Date: 2013-09-11
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 5.1

Yesterday I used the word intense to describe our hike. Today the term may be extreme . . . or suicide. We started out with a climb up Fulling Mill Mountain (3,395 ft). It was a beautiful day, maybe even a little warm. We began our descent into Mahoosuc Notch which, according to the guidebook is the most difficult section of the entire AT. One of the first things you notice is how cold it gets - its almost like descending into a cave. The notch consists of a bunch of boulders, some of which are the size of school buses, that you have to crawl over, around, and sometimes under. We frequently had to remove our packs and hand them through areas that were too tight to squeeze through with a pack. It's interesting how as your going over boulders you get a sudden warm breeze and then as you descend you suddenly get a cool breeze. The alternating breezes continued through the entire notch. At the top of one of the boulders I lost my footing and slide down the rock backwards. I turned upside down and landed on my head, neck, and shoulders - falling about 10 ft. It happened so quickly that all I remember is suddenly being upside down and the loud crack as my head hit a rock. It could have been disastrous, but luckily I came away with a small cut to the back of head, sore shoulders and neck, a rip in my pack, and torn shorts. My biggest disappointment was that Whirled Peas only scored it as an 8.9 because she said my toes weren't pointed My hiking partners had climbed down the hole and were at my side before I was fully aware of what was happening. Whirled Peas said she heard the sound of slipping and looked up as I flipped over backward. Tough Cookie said Whirled Peas' pack seemed to come off in one motion as she rushed to help me. Pressure D and Whirled Peas helped get my pack off and I held pressure on my head wound. All in all it was a fortunate outcome to a terrifying event. When we emerged out the other end of the notch Whirled Peas and I hugged and cried - it was a mixture of joy, relief, and frustration. Other casualties of the day were Pressure D's shoulder strap broke in two and I ripped a hole in my rain jacket. We stopped for lunch once we made it through the notch. I could feel the muscles tightening in my shoulders and neck but we still had a major climb to accomplish. We began our climb up Mahoosuc Arm (3,770 ft). It was nice to NOT be scrambling over wet mossy rocks and instead we were climbing steeply, often pulling ourselves up by trees. About two thirds of the way up we heard thunder in the distance. Oh great, what a perfect way to end this day - on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm. Luckily the storm held off until we got to the shelter It took us over 9 hours to go 5.1 miles and I've never worked so hard in my life. We hadn't been in the shelter long when the full force of the thunderstorm hit with lightening, rain, and hail. Other people in the shelter beside our foursome are Walking Stick, Solo, Abe, and Sunny. During the storm a trail runner came by and was lost and had sprained his ankle. He was soaking wet and cold but insisted he had to keep running to meet his friend. He came back a short time later and was still lost. We were seriously concerned about his safety so we insisted he stay in the shelter and this time he agreed. I gave him my dry clothes to wear, Sunny and Whirled Peas gave him food, and Whirled Peas gave him her sleeping bag. She and Tough Cookie are sharing a bag. Our shelter built for 8 now has 9 people in it. What a day it has been. I have the best hiking partners anyone could ask for!!!