Date: 2006-08-06
From: Gentian Pond Shelter, NH

To: Speck Pond Campsite, ME
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: 0

Cell none.I've hiked in pain, I've hiked in rain, and I'm hiking in Maine. We crossed into Maine about 10:00 am this morning! We took the state line picture to prove we were in Maine, and then hiked on. Well the reports of Maine being a tough state seem to be true. The first 5 miles went fairly well, and then we went into the Mahoosuc Notch. This is one of the most fun and difficult sections on the AT. It is a narrow notch [valley] with sheer rock walls on each side. Many huge boulders, some as large as a house, have fallen to the bottom and created a large jumble of rocks. We had to climb over, climb under, jump from rock to rock, and sometime walk along ledges of rocks to get to the next point. It was both difficult and fun to do. I've heard and read about this notch for years, and I can honestly say I enjoyed this part of my hike.What I didn't enjoy was what followed the notch. As I've mentioned before, when I go into a gap/notch/etc. there is a price to pay. These two hours of fun had the biggest price to pay. To get out of the notch, you have to climb the Mahoosuc Arm. I climbed 1500 feet in 2 miles up a slightly slanted sheer rock most of the way. We chose to do this section late in the day because of the miles we wanted to cover, and we were afraid it would rain tomorrow and that added an additional danger to all of this. By the time I reached the top of the arm it was getting dark out. I stopped to get my headlamp out and to make a quick call to Sue. I ended up using the headlamp for the last half mile, as I dropped into the tree line, and the green tunnel was dark.It was about 9:30 pm when I reached the shelter, and I was tired and hungry. I had to get water from the spring and then make dinner. Fortunately, making dinner consisted of boiling water, pouring it into the bag with the food, and letting it sit for 10 minutes. While that was happening, I set up my sleeping bag and prepared for bed, so that I could do that as soon as I was done eating. When all that was done, I went to sleep.Note: I was so tired that night I didn't write this journal entry that night. Old Goat Sue's Note: I didn't hear from Old Goat last night, and this evening we had a one minute, 16 second, conversation. It was a terrible connection, and he wasn't at his destination for the night yet, so he wanted to make it real short and keep going. (I could barely understand him, the connection was so bad!) The most important information is that he's okay. He said he expects to be in Andover, Maine, tomorrow night and will call me from a land line if there isn't cell phone reception.I was very depressed yesterday...from a combination of things. I think the biggest factor could have been exhaustion. I don't sleep very well with Old Goat away. Last night I slept 11 hours, and I felt much better, emotionally, today. What¢s been happening is that often I think deeply about things and stress over them....as a result, some nights I can't get to sleep until around midnight or 1am. (When I can talk about them with Old Goat, I can let them go more easily, and I can get to sleep much more easily.) With him gone, I'm not getting to sleep at a reasonable time, and then I have to get up between 5 and 6am (depending on what's going on at work), and 4-5 hours of sleep isn't enough. A few nights of only 4-5 hours of sleep messes me up emotionally. I manage okay during the day, and cover up how I'm feeling....but then I crash when it's "my" time. If you call me when I'm in such a funk, I'll tell you I'm okay - whether I am or not. I don't like to admit being depressed when I actually am depressed.I'm okay emotionally today. I looked at Old Goat's Trail Journal from time to time today and there were about 700 hits on his journal between Friday evening and today - wow! That's a lot! I look for guest entries, too, so I can pass them on to Old Goat....but there haven't been many of those lately. I read each one to him....he loves them! Thank you - those of you who write him a guest note. It's so sweet of you to take a moment to send him a note. :-)There are times I get choked up when I read the guest messages to Old Goat, some of you say such touching and encouraging things. All of your support through this (for both Old Goat and me) has been wonderful and I thank each and every one of you so much!