blacknblue
Active member
I really needed to take a break from life for a few days and, for some dumb reason, I thought going backpacking in the Mahoosucs would be a good idea. Why do we DO things like this?? My knees will never forgive me...
Day 1
I arrived at the AT trailhead on the North Road outside Gorham at 8:30 on Tuesday morning. Vegematic very generously agreed to drive me around to Grafton Notch and I enjoyed the company while getting a few "what the heck am I doing?" nerves out of the way. By 9:30, I was hiking from Grafton Notch. My plan was to hike three 10-mile days: Grafton to Full Goose, Full Goose to Gentian Pond, and Gentian Pond to Gorham.
The views from the Eyebrow Cliffs above the Notch were fantastic. The trail itself was steady, but not too bad. I reached the turnoff to the Old Speck firetower a bit before noon. A fellow coming down had said that he was too scared of the wind to climb to the top, but I didn't find it too bad. The temperature was in the 40s and the wind was whipping, but it was okay for a few minutes to take some quick pictures. However, it was not at all enticing to stay up top for long with that bitter wind and frozen fingers.
Although only 1.1 miles further to Speck Pond, it took another hour because the trail became very rough. Coming over the shoulder of Old Speck, I was knocked off my feet twice by the wind and blown into the rocks. Not good times. The views were outstanding, but alas, I couldn't enjoy them as I should. The rough terrain was only a harbinger.
Speck Pond is amazing. What a great spot! It was only 1:15, but I seriously contemplated staying put for the night. Instead, I left after fifteen minutes. On what is a relatively simple piece of trail, I tripped over a rock and completely hit the deck--something I do maybe once a year while hiking. With a full pack, I landed squarely on my left knee and left elbow, taking a chunk of skin off. I also landed awkwardly on a hiking pole, bending it just a bit. I hobbled for a while, but decided it wasn't too bad, so I kept moving up Mahoosuc Arm.
All throughout the Mahoosucs are fascinating alpine bogs on the ridgelines. Though only Old Speck is above 4000', much of the range affords 360-degree views from boggy, scrubby, rocky summits. Mahoosuc Arm also has great (and harrowing) views into Mahoosuc Notch.
The descent from Mahoosuc Arm was brutal. Slabby, wet, scrambly rocks. It was unrelenting. My knees were telling me all sorts of unrepeatable things. I have blown out each knee while backpacking before, and I started to get that "uh oh..." feeling again. Though only 1.5 miles from the summit of Mahoosuc Arm to the Notch, it took 1.5 hours to descend. It was tedious.
After crossing a nice brook, it was on to the Notch. Too many superlatives have already been thrown out about Mahoosuc Notch, but I really think it is easily the most difficult mile of the AT. It took me 1:40 to go the mile, taking off my backpack just once. The folks in front of me took 3 hours. By the time I finished, I was absolutely whipped. I thought I was in pretty decent shape, too. Not so!
After that, it is about a 1000-foot vertical gain in 3/4 mile up Fulling Mill Mountain's south peak (50' lower than the 'true' north summit). By that point, I was too exhausted to come up with the proper swear words. The summit of Fulling Mill (3400') was again spectacular, with bogs and long views. Shortly after the summit, though, I fell into "lightning mud" (think "lighting sand" from The Princess Bride) and got coated in mud to my knees, with splatters to my shoulders. Less than ideal.
I arrived at Full Goose at 6:00. There were four northbounders there, a northbounder's sister (joining him for a week), two southbounders, and Bruce, a guy I passed climbing Old Speck and saw again at Speck Pond. It is a nice, though nondescript area.
Day 2
I didn't start hiking until 8:00. My beauty sleep was largely unsuccessful and my knees still hurt. The climb to North Goose Eye was pleasant, though, with far less wind and fantastic views of valley fog to the north. The Presidentials were mostly clear, except for the usual cloud on Washington's summit cone. The broad ridge from North Goose Eye to Goose Eye is wonderful -- open and flat and wild. I was on Goose Eye's summit by 10:00.
