Date: 2007-09-02
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

Today should be an interesting day. I had heard there were a few unique challenges ahead. The Mahoosuc Notch is a mile long section of trail which traverses over, around, and sometimes under an array of boulders. It can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to complete this one mile section of trail. Right after that there is a very steep and long climb up a mountain called the Mahoosuc Arm.The first climb of the day was up Mount Carlo (3565 ft.) and then Goose Eye Mtn. Goose Eye Mtn. however does not have just one main peak, but multiple peaks. The first peak was the West Peak of Goose Eye Mtn, then the the East Peak, and the North Peak. This seems to be a common practice in Maine for naming mountain peaks. Once you reach the first peak it is a series of roller coaster ups and downs to hike over the rest.After 5 miles I reached Full Goose shelter, where I stopped for lunch. Two thru hikers, Sven and Ufda were there for a lunch break too. They seemed reluctant to move on and tackle the Mahoosuc Notch. I'm not sure I could blame them. I have been trying to motivate myself by thinking of it as something fun to do and I plan to just take my time. In addition to the challenge the Mahoosuc Notch presents, we have been hearing from southbound thru hikers that a moose fell into a large crevice at the Notch and died. Everyone is very curious about this, not in a morbid way, but since no one has yet seen a moose, this will be the first one. Not exactly the way we'd like it, but just the same it's a moose. There was no sign that actually marked the start of the Mahoosuc Notch, but based on the mileage from the shelter and the dramatic change in the character of the trail, I knew I was there. As I approached, I could see a large cliff ahead with a small barely passable ledge on the side marked with the AT white blaze. I got closer and was startled to see the dead moose at the bottom of a wide crevice below the ledge. All I really saw was a very large moose head and the remains of the body, some bones and hide, with hundreds of flies swarming around it. I was wondering if a bear had eaten most of the moose. I took a quick picture of the moose remains and decided I was definitely taking an alternate route around that pit. I had this horrible thought of edging along that ledge, slipping and falling in that pit with the moose - no thanks!After hiking around the moose I did my best to get through the Notch. I could tell whoever designed this section of trail had some fun. I'm not sure all thru hikers view it as fun. It definitely took a lot of work to navigate this obstacle course but I found if I jumped from boulder to boulder it was less work then climbing up and down. This of course was somewhat risky since the space between some of these boulders added a scary element to the jump. The only mishap I had was when I slid off a ledge I was inching along. The fall wasn't far but I scraped my leg up pretty good.I finally passed through this maze of crazy rocks in about 1.5 hours and was happy with that time. I hiked on after a short break and tried to psyche myself up for the climb up Mahoosuc Arm. As it turned out the climb was long and steep, but not any different then some climbs I've already made on this trip. I guess it was the hardest climb the southbound thru hikers have done, hence the hype from them.I had originally decided to go another 6 miles to the 2nd shelter, but decided I had done enough for one day and ended the day at Speck Pond Lean-to. I am very happy I made this decision. This shelter sits right next to a beautiful and secluded pond. There is a short trail that leads down to the pond from the shelter, and after dinner I sat on a large rock at the shore of this pond. I spent a bit of time in contemplation thinking about my hike, reviewing all the people, places, sights, and experiences, and ended up walking back to the shelter quite content and happy.