Starting location: Full Goose Shelter
Ending location: Speck Pond Shelter
State: ME
Miles today: 5.1
Miles total: 1,907.7
Today we set out with Mahoosuc Notch on our minds. Mahoosuc Notch is widely known as the hardest mile on the entire Appalachian Trail and is descibed as a jumbled pit of giant boulders. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before so it made the boulders even tougher to navigate. To make things even more interesting, it started raining after only a hour of making it through the notch. Slick rocks and roots are the worst and you have to be very careful. Don't worry though, I have already fallen in the state Maine. That makes it 14 out of 14 states that I have fallen. At one point we both had to take our packs off in order to crawl through a small crevass. After two and a half hours of sliding on our butts, swinging from branches, and crawling on all fours we officially finished to hardest mile on the trail. Thank god.
The rest of the day was not easy in a steady, cool rain. We climbed the Mahoosuc Arm which was essentially straight up. We reached Speck Pond Shelter around 3pm and we were both tired, wet, and cold. Despite only doing 5 miles, we decided to call it a day. Southbounders had told us that southern Maine was no joke and they weren't kidding. We spent the rest of the day cuddled up in our sleeping bags inside our tent and listening to the American Country Countdown on the radio. I never was a big fan of country music before this trip but I am now convinced that it is best music out there.
It is cold in the mid 40s and my fingers are beginning to feel numb. Good night.
Navigating Mahoosuc Notch
Kristen going between two large boulders
Conan + Backwards
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