Maine...Part One
Leaving Gorham it was hard to believe I was less than two days from Maine, the final state. Maine would prove to be the most challenging but also the most beautiful state, offering an amazing variety of terrain to traverse. Almost immediately, the mountains north of Gorham seemed to take on a new character that was unique from those that I had hiked just to the south. The peaks were lower and defined by lichens, moss, and open patches of granite. The trail also began travelling near ponds tucked in narrow valleys, and bogs that spread across the tops of mountains, with barren granite peaks as islands in their midst.
The weather for the first days after Gorham was wet and chilly, making it seem if fall had finally arrived. There was enough rain that water seemed to be coming from everywhere, making already challenging trails that much harder. Most of the trails turned stream beds and the bogs the trail crossed seemed to be at capacity often swallowing the bridges the trails used to cross them. Hikers quickly became adept at scurrying across bog bridges that would suddenly sink beneth our feet.
After a quiet night at Genetian Pond shelter the next day began with a steep climb over Mount Success and arrival at the last border crossing of the trip. It was almost surreal to see a sign telling me I was in Maine, especially since when I got hiking again and realized the trail hadn't changed at all.
The rest of the day would be spent traversing Goose Eye mountain, a singular mountain with three peaks. Between each of these peaks was a low saddle that was filled with gorgeous high mountain bogs. The climbs up and over each of these small peaks provided its own unique challenges including some fairly technical rock scrambling. Thankfully there was a break in the rain offering wonderful views from each of the open peaks.
After an extremely tough day, one of the toughest to date on the trail I settled into a small campsite at the southern end of Mahoosuc Notch. The notch is notorious for being the most challenging mile of the entire trail and depending on your mindset it can be misery or a lot of fun. The trail snakes through a massive jumble of boulders ranging in size from a small car to a small home. Blazes guide a hiker generally through the notch but really the route is mostly left to your own personal comfort level, nearly every step involves unraveling a small puzzle. This mile long stretch of trail took me nearly two and a half hours to complete. This would be an amazingly fun on a day hike, but with a full pack and miles to get done it often felt somewhat tedious.
After this punishing start to the day, the trail saw no reason to back off shooting straight up from the notch to Mahoosuc Arm, a small not very noteworthy peak. In fact, the most notable part was the climb which was long and steep, including an extended stretch of hiking directly up an exposed granite face. These were common in this part of Maine, as most of the topsoil washes away it leaves behind bare granite. Going up its not so bad but going down you often get the feeling one slip could send you on quite the ride.
After Mahoosuc Arm the trail drops to Speck pond and then immediately climbs steeply up and over Old Speck mountain. I seem to have neglected to take pictures in this stretch of the day, probably because I was tired and rather grumpy about the abuse being dished out upon us.
These thirty miles from Gorham to Grafton Notch were the first stretch of trail that really ground me to a halt. Thankfully, Old Speck was the last peak of the Mahoosuc range and officially the end of the White Mountains. The rest of the trail would gradually get physically easier, mentally though it would often be quite challenging.
The next day was a town day which is always a welcome break after a rough stretch. Through Maine I tended to go in and out of towns in one day rather than stop, which was a new strategy for me. This was mostly because the towns were just close enough together to do short resupplies (meaning less weight) but that also meant I really only felt the need to stay in every other town. Before town the trail crosses the Baldplates, which were unfortunately socked in by dense fog which had been a familiar refrain for southern Maine. However, dense fog can make for a beautiful scene on these barren peaks.
North of Andover the trail eased up slightly for a day or two and was generally lacking in major highlights. There were of course a few more mountains, but most of the summits were covered in trees blocking out any major views. The trail settled into a pattern of travelling through low deciduous forest with lots of fall colors and then climbing up to higher peaks dominated by stunted pines. Through this stretch of trail the lakes continued to get larger and more numerous often dominating the views from peaks. This section of my hike ended in the town of Rangely where I would take almost an entire day off to recover, enjoy town and prepare for the next stretch of Maine.
