Speck Pond Shelter campsite to Fry Notch Lean-To campsite - 10.4 miles hiked today - 1931.7 total AT miles to date
A mixed bag today, with great weather in the early part of the day, and rain in the afternoon. We climbed up and over Old Speck mountain and down into Grafton Notch, where we had lunch. The morning terrain was relatively mild, and we covered 6 miles in just over 5 hours. Lots of interesting water crossings and small waterfalls to see.
The afternoon proved to be more of a challenge, as we climbed up Baldplate East and West peaks. These both included portions that were essentially sheer cliff faces in parts, and required careful placement of anchoring feet and hand(s). Once we crested the 2nd peak and started down, the sky opened up and the rain let loose. It followed us all the way to the shelter. Once there, every tent site was taken by a youth team from Upward Bound, a program for at-risk youth. While the others opted to spend the night in the shelter, I backtracked a quarter mile to a stealth site and pitched my tent. Tomorrow is a long day so we’ll be leaving before 7.
Until next time…
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