My dad came to visit me in Hanover and promised to help me with some of the tougher sections I still have left of the AT in Maine. We spent this morning packing and left my condo at 0800. Dad drove us in his car. We were racing a rain forecast as we headed north; we used I-91, US-302 (gas fillup in Woodsville), NH-16 and US-2 to reach Maine. We stopped for lunch at Subway in Farmington, ME (1240) and I made a hotel reservation for us in Medway, the gateway to the Katahdin area. We then drove east on US-2, switched to ME-139 and followed it to I-95. The weather ended up being pretty nice and my dad commented on how the drive was great. At about 1530, we stopped in Medway and checked into Gateway Inn (1530). Since my dad hadn't been in the area before, we then got back on I-95 and drove north to a scenic overlook. The weather mostly obscured Katahdin but we were both pleased to see what we could. We then continued north to the exit for the little town of Benedicta, which we explored briefly. My dad was intrigued by the rural nature of Aroostook County. We drove back to Medway and visited the Public Beach on the Penobscot River (off ME-157). From the lot, we were able to take a walk on a snowmobile trail in the woods. By the time we were finished, the rain started threatening... We went back to the hotel and ate dinner on the hotel deck until a thunderstorm began (1830) and then spent the rest of the evening in the room reading and planning for the next day. We went to bed at around 2145. AT Hike in Baxter State Park teed up for tomorrow!
