AT17 - Day 7 - Notched

Day 7: 8/10 246.4-276.9 Full Goose

            Starting at 4:30, I made it up over moody in the cool morning.  Then up Hall Mountain and then Wyman.  Lots of climb on the course today.  I felt good, but these climbs are straight up and for the other part they are straight down.  It was tough on the legs.  I climbed up Frye and then started fading on the climb up Baldplate.  I decided to take a breather near the top and dry my feet out in the sun on the slab rock.  I reminisced about the last time I was here.  During Hurricane Arthur.  Where I was sitting nice and dry now, was just flowing water.  The rock was so slick, I fell many times and my body ached so much.  I guess weather makes a huge difference.

Down Baldplate and across Grafton Notch, I was able to grab a coke at the trailhead from a trail magic.  The climb up Old Spec is only 2,500feet up but it seemed like an eternity.  I was starting to get slightly nervous as I wanted to make sure I got through the Mahoosuc Notch before it was dark.  Over Old Spec and the Mahoosuc Arm, I was feeling better.  Mistake!  The descent down the Mahoosuc Arm SUCKS.  Guess that’s why they call it the Ma hoo SUCs.  17:52, into the dark damp depths of the Mahoosuc Notch I go.  I actually made quick work of it, not getting turned around once and moving well over the boulders.  The Mahoosuc Notch is what I imagine the Dementors kiss/Azkaban is like in Harry Potter.  It’s cold.  You feel all happiness leave.  Hope escapes you.  You just want to get the hell out of there!  Climbing up the other side it was hot, humid and I was worked.  I pre decided I would stay at Full Goose, which was a mistake.  At the time (18:45) I was climbing and it seemed like it would take forever to get to the next shelter 4 miles down the road.  But a full shelter saw me squeeze in and be annoyed by loud snoring and sleep pad shifting all night.  Oh well, almost out of Maine.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nolans 41

Image
It was early February and things seemed honky dory.   We had the perfect season going, zero to 60 and it just kept right on snowing.   350” from November 20 th until February 6 th .   Pow was plentiful, turns were deep, and life was how its suppose to be.   But then I felt it.   A shudder.   A glitch in matrix.   Disturbance in the force.   Well, okay.   I had seen a news report of a “bad virus” wreaking havoc in China and that it was expected to become a pandemic.   And then an atmospheric river hit.   6.5” of water in 60 hours and with a lot of wind.   We were interlodged for 53 hours(not allowed to go outside).   That was bizarre.   But no biggie.   Back to life.   But the snow stopped.   And the rumors grew.   We are a large ski lodge that has guests from all over the world crammed into tight quarters.   I was worried about an outbreak.   Finally, there were rumors of closing, I was relieved.   We were getting derailed in slow motion.   As someone who has struggled with anxiety
Read more

WURL, And I think to myself...

Image
              9 years ago I moved to Alta.  Ever since, Ive stared up at these ridgelines in awe of mother earth.  Isnt she lovely?  I tried to run and scramble on as much of these rocks as I could.  By the end of the summer 2012, I realized I had done much of the route I had just recently heard of (The WURL).  In 2013, it was my goal to do the route in its entirety.  One weekend, I set off from Fergy and crested over sugarloaf and descended home.   Next morning, hiked up Baldy and finished the route.  Total time something like 36 hours with sleeping 8 hours in the middle.  I repeated a similar outing in 2015, “getting more comfortable with the route” I told myself.  But all out efforts on the AT, PCT, and a big ole bike tour, hindered feeling 100% in other years.  So last summer 2018, with no hinderances, I tried. Lots of ridges, Lots of Lonely time             First time.  Moving well, but fading a bit over baldy/hidden.  I got up Red Stack to see a big ol nasty dark cloud over
Read more

Utah Thirteeners

This summer has been a struggle for sure. After spending 3.5 days in the hospital running every test possible, the doctors still did not know what was wrong with me. It was clear that I had had Myocarditis, but that had since cleared up. At first I thought I was on my way to healing up, but then I relapsed and became ill again. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it could be and what I could do. I figured since it felt like Lyme and it would be no harm, I ordered up my herbal remedies for Lyme from before. It worked, not great, but they cleared up my joint pain, swelling, and even made my mental state better. However; the deep fatigue I had been feeling was very slow to improve. I figured I was trying to push through illness, which would additionally stress my already weakened body. I emphasized rest and sleep, but still slow progress. I often thought, “Is this it?” “Is my life over?” “What am I going to do with limited energy and time?” “Am I dying?” It sucked. It
Read more