Date: 2015-08-02
From: Gorham, NH

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 21.3

So this whole day has roots in things that happened yesterday. I promised I wouldn't post about it until Monday but it looks like this post will get put up then anyway.When Poboy and I got to Gorham yesterday he had been made aware of some things back home. After getting a cell phone signal and calling home he found he had no choice but to book a plane ticket and head out in the morning. I've been completely bummed for the last 24 hours but I understand and respect him even more for what he did. It's people like Poboy that make the AT what it is.Poboy, I don't care what we talked about on the trail, you're a thru-hiker. What you've accomplished is too impressive to dismiss as failure. Thanks for the laughs and the memories. You've been an amazing friend. I can't wait to hang out with you and Mrs. Poboy after this is over.So this morning my fight or flight instinct chose flight. I got up early, got my things together, ate breakfast as fast as I could and started walking. Selfishly, I didn't tell Jeopardy my plans for the day and I haven't seen him. He reads this so I'm sure it we'll hook back up. I really just wanted to walk alone today.The trail did the standard climb out of town. As soon as my legs warmed up I started humming. I made the first 12 miles to Gentian Pond for lunch by noon. I'd been told a moose has been hanging out in the pond but only during the dawn/dusk hours. I didn't get to see it but the pond was a great place to sit and eat. I spent the hour trading stories with a SOBO and reveling in my tortellini taco skills.My initial thought for the day was to go to Carlo Col Shelter about 17 miles in and just across the Maine border. I crossed the border a little before 5:00 and figured the 5 miles to Full Goose Shelter wouldn't be too bad. It would also set me up to go into Mahoosuc Notch and up Mahoosuc Arm before the predicted afternoon storms tomorrow. If you haven't heard of Mahoosuc Notch it's described as a jumbled pit of boulders that is either the hardest or most fun mile of the AT, depending on your outlook. Well, the five mile walk was anything but quick. Ladders on exposed ridges and steep descents were the norm. By the time I climbed the three Goose Eye Mountain peaks and Mt Carlo I was out of water and anything resembling energy. Twenty mile days through here officially seem like a bad idea. But hey, when I started I set a goal to do forty 20 mile days. Today was number forty. My legs aren't happy about it.I showed up after 7:00 to a packed shelter and campsite. I moved a couple trees and made myself a spot. The Outward Bound folks take up a lot of real estate. Tomorrow will be a shorter day with some big climbs, including the Mahoosuc Arm that is supposed to be pretty steep. Pretty steep here generally means scaling rock faces and a lot of cursing. I took those Southern mountains for granted. I'm sorry Southern AT. I didn't appreciate you like I should have.Couple things to finish with tonight. Diana asked about the camping ban above treeline (alpine zone). The general stance on that has to do with the vegetation. Apparently it's extremely fragile and when hiking up there you're told to not leave the actual trail. Camping would exacerbate the problem.I wouldnt camp up there, especially near Mt Washington because of the weather. The 18 miles above treeline between Crawford and Pinkham Notch were amazing but nerve wracking. The wind is constantly howling and exposure is an issue. Storms come quick and there's nowhere you can go. 100 MPH winds are not unheard of there. The poster of all the people that have died there is pretty humbling as well.The second thing I wanted to mention was last night's entry about you guys. Holy cow. I never expected any response but it made my day when I fired my phone up. The neighborhood kids even made this really cool banner. You're all too much. It's been a tough day where I wanted nothing else than to be alone. Thanks for showing me that I'm not.