Date: 2008-09-11
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Mahoosuc Arm
Miles today: 13.8

Before unzipping my bag, I prepared to embrace the events of today. September 11th, 2008, an anniversary that I will remember as having a double edge of significance, both tragic and terrific.It was early, I quietly made breakfast and packed up trying not wake the others close by. I was eager to get started and soon began climbing Mt.Success. For some reason I had in my mind that Maine was going to be welcoming and inviting, and that the trail would reflect accordingly? I know it is largely a rugged wilderness, but for some reason?Coming down Mt.Success, I slipped on a smooth rockface sliding down several yards and thoroughly busting my ass! The new scrapes and cuts coordinated nicely with the older ones. The language that echoed through the woods, all I can say is, it was a good thing I was away from civilization deep in the wilderness.I decided to slide down another 30 feet or so, rather than to attemp a repeat performance. My hobble soon improved to a limp before being able to walk normal again. Soon after, I stopped dead in my tracks. There it was, just in front of me nailed to a tree, was the coveted little blue sign welcoming me to Maine, reading "The Way Life Should Be".I was happy again, I reached for my camera, framed the shot and......nothing.I tried again, and again once more. I know this battery is good, but fortunately I have a spare. Fumble, change, frame the shot and........nothing.*^%$#&*%&%&*!%(*!&^%#(!&^#(!^#(!^#(!&^..!!Can you believe this, What the...?I tried everything but to no avail.With a big sigh, I reached for my water hose to get a drink. My teeth met hard plastic rather than the soft cushy rubber mouth piece.Not again, I have already replaced this once.I am definitely not in the mood for any more mishap or defeat. I began retracing my steps, sifting through the leaves and looking for any glimpse of something blue. I eventually came to the bottom of the long smooth rock face in which my first mishap of the day started. It probaly came off during my slide?So back up I climbed, with all fours at work here, it was a slow slippery process. I climbed farther than I wanted too, but I was not going to give up. I was now at a spot where I remembered taking a drink and had the bite valve. How could I have missed it? My jaw was now clenched refraining from spewing negative comments into this otherwise beautiful place.Almost back down to the bottom again, I slid once again and reached out to grab a hand hold from a deep slotted groove in the rock. As I pulled myself closer to regain a better position, there it was! I soon passed the little blue sign again to retrieve my pack. I was somewhere between pissed off and really pissed off. Welcome to Maine. Oh well, get over it. Even more so now, I was determined to get my head right and not let this spoil my day.Soon "Warren" appearred on the trail. I haven't seen him since the Tyringham Pavillion I think? We spoke,then leap-frogged for awhile. Eventually we just hiked together. Having his company came just at the right time, it picked me back up and I was smiling again. We had some great views and did some tricky climbs up Mt.Carlo, Goose Eye Mtn-East peak and Goose Eye Mtn-North peak. There were atleast 4 times while descending down steep rock, that I slipped and had it not been for a small tree in the right place each time, my trip would have without question, ended with a medi-vac or in a body bag.It was just after 3:00 when Warren and I arrived to the Full Goose Shelter. Warren was stopping here for the night, he was going to meet up with someone tomorrow and flip-flop ahead to Katahdin and head back south. The window of time and increase of inclimate weather vs. not completing the trail this year and thus not attaining the thru-hiker status was not something he was going to gamble.I was continuing on, I still had the Mahoosuc Notch ahead of me, A trail Caretaker happened to be here and advised me against it, based on the time of day, and how long it would take to go through. I thankfully respected her input, however nothing else today was going to get the best of me.I said goodbye to Warren, climbed Fulling Mill Mtn. and on the other side arrived to the instantly recognizable Mahoosuc Notch. This is a narrow winding pass approximately 40-100 feet wide, between 2 mountain walls of cliff face that extends over a mile. The kicker is that it is filled from end to end with boulders that have fallen. They range from the size of a car to the size of a garage.(Picture a hotdog bun full of gravel and rocks -only much, much larger. The direction is easy, however there is no path to negotiate this gauntlet of rocky obstacle. You climb over, leap across, crawl under and all the time wishing that your legs were longer and your reach was farther.So at 4:20 in the afternoon I started my run of the Mahoosuc Gauntlet.I came across the bones of the Moose remains from it's failed attempt 2 years ago. I have heard nothing other than dread about this place, However, I became instantly happy and like a kid playing. This reminded me so much of some quarries I used to swim at, near Bloomington Indiana and definitely like climbing and exploring the many caves I spent so much time in, as a teen-ager.Upon finally reaching the other end, I came upon "Peregrin" & "Slow Going" whom were setting up camp in the first somewhat little grassy spot beyond the boulder field.The sun had already fallen behind the mountain, daylight was diminishing quickly. For whatever reason I decided to push on and do the 1.6 mile climb up the Mahoosuc Arm. True to his word, The climb was worse than the Notch as indicated from "Slow Going". Just minutes from the top, It had become quite dark. I was going to continue by using my headlamp. Once placed on my head, I switched it on and.....nothing? Well, almost nothing, the light was so dim it couldn't illuminate my feet while looking down. I have never had a battery situation this entire trip until today. The trail had been a shallow creek of water, there was nothing that remotely appearred along side the trail to accomodate a tent. The floor surronding was a spongy green like moss covering wet pockets of water and it was too dark to continue without light. Straining my eyes, I saw a dark spot to my right. I walked on it to see how wet it was? The mossy sponge stuff was several inches thick and would seem to hold me if I was careful. Fortunately my tent was free standing as there was nothing to hold stakes.I skipped dinner and munched on something handy, then settled in for the night. What a day, Maine was definitely not as happy to see me as I thought it would be? On the bright side, tomorrow we are going to meet up with Rawhide and Maverick. I haven't seen them since we left Damascus back in May.They both promised that they would wait for us and meet back up, once we were in Maine. True to their word, rather than returning home to Oklahoma, they spent the summer and stayed with Maverick's family here in Maine where he had grown up. And now, after arriving in Maine today, we will see them tomorrow. A testiment to their character and how much they value friendship.You don't meet people like this just anywhere, but all the more special that I met them here on the AT.I finished off with a night cap of Sambucca, recapping the days events and excited about the reunion and what else Maine has in store for me tomorrow?