The descent off Goose Eye was back to Mahoosuc-esque ladders and rock scrambles. I can barely even remember the hike over Mount Carlo at this point, other than looking back on Goose Eye and thinking, "Gee, it's still not very far away..." I hit Carlo Col at 11:30 and sat down to eat and drink.
As I was resting, I looked west and saw cliffs rising above the trees and thought: "There's no way the trail goes over that." Guess what? It does. I had less-than-charitable words for the trail designer at this point.
Up and over Mount Success (now in NH) wasn't too bad actually, but just as I was thinking that I was okay, the trail drops like a waterfall off Success's west flank. While the view of North Bald Cap was remarkable, my knees were screaming. The descent wasn't much better than Mahoosuc Arm. Then, just for added fun, the trail goes up a feet hundred feet before dropping to Gentian Pond.
I got to Gentian at 3:30 and collapsed at the entrance of the shelter. I stripped to nothing but my shorts and sat in the sun for 30 minutes before it dropped behind the ridge. The setting was quite sublime and I sat slug-like for much of the evening. Bruce arrived around 5:30 and two (different) southbounders joined me in the shelter that night.
Day 3
It was another 10 miles on the AT to Gorham and I knew my knees were in a serious way. I decided to chop off 5 miles of trail and add 1 mile of roadwalk by descending the Peabody Brook Trail. The morning was overcast just higher than Gentian Pond, but it was calm and serene. The colors around the swampy areas was marvelous.
I was hiking by 7:45 and got 2.2 miles up the AT to Dream Lake by 9:00, completely socked in fog. The 3.1 miles down Peabody Brook was slow going, mostly because my knees were begging for relief. I finally got to the road by 10:45, and to my Jeep by 11:15. Phew!
I took off my boots and sat there for a good 20 minutes before putting my sneakers on and driving away. Bruce walked by while I was sitting and we, fittingly, got to say goodbye.
Conclusion
The Mahoosucs are terrific and scenic and amazing. But they are rugged, too. Even the northbounders were humbled. As for me, my knees aren't quite rehabbed enough for that. But the sites at Speck Pond and Gentian Pond are some of my favorites that I have come across, especially in the autumn.
88 pics here .
Day 1
I arrived at the AT trailhead on the North Road outside Gorham at 8:30 on Tuesday morning. Vegematic very generously agreed to drive me around to Grafton Notch and I enjoyed the company while getting a few "what the heck am I doing?" nerves out of the way. By 9:30, I was hiking from Grafton Notch. My plan was to hike three 10-mile days: Grafton to Full Goose, Full Goose to Gentian Pond, and Gentian Pond to Gorham.
The views from the Eyebrow Cliffs above the Notch were fantastic. The trail itself was steady, but not too bad. I reached the turnoff to the Old Speck firetower a bit before noon. A fellow coming down had said that he was too scared of the wind to climb to the top, but I didn't find it too bad. The temperature was in the 40s and the wind was whipping, but it was okay for a few minutes to take some quick pictures. However, it was not at all enticing to stay up top for long with that bitter wind and frozen fingers.
Although only 1.1 miles further to Speck Pond, it took another hour because the trail became very rough. Coming over the shoulder of Old Speck, I was knocked off my feet twice by the wind and blown into the rocks. Not good times. The views were outstanding, but alas, I couldn't enjoy them as I should. The rough terrain was only a harbinger.
Speck Pond is amazing. What a great spot! It was only 1:15, but I seriously contemplated staying put for the night. Instead, I left after fifteen minutes. On what is a relatively simple piece of trail, I tripped over a rock and completely hit the deck--something I do maybe once a year while hiking. With a full pack, I landed squarely on my left knee and left elbow, taking a chunk of skin off. I also landed awkwardly on a hiking pole, bending it just a bit. I hobbled for a while, but decided it wasn't too bad, so I kept moving up Mahoosuc Arm.
All throughout the Mahoosucs are fascinating alpine bogs on the ridgelines. Though only Old Speck is above 4000', much of the range affords 360-degree views from boggy, scrubby, rocky summits. Mahoosuc Arm also has great (and harrowing) views into Mahoosuc Notch.
