Day 89: Full Goose Shelter

Start: Gentian Pond Shelter (AT mi 1906.6). Stop: Full Goose Shelter (AT mi 1916.2). Today’s miles: 9.6 miles. Total AT mileage: 891.5 miles. States Completed: Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire


Before dark, 4 more people showed up and we all managed to fit in the shelter. I slept pretty decent, considering-and all the people nearby kept me warm, too. The only issue: everyone got up early. Dear Lord did they all get up super early.


I gave up sleeping by 6:15 and started getting ready myself. The SOBO guys got up by 5am but didn’t leave until 7, which was really annoying since they stayed in the shelter that whole time. I was on trail by 7:15 and it officially had morphed back into the obstacle courses New Hampshire had been giving me.


It rained overnight and this morning, but had stopped when I got started. However, that didn’t stop me from getting soaked. The trail was muddy, boggy, and sloshy all day. The climbs were steep but short, thankfully-there were quite a few of them though. The downhills scared me a bit once I crossed the border into Maine. The rock slabs were soaked and my tread on my shoes were simply no match. I literally slipped on my butt all the way down a rock face at one point, and just remember thinking, “soft impact, soft impact!” Praying I wouldn’t break a leg when I hit the bottom. Luckily, all I have are some scrapes on my butt and back of my thighs.


Even with the terrain being crazy again, the idea that I crossed off another state and passed into Maine kept my spirits high. Instead of the angry, “are you kidding me?!” it was more of a, “ok trail, let’s do this.” It was definitely difficult though. Without a doubt. I fell several times, more of slips and slides, but a fall all the same.


I ate lunch right at the border sign with some NOBOs that stayed at the shelter last night.. Scout, Steak, and Aloha. They have another friend, Proton that already passed us by this point. They finished lunch before me, and I didn’t see them again until I made it to the shelter. To my happiness, when I did get to the shelter they all made room for me to fit in, too. With me, it’s now completely full. There’s the 4 of them, Kowalski, another NOBO from last night, Reef (a NOBO I met back in Vermont), and 2 SOBOs.


We’ve all had dinner and we sat around “helping” Proton with a crossword (they helped, I didn’t-damn those things are difficult). Now we’re all winding down and getting ready for bed. We have a plan to all hike out together in the morning to help each other get over Mahoosuc Notch-the crazy rock boulder field. I’m grateful to know I won’t have to go at that alone. I may get up earlier to get to it before everyone so I’m not accidentally left behind.. I still feel like such a slow hiker. Especially with all these folks having 2000 miles under their belts.


Once I finish tomorrow’s 9.7 miles, I’ll get shuttled into town and have a hotel for the night. That alone already has me excited to be through the tough stuff the trail will toss me in tomorrow. Wish me luck!


Goodnight 🙂

Day 90: Mahoosuc Notch & Arm

Start: Full Goose Shelter (AT mi 1916.2). Stop: Bethel, Maine (AT mi 1925.9). Today’s miles: 9.7 miles. Total AT mileage: 901.2 miles


I got up at 5:30 and started packing. I was suddenly so anxious that I’d get stuck or hurt at Mahoosuc Notch and no one would be around to help me. I can’t say I was dreaming about that, but I did wake up in a hurry with only that thought on my mind.


I left at 6:15, while others were just starting to stir. The mile and a half to get to the notch was far from smooth on its own.. lots of ladders and rock obstacles, but knowing whatever I pass would be nothing compared to the famous “notch” everyone talks and warns about I kept going. They say to expect to take 2 hours or more to go through the mile of rock boulders.


I made it to the notch at 7:30. No one had caught up to me yet, so I decided I’d go slow and cautious, and if I found myself in a pickle, id just wait it out until someone else came along to help. I packed away my phone and my trekking poles, and kept my rain cover on my pack to protect anything from sliding out into the abyss while slinking through what awaited me.


The way the rocks were all stacked and toppled onto each other reminded me of a car junkyard.. the ones where the wrecked cars are all piled on top of each other.. while some cars you easily climb up and over, others you crawl through the windows and scootch through the insides to come out the other side. It was a lot of arm work to make it anywhere, the deeper into the boulders you went, the more slick the rocks were. The tread on my shoes felt worthless.


