Date: 2016-08-02
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Mahoosuc campsite
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: moderate rain

It was a nice cool night...good for sleeping. I got a nice picture of the view in front of the cabin. I was on the trail a little after 7:00. First up was MT Success. Gummey Bear told me about a plane wreckage that was on the mountain. It was a nice climb and a great view at a clearing. I wasn't sure where the plane was at but I took a trail down and went for quite a while. The trail was not real clear and my legs got a little scrapped up from the trees and things that had grown by the trail. After going a good distance I was about to turn around when I seen something in the distance. Sure enough I had found it. There was no sign of the flight deck but there was a wing...parts of an engine and the back of the fuselage was somewhat in tact. I looked around and took a few pictures before heading back up. I got a little off course on the way back up but eventually found my way. I hadn't hit the peak of Mt Success yet but after about 10 minutes I was there and had a great 360 degree scenic view. Talked to a few section hikers and headed on. I got to the first shelter and realized it took 4.5 hours to do 5.5 miles. I was hoping to get 15 miles in today but with the toughest mile on the trail between here and there, I didn't think that was going to happen. I went over Goose Eye Mountain which has three peeks and found some trail maintainers working hard. I got to the next shelter by 2:30 and planned to got to the next shelter. I met Italia there who was from Italy. She told me there was a campsite just after Mahoosuc Notch ( tough boulder scramble). So I knew I could make that. I had a quick snack and pressed on. I passed some more trail maintainers. At one point I passed a guy working, I continued down the trail and then I heard a big rock rolling down the hill. I was too far away to see but I guess it got away from him. I made it to the notch and it was definitely going to be a challenge. The first thing you noticed, besides the boulders, was the air temperature dropped about 10 degrees. The scramble started out tough...you just had to take your time and figure out the route and then get good footing. I looked down a crevice and noticed there was snow at the bottom. This was definitely the most challenging part of the trail we have seen. A couple of times I had to take my pack off. One was a narrow passage and the other was a place you had to go under the boulders. One place I didn't know how to get around so I ended jumping from one boulder to the next. If I would have missed it wouldn't have ended well. I passed one hiker and joined another towards the end of the boulders and hiked to the campsite with her. It was an enjoyable mile and a nice challenge. Yesterday my knees were bothering me but they felt much better today. I got scrapped up a litre checking out the wreckage and later skinned up a leg when I slid down a boulder. I hit a tree trunk and got a thin but 3" cut on my knee. So a little battered from the day but nothing too bad. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 70s and very little wind. In fact, it was a beautiful day for a hike