Start: Wright Trail
End: Grafton Notch
Hardest. Dayhike. Ever.
Do you really need any more than that? OK, well, it wasn't the hardest dayhike ever undertaken by humans, but we're pretty sure it was the hardest we've ever done. It was also one of the most fun. You know, in that "this is really hard, I'm exhausted, muddy, bloody and hungry, and I wish it would end" kind of way.
Fueled by Dunkin' Donuts we hit the trail at 7:30a.m.—about a hour later than planned, which was not my fault as D didn't get right up with the alarm and she needed an "unplanned break at the backcountry facilities." The first 3.5 miles of the day "didn't count" as they weren't on the AT, but the Trail doesn't always cross roads where you would like. We cruised up the 3.1 miles of the Goose Eye Trail to the summit of the West Peak of Goose Eye (one of my favorites) in about an hour and a half. Just .1 from the summit, the trail junctions with the AT and .3 miles north we reached the junction of the Wright Trail, which we had descended in a previous trip. Finally, we were picking off new terrain.
The Mahoosucs are noted to be the hardest miles of the entire AT, but they are also some of the most beautiful. The terrain all around the peaks of Goose Eye is awesome: open summits and alpine bogs. Inspired by the view, we ran along the bog bridges and flat sections. When we couldn't run, we really couldn't run: it was really nasty. Rocks, wet rocks, wet pointy rocks, wet pointy rocks on steep slopes, wet point rocks on steep slopes with alligators. You get the idea. We moved along the best we could knowing that we had a full day on our plate. We met a man, who was out for a couple days with his son, heading south who said, "You're doing all that today? I admire your zeal." In other words, he thought we were nuts.
By 12:00 we reached the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, a mile-long jumble of boulders. Half hiking trail, half maze, Mahoosuc Notch was as hard as I thought it would be, not nearly as scary, and way more fun. We went up and over and through and around the Notch in an hour and a half. It was tiring, but I had a blast. I'm not sure D had a blast, but I don't think she hated it. We definitely had the advantage of just carrying light daypacks...almost like cheating. Following the Notch is the stiff climb up the Mahoosuc Arm. Wicked steep. But, not as bad as we had heard. It also marked a momentous occasion for us. I led the climb. Yup. I passed D on really technical, rocky section and just kept going. I was waiting for her to catch me, but I got to the top first. It was a really odd feeling.The rest of the day was more hiking. Around Speck Pond—beautiful. Up Old Speck—a mountain we'd climb a number of times from the south but never from this direction. Well, technically, we didn't climb it this time, since the true summit is .3 off the AT, and too far for us on this day...we still have the thruhiker mentally. The descent down Old Speck is 3.5 miles, but it felt like 300 today. It took forever, and my legs were pretty tired. After 6 months, we hit the bottom. I kicked off my shoes, sat in the back of the car and ate my Bacon Ranch Pringles—a well-deserved reward.
All in all, it was a great day. We had a lot of fun. It was really hard, but rewarding. In all honesty, I couldn't have done this hike last year, or in a lot of years. It's really nice to be fit enough to pull this stuff off. Really nice. Plus, D and I now have the experience to pull it off. We just know how to move quickly through the woods, when to eat, what to eat, what to carry, etc. We never would have even attempted 15+ miles through the Mahoosucs. Today, we pulled it off. Sure, it took 10+ hours, but we survived. One more weekend hike and then on to the 100 Mile Wilderness...we're getting close.
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