Around 8:15 Reef caught me and I was so happy to see his face. He ended up having to help me down a couple steep sections that I couldn’t reach on my own. Picture this: I’m holding onto a tree root with all my might, both feet are on the rock ledge, knees are bent and if I stretch a leg down I’m still 2-4 feet from the bottom where Reef is standing. He’s telling me I’m ok to let go, and I just couldn’t. I was terrified. He helped me “drop” down. He also helped me through a cave section we had to crawl hands and knees through without our packs. We had to go a few feet, turn, pull your pack, then do the same.. over and over until we got out.


During the 2 hours and 15 minutes it took me to get through that section, I slipped, fell, and scraped my legs so many times I couldn’t keep count. Pulling with all my strength to get up to my knees, only to scrape them so much they bled. Fun times. Also, several people passed me, one younger guy I didn’t know helped talk me through a panicked moment when I thought I was about to fall into a dark hole.. he helped me turn back and attempt a different way, then held my hand until I crossed the hole to him.


Sometimes (ok, almost always-except to when it comes to peeing, and maybe the benefit of longer legs), I’m very grateful to be a woman. I know men would help other men, too, in a situation like that, but would they really stop to look at another man to see if they were actually ok and stay and hold their hand when they’re terrified crossing something sketchy? I’m going to guess not. The terrified man would probably be too proud to admit it to begin with-but there was no hiding my panic in that moment.


Anyway. I made it through and started to look for the stream promised to be ahead before starting the Mahoosuc Arm, the 1500 ft elevation gain in just a mile.. aka: straight UP. I got my water, chugged a bunch and ate a snack, limbs all still shaky with exhaustion from the last 2+ hours of hellish work. And then I started making my way up.


People either seem to love either the notch or the arm. Never both. I hated the notch, I could picture myself being seriously injured so many times.. but the arm? The arm was awesome. It was also all hand over hand climbing-but because it only went up-you could literally see your progress! The notch you could never tell when it was almost over- it just kept going and going and going.. the arm, turn and look down-yep.. I’m moving along nicely. There were roots and rocks everywhere making it mostly easy to guess at the best place for footing to safely move forward. Sure, if you chose wrong and fell, that would be disastrous, but that never came close to being an issue for me.


When I made it to the top, I ate my lunch and marveled at the view. I had accomplished two of the most difficult parts of this section already, and only had Old Speck Mountain to go before I was happily in a hotel bed. Hell. Yes.


I had to hike down to Speck Pond before hiking up Old Speck Mountain. Descents are easily my least favorite thing.. they make my knees hurt and they are slippery, usually the culprit to the majority of my falls. I got to the top just before 2pm and called the hotel to let them know. They offer a free shuttle from the bottom of the mountain to the hotel, but no one has service at the bottom.. If you forget to call at the top, they don’t know when to come get you, and the trailhead is pretty remote.


They picked me up from the bottom at 4:30, along with a SOBO hiker and then they also shuttled Reef and another hiker to town, too. The owners of the hotel were absolutely incredible. Mark took us to the motel first, let us shower and clean up, THEN let us check in.. lol


After paperwork was done he took me and the other hiker staying to get dinner and for me to resupply at the grocery store. I got back to the room and still had to do laundry and repack all my stuff. I was so beat, but I got it all done. I talked to my mom a while and then the second the dryer was done and my clothes were back in my room, I was in bed and ready to pass out. Hiker midnight comes so fast!


Anyway. What a crazy good, accomplished day. My whole body aches.. arms, shoulders, hands, knees, ankles, feet. This comfortable bed is just what I needed. I really wish I had more time and could zero tomorrow, but I’m on a mission to make it to Katahdin. Ahhhh. Well, Goodnight y’all.

Day 91: The Cabin

Start: Bethel, Maine (AT mi 1925.9). Stop: The Cabin (AT mi 1936.2). Today’s miles: 10.3 miles. Total AT mileage: 911.5 miles


My alarm went off at 7am (on my watch) and I was so tired that I turned it off and then turned on my phone alarm for 7:30.. Mark, the motel owner, was scheduled to take me back to Grafton Notch (where I got off the trail yesterday) at 8am. I sure like to cut it close.


I did get up at 7:30, but man oh man was absolutely every muscle in my body sore. Especially my arms. Those puny things aren’t used to doing so much work and yesterday was CrossFit mixed with a tough mudder, in my humble opinion. lol.. I tossed down some ibuprofen and set to work getting dressed, packing, and eating a quick breakfast. I made it outside to meet Mark at 7:59 and he rolled up in a different van at 8:02. Perfect!


