Full Goose Lean-To Day 35 Thursday

I was told the trick to hills are little stops and mini-switchbacks. It got me up old speck mtn with less loss of breath, the treat of the day were the wild blueberries on the way up the mountain. And they were nice big ones too. A little on the tart side and massively delicious.

Today was the day to tackle the Mahoosuc Notch. It is about 1 mile of boulders strewn at the bottom of the notch. The goal is to go from one end to the other without killing yourself. It was a very difficult mile and is called the hardest mile on the trail. I had to use my hands to pull myself over or around boulders. Sometimes I had to go under large boulders. Good thing I am using a smaller pack or I would have had to remove it and pull it through. Since the notch is sheltered, it is possible to still see snow and ice. I did see both, and I could feel the cold air coming from the caves. There was also a stream through most of the notch under the rocks, but at one point, it was easily accessible and made for a cold, refreshing treat. It was a warm day but the notch was naturally air-conditioned. It felt really nice. It was also cool and breezy on the summit of old speck. In total it took me about 2 hours to walk 1 mile in the notch. Today was a 12 mile day. Depending on how I feel tomorrow I may to 10-12 miles. The last tentsite near Gorham is a pay site so I will look for another site in the area rather than stay there. Then on to Gorham after that.

It has been mostly warm during the day and cool at night. Good sleeping weather. Too bad I still have trouble sleeping. At least my air-mattress is very comfortable for laying on.

I picked up a deck of cards at the last shelter. They are a little sticky and have a large green smily face on them but they work. Nico and I have been playing card games at night before bed.