Northern Trails
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When I finished the White Mountains — and then New Hampshire — I thought the hard part of my hike was complete. Once again, the Trail proved me wrong.
Entering Maine — The Fun Begins…
Maine tested me within the first mile, with an almost vertical 40-foot drop to negotiate. That was the only way to the first shelter in the state.
Goose Eye Range
The first mountain range in Maine is the Goose Eye range. It was hard hiking, but the hardest part was getting stuck above my knee in mud atop one of them. I couldn’t get myself out, but three hikers arrived to help.
Stuck in the mud,
One had a trowel to help me dig my leg out, and another extended a hiking pole and pulled me out of the muck. Their plan was much better than mine, which was to lasso a passing moose — if one were to pass.
Then came Mahoosuc Notch
Relentless Bouldering
— more than a mile of bouldering, with no escape. An average AT hiker can do a mile in 20 to 30 minutes. With the Notch, an average time is 2 hours.
Speck Pond — The highest elevation of any body of water on the AT…3,438 feet above sea level!
I’ll just say I’m glad to be out of it.
Hope the rest of Maine gets easier.
Time
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