Sept 14

Home for dinner

We had an amazing breakfast this morning.  Blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage; the works.  The plate of pancakes kept replenishing itself like magic.  Honey made sure we were setting out on the trail with a full belly.  She gave us ziplock bags for us to pack out the left over cakes and sausages to have for lunch or a snack too.  Awesome.  Don dropped us off at the trail head.  We had made arrangements to have him come pick us up this afternoon, 10 miles down the trail, at another road crossing.  We definitely wanted to stay at The Cabin again.  With this option, I could have left my gear at the house, and slack-packed this section.  But true to my original plans, I shouldered my full pack.  I carried all this crap the whole way so far.  No reason to break that streak now.  We had about 5 miles of nothing but climbing.  We only gained 1600 feet over that distance, making for an easy, gradual, uphill hike.  Just over a mile past the summit of Wyman Mountain, we stopped for a lunch break at Hall Mountain lean-to.  More signs of moose.  Piles of droppings are everywhere along the trail.  Next up, we had a steep descent into Sawyer Notch.  1600 feet, over 1.4 miles.  The climb out of the notch, up to Moody Mountain, was even steeper. 1300 over the next 0.8.  It was tough going, and one of the steepest sections we've come across, but it was very well maintained.  There were even portions that were covered with nice stone stairs.  Gotta give those volunteers with the MATC a lot of credit for their work through this section.  With out their efforts, this could have been a miserable climb.  The trail descended from Moody, winding through deciduous forest.  No evergreens, but the fall colors were creating a beautiful display.  Blue skies above the tree tops.  Really nice hiking.  We made it to the road crossing ahead of schedule.  It was so nice to break out of this 1mph rut I've been in lately.  We actually did better than 2mph today.  Don was already walking down the trail toward us, enjoying the beautiful day to hike.  We hopped in the truck and headed back to The Cabin.  This time, we were in time for dinner.  Oh, man, that was a great decision.  Apache, Rainbow Eyes, and I were the only ones there tonight.  We feasted on a home-cooked meal of roasted pork loin, corn on the cob, sauteed squash, yams, and home-made bread.  Meals were a small additional cost to the stay, but more than worth it.  Honey, like your archetypal grandmother, kept our plates full, offering more scrumptious food, with a equally warm smile.  Bear told us stories, and gave us advice and information about the upcoming sections of the trail.  Brownies and ice cream for dessert.

 I really liked this register entry at Hall Mountain Lean-to.