Sat, Sept 7
Miles: 12.3+0.2=12.5
Starting/ending: 1905.5-1917.8
A slow going hard day through the Mahoosuc Notch.
Awake before 6 in the full shelter – I slept pretty well considering there were 14 of us inside. I’m low on fuel so I have overnight cold soaked oats and cold coffee. Not bad. I get my period and Mountain Laurel gives me some tampons – thanks ML!
Ups and downs over knobs all day. It’s dreary. Welcome to Maine! Roots, rocks, some mud. Unnamed knolls, Goose Eye West Peak, Goose Eye East Peak, Goose Eye North Peak. Tons of boardwalks – flat planks, sloped planks, planks with wooden braces for traction, little planks, big planks. Solo most of the day. A few SOBO flip floppers recount the fun of boulder strewn hiker jungle gym that is Mahoosuc Notch. The slowest, hardest mile of the AT.
A snack break with Tales, Socks, and Supervisor at Full Goose Shelter. Onward with Socks and Tales and into the Notch! We’re through the challenging mile in 1 hr 40 min! It’s fun and adventurous, going up and down boulders and under house sized rocks. It’s also hard and tiring and a full body workout. I slam my knee into a rock and bash my shin on another. Ouch! I fill my water at the end and am quite exhausted.
Tales and Socks continue on another few miles up the Mahoosuc Arm to a shelter, but I’m pooped and I set up camp in the campsite immediately after the Notch. My shin is swollen from the earlier rock bashing. Supervisor, Jingles, Garndpa (a former Ridgerunner) and a few weekend warriors stay there too. It’s supposed to rain, the tail end of a hurricane is coming through. Supervisor shares some fuel with me – thank you! More Knorr rice and beans for dinner. The rain starts at 7:30 and I hunker down into my wee cozy shelter, shrinking the ground gap to a minimum in order to stay as dry as possible. I write. I’m tired. I sleep.