He asked me if I’d be willing to help him out this morning, and follow him in the other van to drop it off at the mechanic for routine maintenance stuff, he promised it was on the way. I didn’t care, I would have helped him either way.. he’s so dang nice! After we dropped the van off, we hit the road. A few minutes later, another hiker called Mark and he had to turn around to go get him, since he was dropping us off at the same place.

We finally made it to the trailhead at 8:45, and then there was trail magic at the parking lot. Well, no hiker in their right mind would turn down fresh scrambled eggs and coffee.. naturally, I didn’t either. I actually started hiking just after 9am. I knew when I started I probably wouldn’t be making the 16 miles I originally intended. This is also when I came to terms with the fact that I won’t make it to Katahdin before my mom flies to Maine. Ahhh. So much pressure.


Anywho-the start of the trail was an uphill climb of 3+ miles to the top of Baldpate Mountain. The trail was so well maintained, rock steps almost perfectly placed the whole way! Don’t get me wrong, my sore body ached going up them and it took me a God-awful long time.. but I appreciated the trial maintenance crew’s hard work! Haha
At the top I sat down and uploaded yesterday’s blog. When I was done I realized it was practically lunch time, so I went ahead and ate up there, too. I sat there for at least an hour.. the scenery was hazy but gorgeous. Mountains upon mountains for miles, until the haze fuzzed them all out. I wished I could have just camped right there.


The downhill from there started off sketchy, steep rock faces that weren’t slick but the fear of sliding off the mountain was present regardless. Then I got into some slick business that definitely landed me on my already bruised butt a couple times. Ha, how great. I stumbled my way to the next shelter for what seemed like hours upon hours. I finally showed up around 2:30pm.


There was a couple there, southbound.. I was chatting with them about the idea that I had originally to go another 10 miles to meet my goal, and how utterly silly that is. They laughed and agreed. I decided I didn’t want to stay at the shelter, since I still had several hours I could be hiking. I was planning to go to a waterfall about 4 ish more miles away. They told me about a road crossing just past that and the name of a hostel that will come pick me up from there. Hmmmm.


I filtered some water and hauled out of there. When I got to the top of a small, unnamed mountain, I got service. I called the hostel and got the last bunk. They told me where to call again so they could come pick me up.. the trail literally turned into actual trail not long after that. I was cruising! I finally was back to hiking 2.5 miles per hour again! I got to the waterfalls and called the hostel back, I was half a mile away from the crossing.


I made it to the road crossing at 4:45. I didn’t have service there, so I sat in the parking lot.. took my shoes off and aired out my feet. Drank some water and looked at my app to attempt to come up with a miracle to make it to Katahdin by the time my mom gets here.. hahaha-I truly don’t think it’s going to happen now. But it is what it is.. we plan, God laughs. I’ll just have to get off trail those 4-5 days and enjoy every second with her, then finish up Katahdin and fly down to Harper’s Ferry, WV the day after.. whatever day that might be.


A nice lady came and picked me up about 15 minutes of sitting there. Another man doing a quick little hike to the falls said if my ride wasn’t there by the time he got back that he’d drive me to the hostel on his way home. Wow. I’m loving these folks in Maine, at least in these rural parts.


The hostel is very friendly and tightly fits a whole lot of hikers.. I got there right at dinner time, so I got to eat before showering. Dinner included salad, pork tenderloin (mom knows this isn’t my favorite, but ya know what? I ate it, I just wouldn’t do it again), mashed potatoes, corn on the cobb, greens, and garlic bread. It was at this moment-with my plate full and lemonade in my cup-that I decided I’m going to slack pack tomorrow and stay here again tomorrow night.. lol. They also gave us brownies and ice cream. AND-I get breakfast tomorrow, too. Yep-they’re going to have to kick me out.


I showered and organized my gear to slack pack 13 miles tomorrow. I wanted to do 22, but they’re all acting like I have 9 heads-so I’ll go with their flow since they know what they’re doing and have hiked these mountains before. Haha. It feels weird to slack and not actually get any further than I would if I carried my pack, but I’m just counting it as extra home cooked meals now. I’m getting 2 or 4 more meals out of this deal, not any saved days for my itinerary.


Anyway, it’s bedtime. I’ve got to find somewhere to plug in this phone and then climb up on my top bunk in a crowded bunk room. Hopefully it’s comfortable, or that’s going to make the next few days awkward.. since it’ll be my bunk those days, too.


Sweet dreams, y’all.

Honey is the Hostel owner, she thru hiked 20 years ago and her and her husband started this hostel ❤️