The descent from Mahoosuc Arm was brutal. Slabby, wet, scrambly rocks. It was unrelenting. My knees were telling me all sorts of unrepeatable things. I have blown out each knee while backpacking before, and I started to get that "uh oh..." feeling again. Though only 1.5 miles from the summit of Mahoosuc Arm to the Notch, it took 1.5 hours to descend. It was tedious.
After crossing a nice brook, it was on to the Notch. Too many superlatives have already been thrown out about Mahoosuc Notch, but I really think it is easily the most difficult mile of the AT. It took me 1:40 to go the mile, taking off my backpack just once. The folks in front of me took 3 hours. By the time I finished, I was absolutely whipped. I thought I was in pretty decent shape, too. Not so!
After that, it is about a 1000-foot vertical gain in 3/4 mile up Fulling Mill Mountain's south peak (50' lower than the 'true' north summit). By that point, I was too exhausted to come up with the proper swear words. The summit of Fulling Mill (3400') was again spectacular, with bogs and long views. Shortly after the summit, though, I fell into "lightning mud" (think "lighting sand" from The Princess Bride) and got coated in mud to my knees, with splatters to my shoulders. Less than ideal.
I arrived at Full Goose at 6:00. There were four northbounders there, a northbounder's sister (joining him for a week), two southbounders, and Bruce, a guy I passed climbing Old Speck and saw again at Speck Pond. It is a nice, though nondescript area.
Day 2
I didn't start hiking until 8:00. My beauty sleep was largely unsuccessful and my knees still hurt. The climb to North Goose Eye was pleasant, though, with far less wind and fantastic views of valley fog to the north. The Presidentials were mostly clear, except for the usual cloud on Washington's summit cone. The broad ridge from North Goose Eye to Goose Eye is wonderful -- open and flat and wild. I was on Goose Eye's summit by 10:00.
The descent off Goose Eye was back to Mahoosuc-esque ladders and rock scrambles. I can barely even remember the hike over Mount Carlo at this point, other than looking back on Goose Eye and thinking, "Gee, it's still not very far away..." I hit Carlo Col at 11:30 and sat down to eat and drink.
As I was resting, I looked west and saw cliffs rising above the trees and thought: "There's no way the trail goes over that." Guess what? It does. I had less-than-charitable words for the trail designer at this point.
Up and over Mount Success (now in NH) wasn't too bad actually, but just as I was thinking that I was okay, the trail drops like a waterfall off Success's west flank. While the view of North Bald Cap was remarkable, my knees were screaming. The descent wasn't much better than Mahoosuc Arm. Then, just for added fun, the trail goes up a feet hundred feet before dropping to Gentian Pond.
I got to Gentian at 3:30 and collapsed at the entrance of the shelter. I stripped to nothing but my shorts and sat in the sun for 30 minutes before it dropped behind the ridge. The setting was quite sublime and I sat slug-like for much of the evening. Bruce arrived around 5:30 and two (different) southbounders joined me in the shelter that night.
Day 3
It was another 10 miles on the AT to Gorham and I knew my knees were in a serious way. I decided to chop off 5 miles of trail and add 1 mile of roadwalk by descending the Peabody Brook Trail. The morning was overcast just higher than Gentian Pond, but it was calm and serene. The colors around the swampy areas was marvelous.
I was hiking by 7:45 and got 2.2 miles up the AT to Dream Lake by 9:00, completely socked in fog. The 3.1 miles down Peabody Brook was slow going, mostly because my knees were begging for relief. I finally got to the road by 10:45, and to my Jeep by 11:15. Phew!
I took off my boots and sat there for a good 20 minutes before putting my sneakers on and driving away. Bruce walked by while I was sitting and we, fittingly, got to say goodbye.
Conclusion
The Mahoosucs are terrific and scenic and amazing. But they are rugged, too. Even the northbounders were humbled. As for me, my knees aren't quite rehabbed enough for that. But the sites at Speck Pond and Gentian Pond are some of my favorites that I have come across, especially in the autumn.
88 pics here .
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