5 miles and ate lunch, then took off and did the last 3.5 miles into Abol Bridge in less than an hour. When we got to Abol, we walked down to the store and got some hot chocolate to warm us up, because we were freezing from the rain. We got some snacks and breakfasts we would need for Katahdin, then went outside and waited for Pine's family to pick us up and take us to the campground. They came about five minutes later, and took us to where they were camped. We changed into warm clothes and got something to drink. We warmed up in a hurry and watched Wolf, Creeper, Pine Stump and Papa Pine play horseshoes.

After a while, a group of us decided we wanted to go into Millinocket for the night, so we piled into the car and the Pines drove us into town. We checked into a hotel, then went to our room and showered and had dinner. After dinner we watched some TV, then went to bed.