Today we were supposed to be hiking near here, but the weather has kept us in. We enjoyed a fine if somewhat damp walk ending Monday of this week between Carratunk and Monson, ME. We found it hard but strengthening. The weather promoted fungi and we dined on oyster mushrooms and two kinds of chanterelles. We snacked on blueberries and saw one moose. There were fine views from two rock-topped peaks. We camped near the peaks where beds of spruce leaves provided fine padding and where the altitude discouraged mosquitoes. Although the weather was marginal, we were lucky to avoid walking in heavy rain. After the hike we refreshed with a friend in Greenville and yesterday we drove west through an awful storm to our current location. First we picked up our dinghy at Carratunk. Our plan was to drop it off at Rangely where we would recover it at the end of our six-day backpack from here. But, when we approached Rangely and listened to a positively awful weather forecast, we reconsidered. We don’t mind a bit of rain on a hike. It is part of the experience. But, we hike to enjoy views of vistas, birds, forests, and streams. In the wet, hikes become an exercise of concentration on the feet, the rocks, the mud, the slippery roots, and the discomforts associated with pervasive dampness. When the forecast is for certain rain during at least the first three days of a six-day walk, the excitement diminishes. We discussed the issue during a stop for lunch and decided to take the car with us to Newry. We will consider a shorter walk beginning Saturday or Sunday and make up the missing section after our hikes next week in New Hampshire. So, we are camped here today, catching up on chores and the news. The flood warnings in Maine are no surprise to us. We had two tough fords on our last hike. Both streams were supposed to be knee deep, but the one wet our shorts. A fall would have been a minor disaster, not that we would have been swept away, but that our pack and boots would have been soaked. After our safe crossings we paused to dry our feet that enjoyed the washings, rebooted, and resumed our trek. We enjoyed watching younger hikers, many near the end of their long walk, bound along the trail. We are confirmed “bound to no more than ten-miles a day” senior hikers. The kids sometimes push twenty. We were surprised to encounter three “south-bounder” “through-hikers” who had recently begun their 2,175 mile walk to Georgia. Though still comparatively rare, south-bounders are obviously no longer an extraordinary creature. Still, when we think of their finishing the trail in December of January when even the Carolina peaks are white and icy and the days are only eight hours long, we have a lot of respect for their effort. We wonder what percentage who start will finish. We were also impressed to encounter more older hikers on the trail than in the past. By older, we mean older than we. Most are section-, not through-hikers, but still they are making big walks on weary bodies. While younger folks view the trail as an adventure or a lark, older hikers know it to be a serious challenge to their physique. Taking a bigger risk, they often better savor their progress. The forest here is a lovely mixture of northern hardwoods and spruce and fir evergreens. The stark white trunks of paperbark birch stand out even on gloomy days. Balsam fir provide a wonderful fragrance on the mountain slopes. Scraggly black spruce rise from blueberry patches on the rocky peaks and also from the sphagnum bogs between them. The trail passes through groves of old spruce. Their dark interior supports few understory herbs, but many mushrooms - painted boletes, fly-agaric, and chanterelles - are scattered about the forest floor. Elsewhere, mature yellow birch, sugar bush, and scarlet oak entertain the walker with bright leaves. The trail has many patterns. The streams are rocky and loud. Crossings can be rough, but each provides a wonderful glimpse of tumbling water. Cross a stream and go up. The hiker enjoys both the scenery and the physical attributes of the walk. Backpacking is one activity where you can eat all you want and still loose weight. The walk demands you to seek out and bottle water, find and make shelter, and prepare your meals. For these efforts you find yourself in a place that few others can share. Down the trail we go.