The participants: Charles (Youngblood), Mary Ellen (MEB), Rachel (Little Sister), Darlene (Darl58), Steve (UnfrozenCaveman), Guy (Giggy), Andy (Drewski), Rebecca (Juniper) and Arm (Arm).
What a weekend! Charles originally had wanted to get a group together to do a backpack of the entire Mahoosuc Range from Grafton Notch to Gorham. More sensible heads (and, at least in my case, less able bodies) prevailed and the trip was scaled back to accommodate the fact that we’d be carrying heavy packs and most likely encountering some wintry (or at least wet) conditions. After spotting a car at the Success Trail trailhead, seven of us hiked in on Friday night via the Speck Pond Trail, while Charles started at Grafton Notch. The hike in was fairly straightforward, although we did encounter snow as we climbed. Both parties arrived at the Speck Pond shelter at the same time and we soon set to work making dinner and getting set up for bed. Although we were prepared to tent, we all decided to sleep in the shelter on a cold but windless night. Just enough room for the eight of us!
Up early the next morning, breakfasted and packed up. The first group hit the trail just before 7am and the rest followed within a half hour or so. The hike around Speck Pond was beautiful – the weather was very calm and getting warmer. Next came the climb up Mahoosuc Arm, the summit of which offered beautiful views of the surrounding area, including the snowy peaks of the Presidentials. The descent toward the Notch gave us a first preview of the knee crushing terrain that we’d travel over the rest of the day. It was a pleasant surprise to find the trail dry and ice-free on this side of the notch.
By the time we entered Mahoosuc Notch the entire group was back together. We spent the next two hours pushing, pulling, slipping, sliding, climbing under, climbing over, throwing the useless hiking poles, taking the big packs off, cursing, celebrating and, finally, emerging at the other end of the notch. We encountered an awful stench about halfway through, which at first we thought was the lingering odor of the moose that had fallen in the notch last year (can the smell really last that long?? we wondered). Later, we found some of the moose’s bones, so the smell was caused by some other (more recently dead) animal
. We met three groups of hikers during the day, including a couple of young guys wearing sneakers and street clothes (we saw them in the notch!) out for a day hike. Oh, and Giggy saved my life. Really! Thanks man.
The rest of the hike was a grueling series of ups and downs. Fulling Mill, various Goose Eyes (a few of us opted out of bagging the summit of W. Goose Eye – I already regret it!), Mt. Carlo. The weather was changing rapidly – fog was rolling in and the wind had picked up considerably. It was no longer enjoyable to walk in the alpine environment. From another hiker we met on the trail, we knew that the forecast was for heavy rain overnight, and we were hoping to finish up the day’s hike before the rain started. Personally, I was exhausted at this point, and my knees were screaming with every step down. It seemed to take forever to cover the last couple of miles to the Carlo Col shelter. As we got closer to the shelter, MEB, Rachel and I ran into Arm, who had come up that day and was joining us for the rest of the weekend. He looked very fresh after his hike in and tells us that the shelter is just ahead. Hooray!!!!! The shelter was a cozy cabin (not just a lean-to) that had room for all 9 of us. We got ourselves situated and then spent the next several hours (we arrived around 4pm) making meals, enjoying some of the liquid supplies that Arm had carried in and generally having fun passing the time. Andy was the exception – he was suffering some leg cramps, most likely due to dehydration. He was loaded up with water and electrolytes and Charles massaged his legs.
By late evening the fog had become real rain, which continued throughout the night, accompanied by high winds. We had a tarp over the doorway that made quite a ruckus during the windy first hours of the rainstorm. A large branch fell onto the shelter at one point. Fortunately, the roof did not leak at all and we remained dry and cozy.
In the morning there was a fair amount of disagreement about which route to take to wrap up the hike. By this time the rain was ending - we timed this one perfectly, it seemed. In the end, Giggy, MEB, Rachel, Andy and I went out the short way on the (now) water-filled Carlo Col trail. I took a bit of a bath at the last water crossing! We then did all the necessary car-moving to get the vehicles to the rest of the group who would be coming out at the Success Trail. Driving on Success Pond Road was nearly as thrilling as Mahoosuc Notch! We encountered a couple of fallen trees in the road from the overnight storm. The others had hiked to Mt. Success and then came out the Success Trail. Charles reported walking through a swamp up to the middle of his thighs (others seemed to have avoided this fate). Andy had to take care of a family issue, so we said goodbye to him and everyone else ended up at Mr. Pizza in Gorham to wind up the weekend.
So much fun! I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of details – will rely on the others to chime in. Big thanks to Charles for the brilliant idea. And congratulations to Andy on his first backpack! I can’t wait to go back and do the full traverse with a small pack and summer conditions. Anyone?
