Date: 2018-09-07
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6

I woke up early because everyone else was waking up early in the shelter. I rolled out of bed around 7 am and started packing up. I got water from the local pond but really didn't feel like drinking it. I boiled water and made coffee and steel cut oats for breakfast. Maga walked into the shelter. He had camped on the hill. He was planning on pushing ahead today through Mahoosuc notch. I was thinking it was doable with the upcoming terrain. We talked about the family of 8 that just finished a thru hike. It must of been hard to manage that many kids during the hike. It was also probably rough to carry a two year old through the whites and this section. You would have to constantly worry about falling. I had fallen several times in the last few days and would be falling more in Maine. Maga took off and I took my time.The initial hike out was up Mt Success. It was a 1400 foot climb that took around 2 hours to do. At the top I ran into Maga writing in his journal. We ended up hiking out together. We joked about the 24 beer challenge where you had to drink 24 beers, one every hour, and hike 24 miles. We made up the El Monterey Chimichanga burrito challenge where you packed out 24 frozen burritos and ate one every hour. It would make you need to dig cat holes every few miles too. We could hear commotion in the forest. It was the Maine state line. The last state! I got a picture next to the sign and ate some snacks. After the sign the trail became more of a bog. Wooden boards traversed long sections of trail to save us from those muddy, dirty, depths. Maga pushed ahead and I could only see him when there was a clearing. In the bog land, I went walking around large mud puddles. Some planks tricked me into thinking it was solid. I stepped on a wet one and the whole board went under dirty water. I jump off the board into the bog grass but my foot sunk in and got soaked. From then on I made sure to look out for the boards that were wet on one end. As I got closer to the shelter I came to a section with a steep downgrade. I stepped on a root then fell backwards into a mud pit. My pack took most of the mud. Everything on the back was covered. This is when I decided to stay at the next shelter for the night instead of climbing through Mahoosuc notch at the end of the day.  I rolled into the shelter around 8 am. I had been hiking for 8 hours and only made it 9 1/2 miles. I only took a few breaks too. Two of the Tennessee trio was there. I setup my tent and washed off my pack at the water source. At the shelter I cooked a pasta Knore side and ate a bagel sandwich. Bliss rolled in an hour and a half later. In the bog she had taken a detour to get around some mud patch. She stepped on what she thought was solid ground and her whole leg sunk in up to her thigh. Her other leg sunk in half way. Her leg was stuck in the bog and it wouldn't let go. She threw her pack to a dry section and was stuck there for 35 minutes trying to get out. She tried calling for help but she was the behind everyone. She moved her stuck leg in a circular motion to get finally get it out. I'm glad she made it out otherwise we would have gone back to find her. I finished my food and went to bed. I called Theresa and caught up with her over the past few days then passed out.Tonight I'm thinking about the boulder pit tomorrow.