Date: 2005-08-20
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Rt. 26 Grafton Notch
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Day started promising with brilliant red sun showing itself through the dense forest. So far I¢ve been lucky weather-wise but today I really need it with the Mahoosucs. Will it hold up? Unfortunately no.But that would manifest itself later. I was up at 5:20, cooking breakfast on the tent platforms so as not to disburb Red Beard and Zen. I feel strong and good this morning - ready to take on the Notch! Got to overcome this wimpy hiking!First though was the hike up Fulling Mountain. Typical ascent but I made it and felt good. The top was lovely but I didn¢t want to linger. However, I could tell from the fascinating sky that today¢s weather would feature a battle between clouds and sun with the clouds likely prevailing. But now the clouds were high affording vistas everwhere including the White Mountains.The descent to the Notch was steep itself but I was there and began the ¢hardest mile of the AT¢ at 7:47 AM, placing my camera and water bottles inside the pack - no photos of the Notch. I¢ve heard that one should allow 2 hours for the Notch and it took me......2 hours plus one minute. Sofinally on this hike, I don¢t feel so below-average anymore! The Notch was everything I heard about and expected. I only had to remove my pack 4 times to maneuver through slots (not holes but slots). Re. poles - every option presents itself, i.e. sometime you need both poles, sometime you need one and only one pole, and sometime they¢re a hindrance in which case you toss them ahead of you. And I often felt gratified that I wasn¢t one inch shorter and wondered how these petite women manage with Thumper anbd O¢Connorbeing the most recent examples. At least the Trail was well-marked. There certainly was an element of fun to the scamble but such fun would have been enhanced if I only had a day pack rather than the full backpack. Only a few sprinkles had fallen when I reached the end, encountering a SOBOer. After lunch, I started the long difficult ascent up Mahoosuc Arm with the increasing rain forcing me to mount the pack cover but nothing else since I was soaked through from sweat anyway. Partway up, Vapor passed me - he had camped below and slept late this morning. Finally getting near the Shelter, I passed Henry. We remarked how the drizzle and fog kept us from seeing how far we had - at least we won¢t be fooled by false summits; we can¢t even see them.It¢s 1:00 when I reach Speck Pond Shelter where Vapor and Adam the caretaker are talking. Yes, of course I¢m tired and beat up, and after having stopped for 5 minutes, a chill sets in and my hands start to freeze. I really don¢t want another short mileage day - what are my options? Per Adam, the descent to Grafton Notch isn¢t as difficult as the earlier ascents and descents andthe hitchhiking should be decent so I think: a room in Bethel sounds good tonight. So after a brief snack of trail mix, I pushed on at 1:30. Vapor left before me but Henry decided to stay at the shelter. Before the Grafton Notch, there¢s the matter of an ascent up most of Old Speck, one of Maine¢s 4,000 footers. This took longer than expected - my fault because I hadn¢t loooked at the map. Many false summits which didn¢t become apparent easily in the fog. Saw another spruce grouse but with the camera packed away because of the weather, I couldn¢t get a photo. Actually, the rain stopped but everything was wet which meant slower going on the rocks.After finally reaching the turnoff to the Old Speck side trail to the summit, the descent began and yes, it wasn¢t bad by Maine standards. When I was most of the way down, I met a woman hiking with her teenage son. They were fit-looking as well as friendly but I hope they can make it to the Shelter before dark - they faced a long climb.This was a good decision to proceed - I reached the road at 5:51 but it took 40 minutes to hitch before a young man drove me all the way to Bethel where I stayed at the Norseman¢s Inn and enjoyed a good dinner at the Roadhouse - crab-encrusted haddock, Ceaesar salad, corn-crab chowder, creme d¢menthe parfeit. Did laundry, phoned Laurine and Northern Harrier. Now for a good night¢s sleep.