Date: 2003-08-16
From: Full Goose Shelter (3030') 

To: Speck Pond Campsite (3440') 
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: haze

Aloha! Once again, this has been a superb day! A short but long one for sure; but that's no one's fault but my own. It was still an excellent day! This stuff just gets better and better! Wuhuu!   Gutsy and I were out of camp a little later than normal since neither of our alarms were either set to the correct wake-up time (mine) or heard (her's). Under normal conditions I automatically wake-up as the day dawns but since my sleeping pattern was horrible last night it didn't happen today. Hot, cold, bag liner off, bag liner on, sleeping bag on, sleeping bag off. Back and forth all night long. Tiring. I also felt filthy and that doesn't help me sleep either. It was a long night, which helped to make for a long day.   We did get out obviously and that's when the fun began. Yes of course we went UP to start but that was a no brainer - we always go UP. We went UP to the South Peak of Fulling Mountain (3395') and then immediately down to... Mahoosuc Notch (2480')! Wuhuu! This was what my day was all about, hiking the Notch.   Mahoosuc Notch is something I've been hearing about since forever. A huge jumble of rocks that go on for days all in one mile. Many hikers call this scramble under, around, over, and through the boulders the most difficult mile on the trail. It was not a 20-minute mile! It's also recommended that you go through with a partner just to have someone take your picture as you're squirming over or under house-sized boulders. This is also the area famous for ice found in deep crevices throughout the year, and we did! It was so cool! Literally and figuratively!   Coffee, Don Quixote, Gutsy and I agreed to go through it together and we did. It was a blast as we started it off with a resounding and echoing Texas YEEHAWW! It and we were bouncing off the rocks and walls moments later. Such a blast! With poles tucked away and everything else tied somewhere on the packs, we were ready to go. Crawling over and under, pack off (not me), pack on, jump like a gazelle (Coffee and me), slide to the ground on your butt (Don and Gutsy), hang by your fingertips in a mountain climbing mode (Coffee), hang from an extended tree limb over a crevasse (Gutsty) - it was all there. Laughing and cussing the whole way. I truly had a blast. I believe everyone did.   Admittedly it took longer than I had anticipated but that's because we agreed to go through it together as a group. With one member nervous about heights we went slower than we may have had. The whole journey from one end of the Notch to the other (one mile) took us two hours and 45 minutes. That's a long one-mile! Again, that was okay. We all still had a blast. Was it the hardest thing I've ever done? No, not by a long shot. Was it one of the most fun? You betcha! My only regret through it all was that Old Corpus wasn't there with us. I'm sure he'll be fine tomorrow but it would have been nice to have him along. Next time. {right!}   For me, the hardest part of the day followed the Notch, the Mahoosuc Arm. A 1665' straight UP climb in 1.5 miles. Often over big boulders or smooth sloping rocks, it was tiring. It seemed to go on forever. The highlight of this portion of the hike was running into Timber again!   Timber was headed south through the Notch with her recently returned from the war husband Bipolar. I had been asking all the SOBOs if they had seen or met her and each had said no. I hadn't seen an entry in the registers from her but I knew she was supposed to hike through Maine with hubby. Surprisingly they're doing a good chunk of it, but southward. It was good to see her. She still has the wonderful smile, energy and sweetness of our last meeting at the Long Trail Inn in Vermont. With any luck I'll see her again when she returns to hiking north. She'll catch me in no time.   From the top of the Mahoosuc Arm it was a mere .9 miles to our current location, Speck Pond Campsite. Speck Pond itself is the highest body of water in Maine. It's a pretty pond. I had hoped to dive in and swim away some of the dirt I've accumulated in the last three days but that wasn't happening. The weather had cooperated all day in that it didn't rain but it certainly was much cooler and overcast than any of the past days. Not a day for diving into a glacial lake anyway. I have had a lovely sponge bath from the pond but I gave up on the idea of an evening dip. I put on my long underwear and jacket instead. Burrr...   The only other thing happening this evening was our celebration. Thanks to Char, one of my recent mail drop packages had a blueberry cheesecake included. As a celebration for having made it through the Notch with limited blood, I had saved the cake to be shared with whomever joined me in the Notch. Tonight Gutsy, Coffee and Don shared a tasty cheesecake with blueberry sauce and graham cracker topping with me. It was yummy and everyone seemed to enjoy it. It, with my coffee, was the perfect way to end the day. An excellent day.   I have no doubts that tomorrow will be another spectacular day even though it does begin with an UP and is then followed by a very long and steep down. I can hardly wait! Maine is gorgeous! Cool but gorgeous.    With that said, it's time for me to shut this down and snuggle down in my sleeping bag. I believe I'll actually get to use it as it was intended since I'm still sitting here in long johns and a winter jacket. I have taken off my hat. The bag is going to feel great. The tent platform, third one ever, feels like sleeping in a shelter but that's beside the point. It's home for the night and a great one it is!   It's time now for you to find a way to expend great amounts of energy, laugh your fool head off and yell loudly from anywhere you think you can get away with it. You'll feel so great when you do. Trust me on this one. You really will. I sure did and do. Nighty-night.BSandTs: scrapped the Moosilauke scab off and added a bit of blood to today's adventure. Makes everything look more dramatic!AandPs: as always, ankles are a bit stiff and now the spot right above the kneecap is slightly sore. Nothing horrible.MandGs: there was no dessert wine with the celebration cheesecake... waah!