Cold or no cold, I just had to hike today. Of course, the next two days are supposed to be rainy. And I'll be trying to climb a couple mountains and also the infamous Mahoosuc Notch and Arm. Joy.
Was a bit tough today, what with my cold and the terrain. Wasn't as bad as the earlier Whites, but there were some steep and rocky areas to negotiate. It was only about eleven miles from Rt.2 to here, but it wore me out. At least my lungs are coughing up the crap that been building up in them the last four days.
I met some new folks today, everyone out here is catching up and passing me. Mac and Pace are from Hawaii; Pace retired from the Army last year and they're discovering retired life. They seem to be running my schedule the next few days; it'll be good to have company going through Mahoosuc Notch.
9/13/15 - Full Goose shelter
The rain arrived at Gentian Pond shelter sometime overnight. I woke up around three thirty and had trouble getting back to sleep. I was anxious about today's hike, and as it turned out, for good reason. Today was ugly. Probably the worst day of hiking this whole trip. The mist never let up, the wind was as bad as it was on Mt Lafayette and the trail was truly scary. Big, wet and slick slabs that dropped fifteen to thirty feet with hardly any handholds. More rebar "steps" that were slick with rain. Going downhill was risky in the extreme. Fortunately I only tripped four times and fell only twice, neither time on a slab.
Then there were the glacial bogs. Hiking pole deep bogs. Actual waist deep bogs, a section hiker just in front of me fell in one, and he stands nearly six feet tall! And the bog bridges were either rotted out or nonexistent. I should have either stayed at Gentian or taken the 3.5 mile side trail back to town. At least I'd be dry tonight. Well, I am dry but my hiking gear is dripping. The weather tomorrow is forecast to be the same, which means I will be zeroing here in the shelter. I am not going to risk my neck in the Mahoosuc Notch and Arm the way I did today. I'll have to do twelve miles Tuesday to Baldpate shelter, which supposedly tough, but it will be clear by then.
Freestyle, Downhill, Toasty, Goldilocks, Patches and Shaggy are here tonight, as are twelve high school kids in a leadership program. The kids are on their first backpacking trip and they have had problem with the rain. They'll hike out tomorrow and take a side trail to a road, then start a four day canoe trip out of Rangley, Maine. Mac and Pace got in just before dark, they left Gentian with me this morning.
9/14/15 - Zero at Full Goose shelter
I think this is only the second time I've zeroed at a shelter. The day dawned cold, damp and surprisingly sunny. I was suspicious and checked the weather forecast and my radar app. Way out here in the woods and I have a cell connection. Sure enough, the rain is still forecast to blow in later this morning. I'm staying put, I don't think I can clear the Notch and Arm before I get wet again. I should've stayed at Gentian Pond. Mac and Pace (from Macadamia nuts and his constant hiking speed) decided to stay as well, as did Kylie in his tent. It's cold, about 45 degrees, and the wind is blowing. I'm warm in my sleeping bag, leaning up against the back wall of the shelter.
A fat, bold deer mouse kept running around the shelter all day long.
By four thirty today, the temperature was still about fifty, and it was raining again. Freestyle (from White Mt Lodge), Deja Vu, Dapper Dan, Mac and Pace, and several others are here tonight. I sure hope it clears overnight, as it is it's going to be sloppy tomorrow.
9/15/15 - Andover, ME Pine Ellis Hostel
I woke up to a damp, foggy morning with the water dripping everywhere. I didn't bode well for hiking the Notch. We were on trail by seven fifteen.
Freestyle caught me just at the beginning and we started into what is a narrow canyon filled with house sized boulders. They are covered in moss and even the exposed faces were wet and slick. Mac and Pace caught up and Mac became our pacesetter. The Notch is definitely safer in a group. And no place to do in the rain! I took a tumble off one plate, slid and wrenched an arm trying to catch myself and ended up on my back. I had to release my pack to get up. One leg was hanging over the edge and I feared the pack would drop into a crevasse.
We crawled all over, picking up bruises and scrapes everywhere. I lost a water bottle to a deep pile of rocks, it disappeared completely. All told, it took about two hours and forty five minutes to complete the scramble. We stopped for lunch then it was uphill for a mile of the Arm.
The Arm is touted as the steepest uphill on the trail, but I found it to be a little easier than the Garfield Ridge climb. Neither should be done alone or in foul weather.
Topping out, the trail turned boggy for a bit to Speck Pond. We decided we could make it over Old Speck mountain, so off we went. It was steep and had several plate rocks to scramble. It was also exposed, and the wind was blowing quite a bit. At the top, we stopped for fifteen minutes to enjoy the view back to the Whites and the warm sun. Then it was gun for the road and the hostel. The trail was a bit better and we made really good time. We finished the ten mile day at five fifteen and Roadrunner showed up five minutes later to pick us up. Tough, tough day, but so satisfying to make up the zero day.
Pace has worked out a slack packing schedule for the next few days, so we will slackpack over to Rangeley and maybe beyond.
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