I think I had mentioned here at the Café that Kathy and I were going to Maine to do some hiking.
Well, we went and now we're home.
We parked our car at Grafton Notch and waited for our shuttle driver. Turns out he was about 45 minutes late due to some new road construction.
But that was just the first of several things that threw us off the schedule I had thought up for this trip,
After being dropped off we walked a ways on a logging road and then took the Carlo Col trail up to the Carlo Col shelter where we spent the night. It rained over night.
The next day we hiked to the Full Goose shelter and campsite. Along the way I found out that the things I had heard about the Mahoosuc range were true.
Rocks, roots and mud are the main ingrediants that make up the trail in that region. And a flat piece of trail is the exception rather than the rule.
With Mahoosuc Notch scheduled for the next hiking day we decided to take a zero day at Full Goose so as to be fully rested for the ordeal. Good thing Kathy always packs too much food so this next delay wasn't a problem. Next morning we were up and out early as we knew we'd need the extra time in the notch. We stopped and had breakfast a bit before getting to the notch. Then the real fun began! Everything you've heard about having to craw lover, under, and around the boulders in the notch is true. And just to make it more of a challenge we had our dog, Tora, with us. Often Kathy would have to scramble to the top of a rock, and pull on the dog's lead as I lifted her other end up to the top of the rock. Needless to say that process slowed us down quite a bit and it took us 6 1/2 hours to go that one mile. Let me suggest to you dog lovers, leave fido at home when you do Mahoosuc Notch. The only thing the notch has going for it is that it's nice and cool down there. There was even some ice and snow down between some of the rocks.
Once we exited the notch we found the unofficial campsites that everyone knows about and decided to spend the night there instead of tackling The Arm.
The Arm is a 1700 foot, mile long, steep climb where the trail is routed on mostly rock. Some of it is too steep to stand on and you need to use hands and feet. It had rained the night before and I'm glad the rocks had dried before we got there. Even with dry rock I took a fall and banged up both knees. Right knee was just scrapes and cuts but the left knee has some internal pain as well as the scrapes and cuts. We finished that day at Old Speck shelter and campsite. It's situated right on the shore of a pristine, high mountain lake. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The following day was uneventful as we hiked and scrambled over Old Speck mountain. We even took the .3 blue blaze that takes you to a look out tower with a 360 degree view. The view was Spectacular! If you're ever there, go to the tower. Then back to the AT and the 2600 foot descent to the parking lot at Grafton Notch. After having lunch we got back in the car and went to a local campground to rest and regroup. There I decided that the smart thing would be to cut our hike short due to the pain in my knee, so we didn't do the section from Grafton Notch to East B Hill Road. Instead we spent a week playing tourist in southern Maine. We did some canoeing, drove some scenic roads, went and found where the AT crosses some of the roads in that area and visited the towns of Andover and Rangely. We also spent one day in Freeport, the home of LL Bean's headquarters store. It's everything you ever though about American capitalism and consumerism, both good and bad. Overwhelming is the word I'd use to describe it. I'll add some photos as soon as I can, so stand by.
Well, we went and now we're home.
We parked our car at Grafton Notch and waited for our shuttle driver. Turns out he was about 45 minutes late due to some new road construction.
But that was just the first of several things that threw us off the schedule I had thought up for this trip,
After being dropped off we walked a ways on a logging road and then took the Carlo Col trail up to the Carlo Col shelter where we spent the night. It rained over night.
The next day we hiked to the Full Goose shelter and campsite. Along the way I found out that the things I had heard about the Mahoosuc range were true.
Rocks, roots and mud are the main ingrediants that make up the trail in that region. And a flat piece of trail is the exception rather than the rule.
With Mahoosuc Notch scheduled for the next hiking day we decided to take a zero day at Full Goose so as to be fully rested for the ordeal. Good thing Kathy always packs too much food so this next delay wasn't a problem. Next morning we were up and out early as we knew we'd need the extra time in the notch. We stopped and had breakfast a bit before getting to the notch. Then the real fun began! Everything you've heard about having to craw lover, under, and around the boulders in the notch is true. And just to make it more of a challenge we had our dog, Tora, with us. Often Kathy would have to scramble to the top of a rock, and pull on the dog's lead as I lifted her other end up to the top of the rock. Needless to say that process slowed us down quite a bit and it took us 6 1/2 hours to go that one mile. Let me suggest to you dog lovers, leave fido at home when you do Mahoosuc Notch. The only thing the notch has going for it is that it's nice and cool down there. There was even some ice and snow down between some of the rocks.
Once we exited the notch we found the unofficial campsites that everyone knows about and decided to spend the night there instead of tackling The Arm.
The Arm is a 1700 foot, mile long, steep climb where the trail is routed on mostly rock. Some of it is too steep to stand on and you need to use hands and feet. It had rained the night before and I'm glad the rocks had dried before we got there. Even with dry rock I took a fall and banged up both knees. Right knee was just scrapes and cuts but the left knee has some internal pain as well as the scrapes and cuts. We finished that day at Old Speck shelter and campsite. It's situated right on the shore of a pristine, high mountain lake. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The following day was uneventful as we hiked and scrambled over Old Speck mountain. We even took the .3 blue blaze that takes you to a look out tower with a 360 degree view. The view was Spectacular! If you're ever there, go to the tower. Then back to the AT and the 2600 foot descent to the parking lot at Grafton Notch. After having lunch we got back in the car and went to a local campground to rest and regroup. There I decided that the smart thing would be to cut our hike short due to the pain in my knee, so we didn't do the section from Grafton Notch to East B Hill Road. Instead we spent a week playing tourist in southern Maine. We did some canoeing, drove some scenic roads, went and found where the AT crosses some of the roads in that area and visited the towns of Andover and Rangely. We also spent one day in Freeport, the home of LL Bean's headquarters store. It's everything you ever though about American capitalism and consumerism, both good and bad. Overwhelming is the word I'd use to describe it. I'll add some photos as soon as I can, so stand by.
