Date: 2011-08-10
From: Baldpate Lean-to

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 33.4
Weather: fog

August 6th I hiked the 2.5 miles down into Grafton Notch where I waited for my Mom, Nana, and Nate. I only waited about an hour and had a chance to dry out my sleeping bag which had somehow gotten a little damp. Soon they showed up and was happily reunited with my hiking partner!!!! Not even a few minutes after they showed up my Assistant Track Coach (and good friend) from Bates showed up! It was really good to see Ray and was just a total surprise and luck that we happened to be in the same place a the same time (he was there to hike up Old Speck)!!! The next few hours we ate lunch and worked on organizing and resupplying (my mom brought all the food to me so we didn't even have to leave the notch). Around 1:30pm we all started hiking up the trail, even Nana!!! (Nate is hiking with me to Gorham because he really wanted to do the Mahoosucs with me and he had some time off before work started). After about a quarter mile Nana and Mom turned around and we said our goodbyes (this time it wasn't so tearful because I knew that I would be seeing my family quite a bit in the next section since it is my home state). We ran into Ray on the way down Old Speck, again very nice to see him, and Nate and I hiked together for a little bit until Crash Test caught up to us and the three of us hiked up to the fire tower and then down to Speck Pond Shelter. Super Turtle and Serenity caught up and we all spent the night there. I also met Super Chef, who is a fun flip flopper.August 7th We all set off for "THE NOTCH" in the rain... not the best conditions to tackle the hardest (or funnest) miles on the AT! We decided to travel in a group through the Mahoosuc Notch, myself, Nate, Super Turtle, Serenity, Crash Test, and Nola (the dog). It was very slow going down the arm and into the Notch. It took us all 3 hours to go the one mile through the boulder strewn notch. The rocks were really slippery and there were some caves and difficult sections to climb over. When we got out of the notch I felt like I forgot how to walk/hike, so the hike out of the notch was a re-learning experience. When we arrived at the Full Goose Shelter it was raining pretty good and we were all tired. We were also told by some NOBOs that the next 4.4 miles take a lot of time, plus there was a schizophrenic hiker hanging out at the next shelter and we wanted to avoid him, so we decided to stay at the Full Goose Shelter even though we only went 5.1 miles that day.August 8th The day started off raining, Nate and I got a very late start (8am), about an hour after Super Turtle, Serenity, and Crash Test. We caught up to them around 10, the climbing was very technical, and it was slow going with the rain (plus with Nola, the dog). Towards the afternoon it started to clear up and when we got to the top of Mount Success it was sunny and we enjoyed the top for about an hour. We then headed down the steep slope of Mount Success to the Gentian Pond Shelter which has the best view from the shelter on the AT looking over the Carter/Wildcat range. August 9th We headed out to Gorham which was 11.8 miles away. It was myself, Nate, Super Turtle, Serenity, and Nola who got a late start (8:30am) but trucked on towards town. We made very good time and got to the last mountain, Mt. Hayes by 1pm (before we got to the top we picked blueberries for about half an hour! They were soooo good!!!) and only had 3.5 miles left, but the next 3 miles were a gentle down hill, I led the way, and we FLEW down the mountain. I was almost running, but it felt good to go fast! We reached the bottom (3miles) in an hour and then walked on the road for the next .5 miles to Nate's car where we took Serenity and Super Turtle to their hostel and then to Mr. Pizza for a late lunch (It was great to have pizza!!!!!) We then drove to Walmart to get our resupply and food for the next day's zero. Nate and I dropped off Serenity and Super Turtle and headed for my Aunt and Uncle's house in Intervale, NH where we stayed the night... shower... food... It's all good August 10th ZERO