When I'd checked the forecast before leaving Hanover, I saw that there was a chance of rain on every day of the trip. So it wasn't surprising to find damp weather this morning... Fortunately, there was initially (0600) no actual precipitation. My dad and I got started out of the campground at around 0655. Dad dad dropped me off at the trailhead (on Jimtown Road) for the Presidential Rail Trail at around 0655 and I started my walk to the west. Meanwhile, he went into Gorham to get gas and breakfast. Before the rain hit this morning, I logged another four miles of trail walking between Moose Brook SP and Pinkham B (Dolly Copp) Road. Even though things went well for me, my dad had a lot of trouble finding the place to pick me up again. I actually saw him pass the road while I was waiting at the trailhead. To save time, I decided to walk back to US-2 so I could flag him down when be backtracked. Along the way, I believe I saw a moose (it was on the edge of a field and spooked back into the woods; later I saw a dog in the area). Eventually (0830), I was able to make contact (phone) with my dad and guide him back to where I was waiting. Once we were together, we drove the RV east to Gorham again. By then, it really started raining and we had a wet drive all the way to Rumford. My dad wanted a break for the dog, who was very whiny after I took her front seat spot. So, I showed him where the McDonalds was located on the outskirts of town. He couldn't get over how there was a fast food place there "in the middle of nowhere" but I assured him that the town was probably glad to have it. I got a late breakfast (1010) and we rested in the RV. My dad was getting concerned about the transmission fluid levels and wanted to visit a Walmart so we continued on US-2 until reaching Farmington. For the next few hours, it rained really hard but we stayed dry in the camper (talking, reading, etc.). Meanwhile, I checked the AT trailheads and forecast for the next day and finally decided that we should drive to a parking area I remembered at the southeastern end of Flagstaff Lake. Back on the road again, we used ME-4, ME-27, ME-146 and ME-16 to reach the Long Falls Dam Road. By the time we'd gotten to the (gravel) East Flagstaff Road, it had mostly stopped raining. We parked the RV at the AT trailhead lot (no one else was there) and set up for the night. We even put up the awning! Dinner was leftovers. For the rest of the evening, we talked/read in the RV. When it was time for bed (2200) we found that, once again, it was dark and quiet for our sleep. Perfect!
