Date: 2008-07-27
From: Carlo Col Tentsite

To: About a mile north of Speck Pond Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Today comes the fabled Mahoosuc Notch. In preparation I broke camp early and was hiking by 7:30am. It was just a tad cooler than yesterday, probably because the clouds were out most of the day. But no rain.Climbed up and over Mt. Carlo and Goose Eye Mountain. Mt. Carlo had been steep but not really that bad. The top was open slabs of rock. A steep down slope had been next, then the climb up Goose Eye. That climb was really rough, no doubt about it. The trail missed the summit by a small amount. This had a rock outcropping and some nice views back towards the west. Both had some great views. By the way, I had been warned by south-bound hikers in the Whites that the water sources at Carlo Col and Full Goose might be either low or dry this time of the year. But I found plenty of water near both shelters. There had been plenty of recent storms/rains and water was not a problem.The climb is a steep, nearly vertical to the summit of East Peak of Goose Eye Mountain. This summit is really exposed to the winds and they were very strong when I went over. Looked north over a fantastic alpine environment. In some areas the alpine environment is in danger from all the hiking. That's why there are so many planks to walk across. Thier is a dense, moss-lichen forest in many areas.I found out that in areas maintained by the AMC, the wooden shelters are called "shelters". In areas maintained by the MATC (from Grafton Notch to Katahdin) they are called "lean-tos".Stopped in at Full Goose Shelter to sign the shelter register and read some recent entries. A lot of the southbounder entries commented on how long it had taken them to go through the Mahoosuc Notch. I remember this practice being so during my 2006 hike. If I remember right, it took me somewhere between 2.5 and 3 hours to go through then. Some of the entries said recent hikers had made it through in under one hour - that would be very fast.It was only about 1.5 miles further to the Notch. There was a very steep (in my opinion) descent from Fulling Mountain into the Notch - something like a 1,000 foot descent. Then the start of winding through and over gigantic bouldars. Many of these bouldars were damp and slippery even though it was in the 80's and there was no rain. There are times when you can supposedly look down in the cracks and see ice still present. I didn't see any, but don't doubt it could be there.Given my track record of getting lost, I had to really watch out for the white blazes. They purposely have sections of the Notch where you can't see the next white blaze until you climb up on some rock or look way off into the distance. There are not a few spots where the white blazes are supplemented by white, painted arrows that point in the direction you should go.A couple of times I climbed over (or under) a bouldar and realized I had gone off the blazed path a bit. Then I'd have to decide if it was better to just keep going or go back. Either way would work, but one way might be easier than the other. There was only one time when I really had to take my pack off to make it through a tight spot. But there were several other times that I took it off just to make it easier to pass.I was almost finished going through the Notch when I realized I had actually forgotten to check my watch when I started. I wanted to see how long it would take me this time. So I'm only estimating but I'm pretty sure I beat my last attempt of 2.5 hours. So I'll say between 2 and 2.5 hours this time. My view was to just not rush going through. That kept the Notch from being so physically difficult. Then it was just a mind game to be dealt with.However, then comes the Mahoosuc Arm. It really was more physically difficult than the Notch. Although there are a few rock climbs, the hardest parts were a series of very steep rock slabs that seem to go up at about a 45 degree angle. They went on and up for about a mile. The total elevation rise is about 1500 feet over about a mile. Part of the way up I crossed a stream flowing over a rock slab. There were a group of local hikers getting water. I was all empty and took advantage by taking a rest break and getting more water.That got me to the Speck Pond Campsite. They charge a fee to stay there so I just went about a mile further north and found a great spot to tent near a spring. A long and tiring day, but another AT "event" completed. There are fewer and fewer to be completed now.