20 July - Grafton Notch

Cool, wet and foggy in the morning. Warmed up as the day progressed with scattered thunderstorms (but none on us).

We hiked out from Speck Pond today and down to Grafton Notch. Not a bad hike, although lots of steep downhill, we were down by 12:30. David from Pine Ellis Lodge met us (I called for reservations). He even had lemonade for us. Pine Ellis Lodge is a hiker hostel in Andover, ME (a 22 mile ride).

We are going to take a zero day here tomorrow. Flatlander (aka Slacklander) has arranged a slack-pack trip (or several) with Plans Too Much and Capt. Bly. We will be based here and hike through the area toward Rangely. They are hiking out too and have cars. They planned a zero tomorrow and we readily agreed. We need the rest after Mahoosuc Notch, need to dry our our gear, and the forecast is for thunderstorms tomorrow.

Also here is POW and TLC. Her knee is swollen and they have slowed. They are now only a day ahead and we hope to align. And Bart is here too! What a surprise. His finger is getting better. He is one or two days ahead.

Andover is small, one block. But it has great food within walking distance. We will explore it further and I will try to get a few pictures.