Days 139 through 141 Frye Notch through Mahoosic Notch to Gentian Shelter

Day 139, August 20, Frye Notch to Grafton Notch (ME Route 26)

Hiked today 5.8 today’s ascent 1900 total hiked 1565

This was an easy 5.8 mile hike.  I started about 7:30 and arrived about 11:00 at Grafton Notch where Kim picked me up.  Kim hiked out about a half mile to meet me and we had a nice day together. She brought convenience store sandwiches which I wolfed down.

We ended up staying at the Rostay Inn in Bethel and were very happy with our choice.  The room was clean and well organized, though small.  The new owners were great and working hard to renovate the motel. Kim and I did my laundry at a laundromat and then we had dinner at a restaurant called The Modern Barn.  The dinner was delicious!  Kim is incredibly hard to please and she raved about her shrimp and pasta dish.

Day 140, August 21, Grafton Notch to Stealth campsite north of Mahoosic Notch

Hiked today 6.8 today’s ascent 3153 total hiked 1571

Today after having breakfast at a diner in Bethel, we started hiking at 8:50 AM.

This is a cascade in the beginning of the trail going up Old Speck mountain. The first picture has Kim in it and the second looks up the Cascade. 

This is the best falls yet today. I took two pictures because even vertical I couldn’t get the whole Falls in one

This is a viewpoint about one and a quarter miles into my hike. It is looking back toward the mountain that I’m about to climb, Old Speck mountain, seen here through the trees.

Kim walked pretty far with me, almost 3 miles, almost to the top of Old Speck. It was wonderful to have her company. She turned around and headed back to the car at about 11 AM and I continued up Old Speck

Although today is only a 7 mile day, it is a pretty hard 7 miles up Old Speck Mountain and down an extremely steep descent, called the arm. I will camp just before Mahoosic Notch.  Mahoosic Notch is famous for its 1 mile giant boulder field that makes it one of the most challenging miles on the AT.  I’m planning to tackle the notch when I’m fresh tomorrow morning.

Finally, I got my first view in days. This is getting close to the top of where the Appalachian Trail goes over Old Speck.  As you can see there is still a lot of white out, but there’s a little break here and the sun is actually shining.

This is the viewing platform at the top of Old Speck Mountain. As you can see, it’s a ladder straight up. I’m not confident that there will be any view since it’s a white out here, but I gotta go up the ladder.

Well, it turns out the white out is only on the northwest side of the mountain, the views to the southwest are great. I took three shots panning across it’s roughly a 120° view.

This is a beautiful view as I head down Old Speck. The clouds have parted and finally I get some scenery.

And this is the view over the mountains that the trail will take. I think it goes down in the valley up ahead then up the next mountain then down to Mahoosic Notch.

Today I’m camping at an unofficial campsite less than a quarter mile from Mahoosic Notch.  I got to my camp really early because today was only a 7 mile day. I arrived at about 3:15 in the afternoon. Just as I arrived at my campsite, it started pouring. On top of that the campsite is so compacted that there’s really no site that won’t puddle. I set up my tent in the pouring rain in one of the dryer looking spots, but after an hour of pouring rain,  about 25% of my floor is on top of water. Fortunately the tent is pretty good and I just have a few wet spots on the floor.

At 4:30, the are already 3 other tents.  People are making camp early because of the persistent rain.

UPDATE: I chose a really bad place for my tent!  It turned into a giant puddle during the downpour.  During a break in the rain I moved everything out of the tent, then disassembled it and moved to a better location.  I managed to get everything mostly dry.  Lesson learned: compacted spaces puddle in downpours!

Day 141, August 22, Mahoosic Notch to Gentian Pond Shelter

Hiked today 12.5 today’s ascent 4250 total hiked 1584

I started hiking this morning at 7 AM. I got to the beginning of Mahoosic Notch at about 7:15 AM. I exited the notch about 8:35 AM. An hour and 20 minutes not bad for a 68 year old. The Notch was fun and I think I got lucky choosing the right route all the way through.  Mahoosic Notch is basically a field of big boulders piled between walls formed by adjacent mountains.

Only in Maine, do you find a bog at the very top of a mountain.

The picture above is at the top of Fulling Mill Mountain.

This is the top of Goose Eye North Peak. As you can see complete white out conditions and there’s a misty rain falling.

I’m near Goose Eye Peak. I’m not gonna take the 0.1 mile side trail to go to the summit because there’s nothing to see inside this cloud.

I finally got a view from the top of one of the mountains. This mountain is about 7 miles into my hike and I’ll have to look up the name. I’m at 3427 feet.

Today was one o of the longest and hardest days I’ve had on the trail.  After spending energy climbing through Mahoosic, the rocky muddy rough terrain with lots of steep ascents and descents kicked my butt!  I averaged close to 60 minutes a mile for almost the entire day.  I arrived at the Gentian Pond Shelter at about 6:00 PM, 11 hours for 12.5 miles!  I literally staggered into camp like a zombie.