Date: 2012-07-28
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: moderate rain

To say the last couple of days have been eventful would be a vast understatement.Yesterday started off with a climb up Baldpate Bald. We had been told by some NOBOs that the southern slope was impassable in wet conditions due to the slickness of the rocks, but that proved to be untrue. The descent was no worse than some of the others we have seen. There was a bit of confusion in our group at Baldpate Mountain Lean-to as Silver Surfer missed the sign and Tracks and I waited a full half-hour on him. We met up again just after Maine Rte. 26, a surprisingly busy road (apparently used by French Canadians to travel between New England and Quebec). The climb from Maine Rte. 26 to the summit of Old Speck Mountain was long and arduous. As soon as one ridge was climbed, four others between that ridge and the summit would appear. There was a nice fire tower, however, which made for a superb view.The south slope of Old Speck is the Mahoosuc Arm. The arm is extraordinarily steep with long, slick rock slides. Going down was very tedious. Then came the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, supposedly the hardest mile on the AT. I got upset with Tracks because our group was supposed to re-group at the start of the Notch and decide whether to proceed that evening or to camp and wait for more daylight. When I reached the edge of the Notch, he was no where to be found. A NOBO reported that he had seen Tracks heading into the notch several minutes earlier. I decided to follow Tracks rather than wait around for Silver Surfer. The group confusion added more stress to my perilous passage. The Notch is simply a pass between two cliff-edged mountains. It's filled with a myriad of boulders, many house-size or larger. It becomes a true rock climbing adventure negotiating the path. The trail is blazed, but one is pretty much on his or her own through the Notch. The worst part was that, at least twice, the trail looked as if it was clearing out of the Notch only to dive right back in a few yards later. It took me a little over an hour to make it through. It was, almost at the exact same time, the most thrilling, fun, and terrifying experiences of my trip so far.The real insult to injury came courtesy of Pulling Mountain just south of the Notch. The climb was stringent for over a mile. I arrived at Full Goose Lean-to just about dark, and I was naturally quite concerned that Silver Surfer was going through the Notch in the dark. Much to my surprise, Silver Surfer arrived without having any problems, though he did have only a tiny flashlight for guidance. Three other hikers were even later than Silver Surfer coming out of the Notch -- people are crazy. The shelter at Full Goose was mostly full, but room was made. The shelter was about twice the length of a normal shelter or lean-to, but the same width, giving it a rather awkward appearance. Since I arrived right at dark, the shelter was aglow with headlamps of all colours. It looked as if I had landed at some alien outpost -- all very surreal. Even more shocking, Green Blaze, with whom we had camped at Spaulding Mountain Lean-to, came stumbling into the shelter area well after dark. He had hiked more than 27 miles, including the "hardest mile" on the AT. I have no idea what put the bee in his hiking bonnet.Today was a pretty moderate day with one major accomplishment -- we crossed the Maine / New Hampshire border at about 10:30 AM! Maine did give us one parting shot in the form of Carlo Col, a much shorter version of the Mahoosuc Notch. It was like getting punched once versus a full beat-down. The day was a mix of sun, clouds, and light showers. That was until about 5:00 PM. That's when the sky seemed to open and it poured like a hurricane for two hours. Everything here is wet and flooded. The trail was flooded up to my knees in many spots. It was raining so hard when I arrived at this campsite that I opted to sit in the privy for about 45 minutes to let the rain ease before I tried setting up my tent. Better stinky than wet! Ironically, the whole idea for camping here was to save time tomorrow in getting to Gorham, but I think I would have preferred being dry, even if a couple of miles back, at Genetian Pond Shelter. At least I should be gorged on McDonalds food in less than 24 hours from now!