Date: 2003-10-03
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up to a tent covered in snow...okay, I really didn't want to get up and get out on the Trail. Besides the fact that I was quite warm in my sleeping bag, I just knew that we were going to be in for a long day going over the "Geese" peaks. We hemmed and hawed about getting up till 8:30ish, then finally could put it off no longer...it wasn't really as if we could stay where we were. And the forecast for the day was good, even if the forecast for Saturday wasn't. We got up, but it was really difficult for me to pack up...my hands were freezing, even with my gloves on. I'd pack one thing, then have to work on warming my hands by breathing on them.... A section hiker came through from the north. He'd started at the Full Goose Shelter at 8, and it was now 10...he said that the section hikers who had camped with us the night before were worried about us because we didn't show up at the shelter. He told us it was pretty rough going, with ice on the bare rocks...g!reaaaat. He said that if he could do it, we could. We finished packing up and got going. It was definitely rough in spots. The fact that it was FREEZING only augmented the more difficult parts. I did a good bit of sitting down on the rock scrambles...everything seems safer from that level. I also had to take my pack off several times...it had some fun slides down a few rock slopes, as did I. The weather was actually quite beautiful today. The clouds had cleared away, the sun was out and the sky was a magnificent shade of blue. We checked the time when we had hiked 1.5 miles...it was already 1:30. At this rate, we knew we weren't going to make Mahoosuc Notch today...we just wouldn't have time. I made another difficult decision about my hike. I am going to take the Mahoosuc Notch Trail down to the road tomorrow and hitch to Andover to wait for Grapenut. Then I will jump ahead to Monson and hike to Katahdin. After that, I'm going home. I'm tired, broke and ready! to be done. I don't want to quit right now, and I do want to climb Katahdin before I'm done, but I need to go home. I can do the in between stuff next year, or even later...I have to keep in mind that I'm doing this hike for me. If I'm not enjoying myself out here, there's no reason for me to be doing it. And it's been getting more and more difficult to enjoy the hike lately. Of course, I say that on a day that I really had a good hike...it figures! As tough as the terrain was, in combination with the snowy and icy conditions, it was a good day. We got to the shelter and had a late lunch. As soon as we stopped hiking, we were cold again. I don't think it got much above freezing all day. True North and his daughter came through from the last shelter. They were taking the Mahoosuc Notch Trail down today, then slackpacking the Notch tomorrow. For those of you who don't know, Mahoosuc Notch is referred to as the toughest mile on the AT. It is a mile long boulder field, and the Trail runs over, under and through them. It has taken hi!kers this year up to 3 hours or more to hike this mile. If we had gotten to this shelter yesterday, we would have been able to hike the Notch, but we didn't get here till 3. Anyway...some day hikers came in and are using the shelter tonight. We figured the tent would be warmer anyway, so I set it up on a tent platform. They are from MA, and are very nice...they shared their whiskey with us, as we had finished ours last night. It made for a good nightcap, and I hit the tent early. By tomorrow afternoon, we should be on our way to Andover, then heading to Monson on Sunday or Monday. Good night!