7/7/26
16.3 miles; 906 miles total now!
Today was HARD, about 5600 feet of ascent and over 6100 feet of descent; approximately 722 feet/mile. I let Wind Walker talk me into this nonsense, ha.
We climbed Monte Carlo and then Goose Eye Mountain (east peak). We flew past the Full Goose Shelter, so I’m not sure if it was full of geese (ha, get it?). Then came Fulling Mill Mountain (south peak). At some point, I looked to my left and to my surprise, I saw an iPhone lying on the side of the trail… OMG, someone is having a bad day! Wind Walker recognized it as belonging to Greyhound, who had run past us old farts a little earlier. A short time later, he walked up the path in search of his phone. We played dumb, but she caught us in our lie pretty quickly.
After all that fun, it was time to venture through the famous Mahoosuc Notch, a mile from Ronald McDonald’s gambling land on steroids. One must make one’s way through, around, under and over rocks and boulders. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget the cracks and caves you can fall into that will probably become your eternal grave, ouch!
But did I mention it was FUN? We loved it. There was even ice and snow in some cracks, so of course we grabbed some and threw snowballs at each other.
The good times ended quickly, as we began to climb the also famous Mahoosuc Arm, a steep, mile-long “hill.” Apparently it is considered one of the most difficult kilometers of the entire AT. Fortunately, my legs felt good and it didn’t seem as bad as other climbs on the AT…phew!
Then down to Speck Pond (quite lovely) and up Old Speck Mountain (almost, but I didn’t make it to the top. Followed by a LONG walk down (ouch, my knees) to Grafton Notch/ME26. A mere 2+ mile climb to the shelter almost gave me a heart attack. I think it was around 5pm, but I’m not sure, as I was in a bit of a bad mood at the time.
Fun day, which will not be repeated tomorrow!
8/7/26
15.5 miles today, quite a nice hike.
I left camp around 6:15 am. Of course, the trail immediately sloped skyward, up and over the west and east peaks of Baldpate. The climbing actually wasn’t that bad and the views from each peak were phenomenal. It was also a wonderful day, so a win-win situation!
With about 6 miles to go, Wind Walker and I found a small waterfall and swimming hole; It was divine. We bathed a little and had lunch… amazement prevailed.
The last 6 miles were pretty easy. We stopped at the Hall Mtn shed, only to discover that there was no water… well, not any water, but a stagnant puddle of something resembling water… NOOOO! Luckily, there was a campsite just 1.3 miles away, with a large stream…so we booked it. And to add to our delight, there was a picnic table!
My readers may think a picnic table is no big deal, but for a hiker, it’s gold.
My tent is right next to the creek, wonderful white noise to sleep in…good night friends.
9/7/26
2.5 (?) miles, Nero today at “The Cabin” in Andover, ME.
Easy walk to road for shuttle pick up and stay at «The Cabin» hostel. There were the usual city tasks to take care of…showering, laundry (both at the hostel), and resupplying for the next 4 days. Of course, I was very hungry, but I kept control and didn’t buy too much food, fortunately, since food = kilos!
I made it to the post office to send even more stuff home. Now I’ve lost as much weight as possible, which is good since I’ve lost about 10 pounds on the trail. Mrs. Acorn says I’m thin and I admit she’s probably right. Maybe tonight’s ice cream and fried food dinner will help?
Tomorrow we will be back to normal, about 17 miles. My legs, feet and heart feel good, so onwards and upwards!
Thanks for reading. I feel your good wishes.
Keep walking! Acorn
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