Date: 2016-08-07
From: Full Goose Shelter and Campsite

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 15.5

Aug 7, 2016 - As I left the shelter this morning, Scavenger addressed me by my trail name. Consequently, about 20 yards down the trail, I heard a total stranger yell, "Bye, Mountain Goat! I've been following your blog - you have beautiful writing". Momentarily stunned, the only response I put together was "Thanks!". She finally yelled "Hakuna Matata!" as a sort of proof that she actually did read my posts. I just laughed and kept walking. The Mahoosuc Notch is widely recognized as the most difficult mile on the AT. AWOL's guide actually labels it as "most difficult or fun mile of the AT". It is a jumbled mass of boulders between two mountains that requires thru hikers to scramble as they have never scrambled before. The notch is also known to be very cold because, since it is situated on the north side of a mountain, it never sees the light of day - piles of snow and ice can often be seen in some of the crevices under the rocks. I tucked my trekking poles into my pack and started scrambling. Almost immediately, I ran into a Sobo that said he had been in the notch for almost 90 minutes...for 1 mile! The oversized rock scramble was an absolute blast as I scaled boulders like a spider only to swing down the other sides like a monkey. The entire mile took me 42 minutes (I was curious to see how long it would take) and was satisfyingly tiring as I used my entire body for the length of the notch. Immediately after the notch, I climbed the Mahoosuc Arm, which was just a prolonged vertical rock scramble similar to what I experienced in the Whites. As much fun As I had, it was a relief to descend into Grafton Notch around 10 miles later. I walked into the parking lot and I heard a woman say, "Mountain Goat?". Again, stunned, I turned to her and asked her how she knew that because I certainly didn't recognize her. It turns out that her name is Satellite and she reads my blog also! She had set up some Trail Magic in the parking lot only 15 minutes previously and I was the first hiker she ran into. Two readers in 1 day in the backwoods of Maine. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, I was flattered and enjoyed getting to know Satellite a bit. She's crazy about the AT and loves to meet hikers on the trail despite our smell. Thanks again for the Trail Magic! Satellite's food and refreshment powered me up Baldpate Mountain's west and east peaks. It was a boost I definitely needed. As I sat at the summit, I looked west and realized rain was moving quickly in my direction. With only 1.8 miles to the Frye Notch Lean-to, I rushed as fast as I could down the north side of Baldpate (meaning that I crawled with earnest as it was just as steep as everything else these days) and arrived at the shelter just as the drops began to fall. It was only a passing shower, though, so I proceeded to get a fire going as a section hiker went to bed in the shelter at 4:30 pm. He left all his garbage on the bench in front of the shelter and snapped at Peach when he tried to ensure that the guy would wake up to put his stuff away so the mice wouldn't have a field day. Then, just as this guy fell back to sleep, a Sobo Hot Toddie doppelg¤nger passed through. The resemblance to the real Hot Toddie was so uncanny that I was left very disturbed. Even though the section hiker was an unreasonable prick, Longcloud, Peach and I also slept in the shelter due to the low temperature and high winds outside.