See what we did there? Back in December an 80-years-young guest reached out hoping for some companionship/guidance/portering on the partial traverse of the Mahoosuc Range as part of her decades-long AT section hiking effort. Specifically she wanted to travel from Route 2 to Goose Eye Trail, with the latter being the ultimate goal — for now. For those who know us know that this is the sort of thing we live for. Leading this trip was Redline Guide Rhonda Willette. What follows is her summary of the trip along with photos taken along the way.
Her driver’s license might say she’s 80, but after spending four days on the Mahoosuc Trail with her, I can confidently report: she is not 80. We averaged eight to nine hours on trail each day, moving at a slow but steady pace, taking only quick breaks, and tackling terrain that chews up hikers half her age. At one point I was laughing so hard I had to stop and tell her, ‘I have friends younger than me who won’t do this stuff with me,’ and she just chuckled.
Somewhere along the way, a friendly competition developed — something about who fell more and who did it better. I have the best battle scars. (For the record, style points were awarded generously.)
The Mahoosuc Trail is rugged, unforgiving, and famous for humbling people. It didn’t humble her. It didn’t humble us. We took everything it threw at us and kept moving, laughing, and proving that age is a number, grit is a choice, and this duo was more than a match for the mountains. —Rhonda
