peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
Its been quite awhile(25 years) since I have made the hike from Carlo Col to the entrance to Mahoosuc Notch. I went with my redlining friend on Thursday as she needed the From Goose Eye to the Notch trail and the Notch Trail. The out to the Notch trail to drop a car off was about 40 minutes. The first 1 mile of Success Pond road to the ATV lot is as bad as I have seen it in long time. Lot of traffic and no one really in charge of the road leads to its current condition. It cant just be regraded, there is going to need to be a lot of gravel hauled in as "the bones" of the road base is all there is. I have low clearance ford fiesta and by weaving back and forth I could find spots where I did not bottom out. Once past the ATV lot it gets better although it had rained the night before and there were puddles nearly the width of the road. Overall once the road transitions out of JR Dillons holdings and into Maine the road is on much better shape and there are even some mature woods along the road. Carlo Col Trail and the Notch trail are well marked from the road. The Notch trailhead is 1/2 mile in but about 3/10 in the second bridge has a washout at the entrance to the bridge. Folk with high ground clearance would have no issue but I didnt want the risk the Fiesta.
The hike up Carlo Col trail was fine as ever, Its very well graded trail right to the ridge line. The hike along the AT to Goose Eye has more ups and downs than I remember (applies to the entire day). The hike down off the Goose Eyes was fine but the extensive bog bridges and log bridging is showing its age. Many of the sleepers are deteriorating and some are outright gone so on occasion the bridges as floating so when stepping on the bridge it can sink down in the mud. There are several relocations up in the flat alpine sections but it looks like many are missing the relocations. On the exit from the flats on the north (AT North) there is boggy section running up to climb up a stone high spot. There is big herd path around the wet area. We followed the herd path but NOBO thru hiker tried to go through the boggy section, he was hip deep and needed help to get out. This spot needs some bridging. The other surprise along this stretch are the steel bars in the roccks to climb a steep ledge.
The hike over to Full Goose Shelter went quickly. I had remembered that the AT had been extensively rebuilt down to the notch long ago and that work along with newer looking set of steel bars down a steel ledge make this a steep but fast way down. We were running a bit late when we hit the notch trail. We were going to head down a bit to check out the snow in the notch but we eded up just dropping down to the hollow before the entrance to the notch that is only 100 feet from the intersection. It was a hot day and it was quite cool in this spot. Off a bit from the trail was some ledge and nestled down it in was some snow.
We headed out the Notch trail and fairly quickly hopped in car. Bugs had been persistent all day but more so coming down the Notch Trail. I think the No Seeums have joined the mix.
Some general notes, the actual AT is not extensively blazed, its easy to follow the track but white blazes are sparse. The AT in this area is rough with numerous ups and downs. None significant but they add up making this a longer dayhike than one would think from the guide.
The hike up Carlo Col trail was fine as ever, Its very well graded trail right to the ridge line. The hike along the AT to Goose Eye has more ups and downs than I remember (applies to the entire day). The hike down off the Goose Eyes was fine but the extensive bog bridges and log bridging is showing its age. Many of the sleepers are deteriorating and some are outright gone so on occasion the bridges as floating so when stepping on the bridge it can sink down in the mud. There are several relocations up in the flat alpine sections but it looks like many are missing the relocations. On the exit from the flats on the north (AT North) there is boggy section running up to climb up a stone high spot. There is big herd path around the wet area. We followed the herd path but NOBO thru hiker tried to go through the boggy section, he was hip deep and needed help to get out. This spot needs some bridging. The other surprise along this stretch are the steel bars in the roccks to climb a steep ledge.
The hike over to Full Goose Shelter went quickly. I had remembered that the AT had been extensively rebuilt down to the notch long ago and that work along with newer looking set of steel bars down a steel ledge make this a steep but fast way down. We were running a bit late when we hit the notch trail. We were going to head down a bit to check out the snow in the notch but we eded up just dropping down to the hollow before the entrance to the notch that is only 100 feet from the intersection. It was a hot day and it was quite cool in this spot. Off a bit from the trail was some ledge and nestled down it in was some snow.
We headed out the Notch trail and fairly quickly hopped in car. Bugs had been persistent all day but more so coming down the Notch Trail. I think the No Seeums have joined the mix.
Some general notes, the actual AT is not extensively blazed, its easy to follow the track but white blazes are sparse. The AT in this area is rough with numerous ups and downs. None significant but they add up making this a longer dayhike than one would think from the guide.