Pictures here: http://rebby.smugmug.com/gallery/6376304_PW3Tp#403068921_yGQSM
What a weekend! Charles originally had wanted to get a group together to do a backpack of the entire Mahoosuc Range from Grafton Notch to Gorham. More sensible heads (and, at least in my case, less able bodies) prevailed and the trip was scaled back to accommodate the fact that we’d be carrying heavy packs and most likely encountering some wintry (or at least wet) conditions. After spotting a car at the Success Trail trailhead, seven of us hiked in on Friday night via the Speck Pond Trail, while Charles started at Grafton Notch. The hike in was fairly straightforward, although we did encounter snow as we climbed. Both parties arrived at the Speck Pond shelter at the same time and we soon set to work making dinner and getting set up for bed. Although we were prepared to tent, we all decided to sleep in the shelter on a cold but windless night. Just enough room for the eight of us!
Up early the next morning, breakfasted and packed up. The first group hit the trail just before 7am and the rest followed within a half hour or so. The hike around Speck Pond was beautiful – the weather was very calm and getting warmer. Next came the climb up Mahoosuc Arm, the summit of which offered beautiful views of the surrounding area, including the snowy peaks of the Presidentials. The descent toward the Notch gave us a first preview of the knee crushing terrain that we’d travel over the rest of the day. It was a pleasant surprise to find the trail dry and ice-free on this side of the notch.
By the time we entered Mahoosuc Notch the entire group was back together. We spent the next two hours pushing, pulling, slipping, sliding, climbing under, climbing over, throwing the useless hiking poles, taking the big packs off, cursing, celebrating and, finally, emerging at the other end of the notch. We encountered an awful stench about halfway through, which at first we thought was the lingering odor of the moose that had fallen in the notch last year (can the smell really last that long?? we wondered). Later, we found some of the moose’s bones, so the smell was caused by some other (more recently dead) animal
. We met three groups of hikers during the day, including a couple of young guys wearing sneakers and street clothes (we saw them in the notch!) out for a day hike. Oh, and Giggy saved my life. Really! Thanks man.The rest of the hike was a grueling series of ups and downs. Fulling Mill, various Goose Eyes (a few of us opted out of bagging the summit of W. Goose Eye – I already regret it!), Mt. Carlo. The weather was changing rapidly – fog was rolling in and the wind had picked up considerably. It was no longer enjoyable to walk in the alpine environment. From another hiker we met on the trail, we knew that the forecast was for heavy rain overnight, and we were hoping to finish up the day’s hike before the rain started. Personally, I was exhausted at this point, and my knees were screaming with every step down. It seemed to take forever to cover the last couple of miles to the Carlo Col shelter. As we got closer to the shelter, MEB, Rachel and I ran into Arm, who had come up that day and was joining us for the rest of the weekend. He looked very fresh after his hike in and tells us that the shelter is just ahead. Hooray!!!!!
The shelter was a cozy cabin (not just a lean-to) that had room for all 9 of us. We got ourselves situated and then spent the next several hours (we arrived around 4pm) making meals, enjoying some of the liquid supplies that Arm had carried in and generally having fun passing the time. Andy was the exception – he was suffering some leg cramps, most likely due to dehydration. He was loaded up with water and electrolytes and Charles massaged his legs. By late evening the fog had become real rain, which continued throughout the night, accompanied by high winds. We had a tarp over the doorway that made quite a ruckus during the windy first hours of the rainstorm. A large branch fell onto the shelter at one point. Fortunately, the roof did not leak at all and we remained dry and cozy.
In the morning there was a fair amount of disagreement about which route to take to wrap up the hike. By this time the rain was ending - we timed this one perfectly, it seemed. In the end, Giggy, MEB, Rachel, Andy and I went out the short way on the (now) water-filled Carlo Col trail. I took a bit of a bath at the last water crossing! We then did all the necessary car-moving to get the vehicles to the rest of the group who would be coming out at the Success Trail. Driving on Success Pond Road was nearly as thrilling as Mahoosuc Notch!
We encountered a couple of fallen trees in the road from the overnight storm. The others had hiked to Mt. Success and then came out the Success Trail. Charles reported walking through a swamp up to the middle of his thighs (others seemed to have avoided this fate). Andy had to take care of a family issue, so we said goodbye to him and everyone else ended up at Mr. Pizza in Gorham to wind up the weekend. So much fun! I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of details – will rely on the others to chime in. Big thanks to Charles for the brilliant idea. And congratulations to Andy on his first backpack! I can’t wait to go back and do the full traverse with a small pack and summer conditions. Anyone?
Pictures here: http://rebby.smugmug.com/gallery/6376304_PW3Tp#403068921_yGQSM
Last edited:
