A guest came to us looking for some help with a section of the Mahoosucs, from Goose Eye Trail to Notch Trail — now done leaving our guest with only about ten miles to finish. Originally she wanted to do an overnight, but the plan was changed to a day hike. It was an extended day (over 12 hours) and we did offer some portering in addition to the guiding making things a bit easier for our guest. That said, we will let Redline Guide Eric Hansen tell the story since he was one on this mission.
For our Mahoosucs AT (Appalachian Trail) section hike, we met early at the Notch Trail trailhead and then car-shuttled to the Goose Eye Trail to begin. We had seen both moose and bear already on Success Pond Road before starting our hike — not surprising in the least given how remote this area is. Our route had us ascend to Goose Eye Mountain to intersect the AT, then traverse north to Fulling Mill Mountain, then descend into Mahoosuc Notch and exit via the Notch Trail back to our spotted car.
We had a really nice day weather wise, mid-70s at elevation and light wind, very comfortable, although a bit on the buggy side. Along the AT section on the ridge we summited both Goose Eye East and Goose Eye North, enjoying absolutely fantastic views of subalpine meadows, flowing bog bridges, and not-too-distant peaks in all compass directions, including the Presidential Range to our southwest.
While beautiful, this route was not without its challenges. No point sugar coating it, the climb up and over Fulling Mill Mtn, and in particular the descent to the Notch Trail junction, was very difficult. The trail navigates angled rock, strewn talus, wet mossy slab, and so on. We picked our way both up and down the challenging spots, sometimes benefiting from iron rungs or wood ladders installed in the rock. Other times, we used bypass paths to avoid the sketchiest spots. We made stops along the way to rest and enjoy the view, and also a nice visit to the Full Goose Shelter (and of course signed the logbook). Our guest had completed 99.9% of all of the AT, in sections, over the course of fifteen years, and just these difficult few stretches of trail remain.
We laughed, we cried, it was both rewarding and a case of ‘elective suffering.’ Ultimately the hike was completed in approximately 12.5 hours to climb 3,600′ and cover roughly 11.4 miles, with four of those being the needed AT section. So close! Our guest showed true grit and commitment on this hike, it was NOT easy but she’s made it this far, and is absolutely finishing this thing. Wishing her the best and most rewarding experience on her upcoming and final AT hike(s)! —Eric
