Day 109-14 Miles today from the Carlo Col refuge to RT 26 Grafton Notch, 4500 feet up, 6300 feet down, 1931 in Mile Marker
Shelter
The Carlo Col shelter was not far from the path as I thought it was. 0.3 of a mile but it was not a bad walk. I anticipated a much worse fall after some of the increases I had to pass from the success of Mount. Especially the shelves go up just before the path of the shelter, which was a steep climb in some shelves in some very technical rocks.
Fear and hate
When I talked to Knockerz yesterday, he said that some sobs told him that my walk today would be very difficult. They said especially with the North Goose Eye mountain. I hadn’t heard anything about this mountain.
I looked at some of the comments and it seems that it is just a rock face without points of support or fool. Do I suppose you just have to slide down your butt? It seemed especially difficult for the clumsy north.
So last night I worried how to overcome this section. That did this one of my most anticipated days so far. I don’t think it’s as nervous as when I had to go through the presidential ones during that long journey, but this will be a similar 15 -mile walk that I thought. I was nervous.
Storm
I started the path around 6:00 in the morning. It seemed that today it would be a good day. It was great this morning. In fact, I had to close my bag last night, I was so cold.
I squeezed my backpack on my back. Yesterday I realized that in some of the climbs, my backpack was a bit lazy and when I moved aside on a steep rock rise, my backpack would slide from my back a little and threw me aside.
I also put my little small bed roll inside my package today instead of having it on the outside.
I was preparing for this extremely difficult descent in North Goose Eye Mountain and for the very difficult climb through Mahosic Notch. I arrived my posts in my backpack and stuck everything.
Reflections
The climb to Goose Eye Mountain included many steps on walks, stairs and bar stairs. There was also some rock climbing. The path then made its way through the backbone of the goose mountains.
When I approached North Goose Eye Mountain, I remembered the fear of the unknown. It was an overwhelming fear of what I am about to face.
I would like to know more, so I read some comments. Some of them were useful and others were not.
This exercise is a reminder to fear the future. The future is not yet here. Why am I walking along this path, which is easy to walk at this time with such an overwhelming fear of what it can be? I will be there soon and then I can address this situation. I needed to be present.
It was not necessary for this fear of the unknown. He reminded me to practice present.
I started with the descent of North Peak and kept waiting for really scary things to begin. There was absolutely nothing technical or difficult in that section that I cannot believe that I fell in love with exaggeration. Now I have walked so many miles and I have gone through so many things that what others fear is easier for me.
Notch
Then I began to climb to the beginning of the notch and noticed the start time of 10:20. It was cold in notch as an explosion of an air conditioning from the depths below. There were many holes that looked without bottom without. If you let something fall, it would have gone forever.
About 40% of the notch was a simpler trace. The rest of the notch was a combination of boulder, rock escalation and caleology. Most people say it’s fun. And it was a challenge in parts. But for me it was just a mile of a long day of 15 miles. I left the notch in approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. My knees hurt.
The arm
Then I had to climb 1300 feet in a mile to reach the top of the Mahosico arm. I stopped for a stream that was one of the last water sources for a while and took a break.
I was tired, so I fed a little lunch, including some caffeine and some proteins for the arm. It was a very difficult climb and sometimes technical. It was nothing more than a rock field next to a very steep mountain.
When it was not rocks it was just a rock face. On the faces of the rock I got up at the front of my feet, I trusted the grip of my shoes, I leaned on the mountain and climbed the faces. No one talks about the arm because the notch receives all the attention, but it was a very difficult climb.
Efficiency
I am doing my best to be aware of the rocks. Instead of dropping a rock and then going back to the next rock, I do my best only to go from one rock to the other. I can do this most of the time due to my long legs.
A short time ago I crossed a tree bridge that had fallen between some rocks so that it did not have to go down and then go back.
I also noticed these faces of rock that I am taking the most direct route that I can possibly, mainly because I do not want the additional escalation that is involved with some of the deviations aside. I prefer to climb directly as long as you have something to grab. My skill level has definitely improved.
Where is Knockerz?
He had sent a text message and called to Knockerz several times during the day without an answer. I was almost without food and needed a refueling. I began to ask me if I would need to spend another night in the forest.
I was wondering where Knockerz was when I heard our call sign while she gave a «Hootie Hoo».
He had walked about two and a half miles in probably approximately 2,000 feet of elevation. We went up together and when we left we met JC, who is the hiker who had last seen in the smoks.
We took JC a trip to Bethel, where he was taking a zero. The blows and I had dinner, ate some local IPA, before going to our motel.
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