Danielle
New member
Date: 6/8 and 6/9/08
Trails: AT from Rt. 2 in Gorham until after West Peak of Goose Eye; down Wright Trail, south fork
Conditions: Some blowdowns here and there. Bog bridges in places could use some work (somewhere between Wocket Ledge and Moss Pond, as well as a few other spots). Rocks pretty slick, and some sections appeared to hardly be a trail at all, just a rock jumble. But I guess this is the Mahoosucs!
Comments: This may not have been the backpack to start off our 2008 season. It was hot, humid and the blackflies were vicious. Not to mention the rough and rugged terrain. Both days of hiking were long ones. Still, despite the sweat and bug bites, there were some beautiful vistas along the way and we enjoyed the ponds and all the wildflowers (ladyslippers, goldthread, bunchberries, rhodora, violets) seen along the way. Snowman spotted one moose, but I missed it.
We stayed at Gentian Pond Shelter on Sunday night; nice spot with a beautiful sunset. It was just us until 11pm when a group of wilderness camp counselors came in. Definitely surprised us as it was so late, and we hadn't seen anyone else all day long.
With the rain overnight, things were a bit cooler Monday, but the rocks and roots were definitely slicker. The bog atop Mt. Success was nice, full of cotton sedge, rhodora and mountain laurel. We were again taken aback by the roughness of the terrain, but eventually reached the west peak of Goose Eye, bagging it for #83 of the 100 highest. We went down the south fork of the Wright Trail, which was quite a nice trail. Goose Eye Brook sure felt good at the end as we attempted to clean 2 days of sweat, dirt and dead bugs off ourselves!
All in all, a long, tiring weekend, but as always good to get out. Well, at least I thought so! Hopefully I can convince Snowman to hike with me again...
Photos can be seen here .
Trails: AT from Rt. 2 in Gorham until after West Peak of Goose Eye; down Wright Trail, south fork
Conditions: Some blowdowns here and there. Bog bridges in places could use some work (somewhere between Wocket Ledge and Moss Pond, as well as a few other spots). Rocks pretty slick, and some sections appeared to hardly be a trail at all, just a rock jumble. But I guess this is the Mahoosucs!
Comments: This may not have been the backpack to start off our 2008 season. It was hot, humid and the blackflies were vicious. Not to mention the rough and rugged terrain. Both days of hiking were long ones. Still, despite the sweat and bug bites, there were some beautiful vistas along the way and we enjoyed the ponds and all the wildflowers (ladyslippers, goldthread, bunchberries, rhodora, violets) seen along the way. Snowman spotted one moose, but I missed it.
We stayed at Gentian Pond Shelter on Sunday night; nice spot with a beautiful sunset. It was just us until 11pm when a group of wilderness camp counselors came in. Definitely surprised us as it was so late, and we hadn't seen anyone else all day long.
With the rain overnight, things were a bit cooler Monday, but the rocks and roots were definitely slicker. The bog atop Mt. Success was nice, full of cotton sedge, rhodora and mountain laurel. We were again taken aback by the roughness of the terrain, but eventually reached the west peak of Goose Eye, bagging it for #83 of the 100 highest. We went down the south fork of the Wright Trail, which was quite a nice trail. Goose Eye Brook sure felt good at the end as we attempted to clean 2 days of sweat, dirt and dead bugs off ourselves!
All in all, a long, tiring weekend, but as always good to get out. Well, at least I thought so! Hopefully I can convince Snowman to hike with me again...
Photos can be seen here .
