Date: 2015-08-04
From: Carlo Col Shelter, ME

To: Baldpate Shelter, ME
Miles today: 16.4

A cold night, combined with the chorus of snores in the shelter, made for a restless night. I managed to keep most of my body warm by wearing every article of clothing I had, balling up in my sleeping bag liner, and placing my hands down my pants. My feet, on the other hand, were left to suffer even with 2 pairs of socks on. As I write this entry tonight, that particular problem is solved after putting my feet into the plastic bag liner inside of my pack. Warm and toasty, if only a little restricting. We were up at 6:30am and on the trail an hour later. Despite the cool mornings temps, I was soon warm as I pushed up Mt. Carlo followed by Goose Eye Mountain. Rabbit and I pulled ahead of Yoohoo and Huey who both hit an early morning wall. Yoohoo and I kept in touch with our general locations via our "Yoohooooo" and "Ewweeeee" calls.The morning hours would pass by slowly as the rugged terrain of western Maine kept our paces to a minimum. Finally reaching Full Goose Shelter 10:00am, we were able to have out output so far - ~4 miles in 2.5 hours. We took a break at the shelter, quickly scarfing down enough calories to carry us through the next stretch of trail, the Mahoosuc Notch. The Mahoosuc Notch is commonly referred to as the most difficult and/or fun mile of the entire AT. I jumped the gun with this reference in an earlier journal entry, but I compared this mile to that of the Mogadishu mile - a mile that, for some, never seemed to end. Rabbit and I dropped into a deep gorge filled with large boulders, some as big as vehicles, followed closely by Yoohoo and Huey. The next mile would prove to be more technical - climbing over, under, around, and through a large jumbled maze of boulders - than it was hiking. In fact, more time was spent climbing and jumping than was hiking. Although the trail is blazed through the mess of boulders, in most locations several options as far as directions exist. Want to climb up and over a heap of rocks instead of squeezing through a passage just larger than you and your pack? Go for it. Want to hop from boulder to boulder, leaping over crevasses instead of taking the safer route? Done.A hiker who had just completed the mile said it took him 2 hours, but that he guessed our group could do it in 1 hour 15 minutes. Not long after we entered a group of girl campers said they'd been navigating the notch for 4 hours. Rabbit and I navigated the maze together for the first ~20 minutes, using what little arm strength we have in order to lift ourselves over, under, and around the boulders. There were a few sections where you could peer down to another level of boulders followed by another below that. We could even see still-frozen snow sitting some ~15ft below us and hear the rushing of a small, hidden creek running below. The 1-mile stretch was the ultimate playground where, though potentially dangerous, hikers can push their bodies to the limit while maneuvering their way through large rocks, sharp drops, crevasses, and overhangs just shy of caves. As I pulled away from Rabbit, somehow finding a rhythm through the mess, I found myself standing on the opposite side of the notch in 46 minutes. I guess that was pretty good timing.I found an empty campsite just beyond the boundary of the notch where I'd break to wait for the group to catch up. After ~20 minutes of waiting, I decided to just push on and they'd catch me later. I began my ascent up the Mahoosuc Arm which is known for its steep rock slabs where going is slow as a result. I found myself along the summit in what seemed little time. At the summit I had a near 360-degree view and, although pleasant, was kept brief as I saw dark clouds and the gray wall of rain covering mountains just north of the Presidential Range in the distance. I knew that Speck Pond Shelter was only a mile away so I quickly upped my pace to try and beat the approaching rain. I reached the shelter ~20 minutes later and figured the rain was going to skirt my position. I took a quick break and enjoyed another calorie-cramming session before deciding to continue pushing on. A light rain began falling within moments of hitting the trail. I took it as a sign to continue to rest so I returned to the shelter, dropped my gear, and laid down. The rain gradually picked up until it was a decent downpour. I began drifting in and out of my sleep coma, occasionally waking long enough to notice the shelter had filled with 5 other hikers. All I knew is that the rain was falling, I was dry and warm, and that deserved a nap. At one point small hail began falling, but nothing serious enough to wake me from my slumber.With the rain complete and me conscious again, I was about to hit the trail when Yoohoo, Huey, and Rabbit showed up as wet as dogs. They'd obviously not been so lucky. In fact, they were caught in the rain along the summit where I had first noticed the approaching rain. With their spirits soaked from the rain, it took a while to get the group motivated again, but we finally got moving in order to finish the remaining ~7 miles to our target.As I led the way up Old Speck Mountain, followed by Huey and Rabbit and, somewhere farther behind, Yoohoo, the peak became windy and covered with fog. The good thing is that no rain fell and I enjoyed the summit crossing. I've summited many mountains in good weather so far; doing so in sketchy weather makes the experience that much more memorable. Not too long after descending off the summit, Yoohoo would catch up as I was refilling my water. We continued down the descent until we reached a parking lot along ME 26. Yoohoo asked me how far the shelter was and, knowing it was less than ~3, I replied that it was halfway up the next mountain. He got smart and said that he knew that, but wanted to know the mileage. As I was in the process of telling him to lose the 'tude, a young man walked up and asked if we wanted any trail magic.We quickly tossed aside our petty argument and followed the man to his vehicle where he and his girl friend had a trunk full of sodas, beer, fruit, snacks, and bread/meat/lettuce/tomato/mayo to make our own sandwiches. The young man, named Momo from his thru-hike last year, said we could have as much as we wanted so we dug in. Other hikers, including Huey and Rabbit, would show up over the next ~45 minutes as we sat on the hardtop of the parking lot eating the plethora of goodies. I enjoyed a Coke, a Sprite, 2 sandwiches, and a Ding-Dong type snack. It was just what all the hikers needed after a stretch of tough-going. With bellies full and ~2 miles to go, we thanked our gracious trail magic providers and said farewell, returning to the woods to climb ~1,000ft to Baldpate Shelter.Yoohoo and I strolled into camp at 7:30pm and found plenty of solid camp sites in a patch of woods away from the shelter. Huey and Rabbit would soon join and we'd pitch our tents around one another's so we could chat a little as the evening winded down. It's closing in on 9:30pm, the other 3 are quiet and most likely asleep, and I hope to be joining them shortly. Every day is earned in this section of the trail so another tough day is expected tomorrow. A good night of sleep goes a long way in your next day's hike so I'm hoping to even things up tonight after last night's lost cause.Here's to the fun of Mahoosuc Notch, the first full day in Maine complete, and the simple pleasure of a turkey sandwich.