Post #31 Mahoosuc Notch

8/20.  It takes about 30 seconds of hitching for me to get picked up and taken back to the trailhead from Gorham.  The guy who picks me up is about my age with the same occupation, and says he has had one too many things go wrong this week so he is going on a day hike to clear his head.  The weather is hot and humid and I’m glad I choose to go only 6.5 miles today.

This afternoon I see a porcupine and I reach the 1900 mile marker.

I got spoiled when hiking the AT last year.  When I wanted to stay in a motel, I didn’t need to worry about advanced reservations; I could just drop in and they always had vacancies because of COVID-19.  It is a whole different story this year- if I want a room, I need to contact hostels and motels at least two or three days in advance of my arrival, which is challenging since I usually don’t have cell service.  This past week I’ve been lucky to find places that have had cancellations.  So before I lose cell service this morning, I make reservations for a room in Bethel, a one motel town which is a three day walk from here.

8/21. This morning I pour my Special K cereal into my small pot, sprinkle some powdered milk over it, add water, stir and dig in. Wnen I take the first bite, I immediately remember that three weeks ago I had emptied a couple of packets of unsweetened lemonade mix into a zip lock baggie and put it with my food stuff. Nope, that is not powder milk my cereal is soaking in. Since I would have to pack out the soggy cereal so that animals don’t get it, I choose to drain the cereal flavored lemonade into my water bottle and eat the cereal as it is. MMM!

A couple of milestones today: I leave the White Mountain National Forest and a couple of hours later, I enter Maine, the fourteenth state that the AT traverses.

8/22. I awake thankful- thankful that no critters got my food because I was unable to hang it up in a tree properly last night. And I am thankful that it wasn’t windy and no dead trees fell on me since I was unable to find a stealth site that wasn’t near a dead one.

It takes two hours to traverse the one mile stretch called Mahoosuc Notch. I climb over and under boulders, leap from one boulder to the next, and remove my pack to squeeze or crawl through tight openings. This requires patience. I take my time and enjoy the challenge (and I take my time so I don’t break my neck). Oh, by the way, everything is wet from the mist that has been falling. I let out a whoop! celebrating my completion of that challenging mile.

Since hurricane Henri has been giving us light rain all day, I take great care to keep my hammock, down quilts, and camp clothes dry while setting up camp tonight.  I have to keep the wet stuff that I’m wearing from touching the dry stuff.  I manage to stay dry throughout the night.

8/23. It’s not much fun packing away wet gear. Typically I would be putting on my wet hiking clothes but today I wear some of my dry camp clothes because I know I will be spending tonight in town for a resuppy and will do my laundry then.

While waiting for my shuttle ride at the trailhead, I enjoy trail magic provided by a couple of guys who just completed their thru hike three days ago. They want to give back to the Trail before heading home to Wisconsin. Since it is nearly noon, I devour the sandwich, Doritos, and Coke they set out for me.

My room looks like my pack exploded as I’m trying to dry my wet gear. This motel is located nearly 20 miles from the trail, but since they offer a free shuttle to and from the AT and to the grocery store, and they have a guest kitchen, they get quite a few thru hikers staying with them. With laundry and shower complete, I’m off to the grocery store!