Date: 2005-07-26
From: Gentian Pond Shelter/Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter and Campsite
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Miles hiked today : 9.6I woke up this morning at 6:10 a.m., packed, ate breakfast, and hiked out with Michael at 7:05 a.m. The trail was tough today and my first obstacle was Mount Success. As I summitted Mount Success at 8:55 a.m., I thought of it as a mark of my achievement, as it is the last climb before Maine. Before continuing on, I stopped at the summit for a 35 minute break and laid on the rocks, basking in the sun.After passing some rolling hills, which primarily meant climbing up, over, and down large boulders, I arrived at the New Hampshire / Maine border at 10:40 a.m. I stopped for a 30 minute lunch break and observed a sign stating "Welcome to Maine : The Way Life Should Be."I've heard from various SOBOs that Southern Maine is difficult and, at the end of the first 0.5 mile of Maine, there was a challenging downward rock scramble to the Carlo Col Shelter and Campsite side trail, which I reached at 11:30 a.m. The rock scramble required me to use upper body strength to slowly lower myself between huge rectangular boulders.I bypassed the side trail to the shelter and continued on to the summit of Mount Carlo. The next 1.4 miles to the West Peak of Goose Eye Mountain was quite grueling. At 12:20 p.m., I caught up to Michael during the climb and stopped for a 15 minute water break. We'd both been feeling sluggish, so I prepared a 1/2 liter Emergen-C beverage for myself and also gave Michael some Emergen-C.When I reached the West Peak of Goose Eye Mountain, I saw that I still had 2.6 miles to go and felt overwhelmed. The terrain over the last 7.0 miles had been very rocky, the temperature was in the low 80s, I was down to 1/2 liter of water and was very thirsty. I pushed on across more rolling hills, climbing up boulders and sliding down steep rock faces on my backside. It's a wonder that I've not yet worn a hole in the seat of my shorts.I arrived at Full Goose Shelter and Campsite at 2:40 p.m. and was quite pleased to be finished for the day. There is a story on the wall of this shelter detailing how it received its "extraordinary" name, which is basically told as follows: There was a goose on Goose Eye Mountain and it witnessed the full moon crying. When the goose asked what was wrong, the full moon replied that it had been invited to a party but was unable to attend because it had to be full moon for the evening. The full moon then asked the goose whether it would take its place, to which the goose acquiesced. That evening, a hiker reached the then unnamed shelter, looked into the sky and saw, not a full moon, but a full goose. As such, the shelter was named "Full Goose Shelter." I can't make this stuff up, folks.There had been some great views today, though the terrain combined with the heat took its toll on me. I walked down to the water source to fetch water for Michael and I, then waited 20 minutes for the water treatment to complete. Being parched, that 20 minutes seemed like an eternity. Once my water was ready, I added drink mix and happily downed a liter of cool, refreshing lemonade and also ate a snack before journaling. Later in the evening, I made dinner and began reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five.Looking back, I wish that I would have stopped at the Carlo Col Shelter and Campsite for water, as the rest of the trail had been void of water until Full Goose Shelter and Campsite. That made the last few miles more difficult than they should have been. While I arrived at this shelter early enough to cover the 5.1 miles to the next shelter before dark, I'm content to call it a day. Primarily because I want to be well rested for Mahoosuc Notch in the morning and the fact that the next shelter is an AMC pay site figures in as well.Bedtime at 9:00 p.m.