Weather: cloudy and light spotty rain
Trail: Grafton Notch State Park to Beamis Mountain ........... 11 miles
Jay and I made camp that night at a random location in the pines along the side of the trail. Rain threatened. We were both dreading wet weather. I strung a tight line between two pines and hung my homemade tarp over it. After guying it out tight, I felt satisfied it would keep me dry even in a windy wet night. At one point I thought it was starting to rain, but that was the sound of pine needles falling on my tarp. It was both a relaxing sound and a relieving sound to know it was not rain. Luckily, the rain never came. There's nothing worse than breaking a wet camp in the morning.
Here's the simple rain shelter I made last year. It's homewrap, a light weight waterproof membrane used in postal envelopes, housing construction and bio-hazard suits. Loops were sewed along the perimeter of the tarp. I can 'guy-line' the tarp out taught like a drum so it holds in the wind.
MacGuyver had gone into town of Andover, ME to resupply, and he got back on trail to follow us up the same trail a few hours later. He ended up camping alone about 100 yards short of our (Beans and I's) camp near the water. Beamis is a dry mountain to cross this time of year. The water source was a tiny trickle of a late summer, high altitude stream. There was one leaf folded over a rock to allow you to hold your bottle beneath and fill up on clear mountain water. We watered up as soon as we made camp, so we ended up not seeing him that night.
Sunday September 21st
Weather: sunny
Trail: Beamis Mountain to Sabbath Day Pond Lean to ................ 11 miles
Today a warm, sunny breeze carries a sweet pine fragrance. A glorious morning! I am not as stiff or sore as I had predicted I would be. Stretching at my day's end last night must have helped. The next trail town is Rangely, where Beans and I are both expecting a mail drop at the post office.
After much of the green tunnel all morning, we are rewarded with our first view of Mooselookmeguntic Lake from Beamis Mountain. The autumn foliage is just beginning to pop! The amazing colorful panorama is absolutely gorgeous.
There was much speculation as to how this lake got it's name. One local
told the story like this: "there was a hunter who spotted a large Bull
Moose, he said 'Moose! Look!' then pulled the trigger of his gun, but
the gun failed to fire and made a 'tic' instead." The truth is that the
indigenous Abnaki gave the lake this name to mean "moose feeding place."
Beans on the way down Beamis Mountain.
My trail name is T-Mello. I have met many northbounders and some flip-flopers just in the few days I've been on the trail. So far I've met Thespian, Hardheaded, Guitarzan, Fuego Borego, Atlas, Wolf Kisses, Papa Shrimp, Shrimpette, Chosen, Rehab, Jukebox, Forager. Other entertaining trail names I've heard of are Smokey the Beard, Muffin Man, Twinkle Toes, Sparkle Feet, Blazing Sandals, Hippy Longstockings, and Laser Pussy.
Near the day's end, when MacGuyver, Beans and I reached Sabbath Day Pond, we came to a beach where I spotted my first Loon on the lake. There were two of them. They could stay under the water for minutes at a time, devouring the underwater grasses. Then they'd resurface 100 yards away from where they'd last been seen. They continued wailing their sad song into the night.
The shelter at Sabbath Day Pond is a 'Lean-to.' It's a simple three-sided shelter with a roof. And yes, we actually stayed there on a Sunday sabbath. We made camp there since it was most likely going to rain that night. Many hikers complain about shelter grafiti, and how it is disrespectful to other hikers and trail volunteers who built them. But MacGuyver's plan was to beautify the shelters with something less permanent. He drew vines and lizards creeping and crawling up the shetler posts with sidewalk chalk. I drew a picture of hawkweed, my new favorite plant, being bathed in rain and sunshine.
This video clip begins gazing at the orange hawkweed blooms blowing in the wind, then a sweeping panorama of Beamis Mountain then Lake Mooselookmeguntic.
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