8/22/01
Finn and I awoke this morning around 9 a.m. and went downstairs to the first floor to find the rest of the gang watching TV or eating or hanging out on the front porch. I spent the morning trying to get through on the phone with PUR, the manufacturer of my water filter, to arrange for a replacement filter to be mailed to my next PO pickup in Stratton, ME. The fellas were watching a movie and doing miscellaneous other chores when Sandra finally started bugging all of us about leaving or staying. We finally all got our packs ready and loaded the van (Finn, Phantom, Priceless, Redneck and me) to return to the trail. Pegleg drove us the eight miles back to the trailhead where a group of thru-hikers was assembled waiting on a ride into town. We said goodbye to Pegleg around 11:30 a.m., then began a moderate climb up Wyman Mtn. We took our sweet time with the six mile hike and arrived at the Hall Mtn. lean-to by mid-afternoon. Leisurely we retrieved water, cooked, and relaxed in front of the shelter. The mice were bold and showing their greedy selves, so I opted to tent while the rest of the guys decided to stay in the shelter. It took the combined efforts of Phantom, Redneck and me to get a fire going and we enjoyed it until dusk fell. I went to the tent to journal until it was completely dark. Then Phantom and I hiked 100 yards up the mountain to a viewpoint in hopes of getting to see the Northern Lights. The night was crystal clear with a zillion stars twinkling, but no Northern Lights were visible from the limited view. From the viewpoint we could see the lights of Andover below in the valley and other than those few lights, the balance of the surrounding valley and mountains were completely dark, so we knew that the Maine wilderness was all around us. The visit to Andover was great, but it was even better to be back on the trail on a perfect camping night. Today's stats: low 62, high 78. Partly cloudy to clear. Today's mileage: 6.0; cumulative mileage: 1917.6.
