Andover, Maine

We had pouring rain for an extended period yesterday and the night before. The streams quickly rose and gained a lot of speed. The trail became a rushing mountain stream, so we stayed put in a shelter. We left the Bemis Mountain Lean-to this morning, and hiked the 8.7 miles to the South Arm Road trailhead (MM 246.8).

I have had 4 gear failures that all happened over a 5-day period. One is critical, while the others I can repair myself. I also fell on a steep and rocky descent today. No major injuries. That's what happens when I'm rushing to get to a shuttle stop.

We had a bad experience when we got to the South Arm Road Trailhead and tried to board a hostel shuttle, but with some help from my wife I was eating pizza outside a general store/diner in Andover, Maine, an hour later, with my resupply box in hand. As I was looking for a shady spot for Forest to rest, a nice man approached and offered his backyard and access to his waterhose. I took him up on the offer, and he brought Forest fresh cold water and showed me an outside outlet I could use to charge my electronics. I am very thankful. I have found most people up here to be genuine and kind. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyplace to hang our hammocks, so we will be sleeping on a bench.

Tomorrow I hope to find someplace with decent WiFi so I can download the SanDisk app and try to download my pictures off my phone again. The last time I tried, the app wouldn't download because the signal was too weak. I'd hate to go into the hardest part of the Trail and not be able to share pictures with you!