Date: 2005-08-18
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

Having gone to bed before 7 last night and sleeping well, arising at 5:20, I felt much better today and it showed; I was much stronger although not strong enough to make it to Full Goose Shelter ( I wonder what the term ¢Full¢ Goose means - something more than a half goose?). Anyway, I was the first to leave this morning, packing a wet groundcloth and tent fly from the heavy dew. I faced an immediate ascent up Wockets Ledge which I handled well, but still slow because of the terrain. Passing by Page Pond, I continued to the picturesque Dream Lake where I saw some tenters stirring. I recognized Morel - guess he didn¢t make it to the Maine line - but as I was about out of earshot, I heard ¢Cookerhiker!¢ I approached the tents and was greeted by Sean and Carolyn who I had given some small doses of Trail Magic last May in Shenandoah National Park. Northern Harrier had met them last week while on vacation in the Whites. I was impressed that they remembered me. Later on, they would pass me.The ascent up Mt. Success seemed to take forever. At a false summit before the final climb, I lingered to enjoy the view, the breezes, and the general setting - scrub evergreens, blueberry bushes, flat rocks. I like it here and I¢m not in a hurry. Why do I hike the Appalachian Trail - it¢s not just to get from Point A to Point B.But of course I did move on and finally reach the Mt. Success summit (so it won¢t be Mt. Failure for me!). An extensive above-treeline expanse greeted me which was fun to traipse along. So thankful the weather¢s been good. It¢s likely hot in the valleys but ideal here. Any thoughts I had of pushing to Full Goose were dissipated after the rough descent down Mt. Success. Today,all the descents were difficult and the ascents steep but manageable. So I¢m staying at Carlo Col. Unlike these young thru-hikers, I¢m just not moving that fast. En-route, I reached the state border; it felt good to step into Maine. Only 1/2 mile to Carlo Col but what a half mile! Impossible! There were spots where I dismounted my pack, proceeded first, then lugged my pack behind me. A preview to Mahoosuc Notch? I¢m getting nervous. One little stretch, probably 10 feet of horizontal trail mile, occupied 10 minutes of hand-wringing, planning, deciding, and then moving. ¢Cooker, you need help?¢ It was Sean. ¢I might¢ but just as he came within sight, I figured out how to negotiate the steps into air.Now I was finally at the side trail to Carlo Col where Sean and Carolyn were waiting asking if I had seen Porter. ¢No, not since the Dream Lake campsite.¢ They were worried because all the other hikers had passed including Patagonius who I had last seen at Gentian Pond Shelter (a beautiful place to stay). Not surprisingly, they were surprised when I came by before Porter. They asked me to convey to him if I saw him that they were stopping at Full Goose tonight to tackle Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow.After a less-than-easy .3 miles down the side trail to Carlo Col, I found the shelter and Morel who was filling his water. Later on, Porter did come by so I expressed his friends¢ concern. He said the going was slow for him today.I was joined by 9 Lives and later Knees, another young thruhiker. A tough 10 miles today has me already rethinking the schedule I drew up. And tomorrow brings Mahoosuc Notch but not before some steep ascents and descents up Goose Eye and the other Goose mountains.