Date: 2007-09-05
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Baldpate Lean-to 
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning I hiked thru Mahoosuc Notch, reportedly the toughest mile on the AT, then immediately up and over Mahoosuc Arm, said to be one of the toughest climbs on the Trail. I believe both reputations ate well deserved but I thoroughly enjoyed my morning. The day ended with a climb over Old Speck Mt and a steep descent into Grafton Notch.I awoke to 33 degrees in my tent and another blustery wind that blew most of the day. By 8.00 we were all moving up the trail towards Mahoosuc Notch. We first had a short but stiff climb over Fulling Mill Mt followed by a long and equally steep descent down to the west end of Mahoosuc Notch.At the west entrance to the notch we stopped briefly to stow away our hiking poles and any loose gear items hanging on the outside of packs. There was Popeye and Lightweight, JB, Gypsy Spirit and Speaks Little, Iceman, Kilgore Trout and me. We were a small train going thru the notch at about the same time though not always together at all times.Mahoosuc Notch is a narrow 'V'-shaped canyon that is often less than 25 yards across the bottom and hemmed in on both sides by imposing granite cliffs as much as 500' vertical. The floor of the notch is a jumble of huge boulders that have fallen from the surrounding cliff walls and piled up on top of each other. These boulders vary in size from small to the size of cars to the size of houses. The AT traverses over a mile along the floor of the notch before exiting out the east end and immediately shooting straight up nearly 2,000' in little over a mile to the top of Mahoosuc Arm. Along the floor of the Notch the AT goes around, over, under and even through piles of boulders the size of small buildings. Cracks between rocks often drop dozens of feet below you as you jump from one boulder to the next. Frequently you must climb down the side of one boulder to its base, only to have to scramble up and over the top and down the back side again to reach the next boulder. In several places we had to take our packs off and slither through a hole under a pile of boulders then reach back and drag our packs thru behind us.This constant scrambling and jumping up and down, over and under and around huge boulders went on for about a mile and took me an hour and a half to complete. It required the constant use of all 4 of my limbs to successfully negotiate with my 45-lb pack. All the while we were surrounded by towering cliff walls that ran along both walls of the notch. The views down the notch from the tops of large boulders was impressive and imposing.I had a difficult time in some places stretching far enough to reach the necessary hand holds or foot steps. Near the middle of the notch we passed a man with 2 labs, one black and the other yellow. The dogs did not seem happy to be there at all and were constantly whining and pacing back and forth on top of boulders. The man was moving slowly and spending as much time lifting his dogs over obstacles as he was moving forward himself. It seemed to me a foolish thing to bring a dog thru this jumble of rocks where they could be easily injured or lost.A small bull moose had wandered into the west end of the notch and fallen into the boulder field and died. He was still pretty stinky nearly 6 weeks later but it was not possible to traverse the notch and not pass by him. Someone had hung a string of Tibetan prayer flags across the canyon floor above him. And most hikers were stopping to look at him. Somehow it seemed a vague warning of what might haappen to a hiker with one minor miss step in this jumbled boulder-filled chasm.We all gathered again on the west end of the notch for a water and snack break before starting the climb up Mahoosuc Arm. The clib up the arm ultimately did not seem as bad as I had expected and we arrived at Speck Pond Shelter for lunch about 1.00 PM.The final climb to near the top of Old Speck went quickly and I thought seriously about taking the 0.3 mile side trail to the fire tower. However I finally decided not to due to lack of time (it was already 3 PM) and I still had nearly 6 more miles to walk before dark. My average pace here in ME has been about 1 mile per hour so I decided not to risk the side trip up to the tower.The trip down from Old Speck to Grafton Notch was a steep 3 mile descent of more than 2,500'. Once at the bottom we crossed the highway and of course immediately began a steep 1,500' ascent back up to the next shelter. It seems that in Maine you are either going straight up or straight down with little terrain in between and no switchbacks. At Grafton Notch there was a cooler with sprite and root beer which we happily consumed before beginning our next ascent.While at the trailhead Shadow spied a notice on the bulletin board for a nearby hostel that provided slackpacking services. He wasted no time in having the park ranger parked nearby call the hostel for a pickup for himself, NumbToes and Rhode Island Red. He asked the rest of us if we would like to go but no one did. As for me, I see no need to begin slackpacking now after carrying my fully loaded pack more than 1,800 miles already. To me, slackpacking seems a way to cover the miles with the least possible effort and the most possible town time. Ne of the reasons I am out here is to get away from towns. There is also just enough knothead traditionalist in me that I want to carry my pack the whole way. For me, this rip is not just about doing the miles the easiest way possible. It is about backpacking from GA to ME and living ouside for 6 months, mostly free of town burdens and conveniences. Slackpacking seems to defeat some of the purpose of the trip.The day ended about 6.30 at Baldpate Lean-to. I was tired after only 12 trail miles. We quickly set up camp and cooked dinner while Popeye made a fire. It got quite cold qqickly after thw sun went down and we all went to bed not long after dark. It was another tiring but satisfying day on the trail. So far Maine has been spectacular!