Day 147 - South Arm Road to Bemis Stream Campsite

Woke up to a beautiful day, even though it had rained a bit during the night. Had a bowl of cereal with banana, toasted pop tarts (a first!), and coffee for breakfast. Yum!

Sandra drove a group of us to the trailhead at 9. Turns out she met Pegleg in a Yahoo chat room! Time to climb Old Blue. I’d been dreading it, but glad to get it over with early and before it got too hot. It wasn’t bad at all -- actually, quite enjoyable. I was the first one to reach the top and found a great stone seat. The sun was warm, but there was a breeze blowing. Perfect temperature.

Did some catching up in my journal. Supposedly the rest of the day was to be a "piece of cake." Actually went slower than expected, due to the usual jumbles of rocks and roots. Smashed my left knee on a rock, then my right on a stump. Ouch! No kneeling for me. Got to the shelter after 3 and gave myself a lunch break. We had been talking about doing a 14-mile day, but Dave wasn’t up for it. I guess I was pretty tired, too.

Just 3.3 more miles to Bemis Stream, which usually has to be forded -- but not right now. Lots of dry riverbeds. Found a good tent site and parked it here with Swag. The others are nearby. We will try to get into and out of Rangeley tomorrow. Hope we’re successful.