The morning of the Mahoosuc Notch day I woke up to the rain and knew that we couldn't wait any longer. Mosey didn't have much food and we'd already spent a few days waiting for the rain to pass. I sat in the lean-to for two hours that morning just praying for it to clear up. Finally at 10 am it was do or die time and we headed out for the Mahoosuc Arm and Notch in the rain. The arm, which is only 1.4 miles long (a 1,300 foot drop) took us 3 hours to do. Water was still running down it like a stream. Mosey and I crept along the sides where there were trees to hang on to and soil that offered a little more traction. I was scared to death going down that mountain. The rock was so slick and any sort of fall could've easily proven to be very dangerous. Once we got to the bottom I exhaled a sigh of relief. I had survived the arm in very poor conditions. Luckily the bad weather cleared before we got to the notch, so we wouldn't have to go through that in the rain. The rocks were still extremely slick, though, so I knew that it would also be a slow process.
It took us another 3 hours to get through the notch (which was only a mile long), but it was so incredibly fun! I felt like I was 5 again! We had to crawl under boulders, shimmy across ledges, butt-scoot down steep drops- the entire thing was just a huge boulder pit, making you use muscles and twist your body is ways that you would've never thought possible. My feet touched the ground less than 10 times the entire 3 hours. It was intensely fun and tiring. We only did 5 miles that day and it took us around 9 hours to do it. My entire body has never been so sore!
The rest of the hike into Gorham was a big, muddy mess. I was hiking with Mosey, B. Rubbles, and The Goat during those days and we each fell at least 15 times- I even thought I'd broken my finger once. The mud made hiking more difficult and much slower. It was so thick that it would even suck my shoes off of my heels occasionally. Despite the icky weather and terrain, once I got to the Maine-New Hampshire border I was the happiest person you've ever seen in your life. The high from successfully hiking across a state carried me all the way into Gorham and the feeling of accomplishment that I have is absolutely electrifying.
I am now in Gorham at the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel preparing myself for the White Mountains. This is definitely the nicest place I've stayed so far- they even have conditioner and q-tips! It's the little things :) Bomber will be meeting me on the trail in 4 days to hike through the Whites with me. I just keep reminding myself that once I get through the Whites, the rest will be much easier. I have almost completed the most difficult terrain on the entire A.T. Bring it on New Hampshire, I'm ready for yah! The weather is looking good for the next week, so I'm hoping to get some amazing views off of 4,000-5,000 ft. mountains.
A little slice of trail magic that happened today was when a thru hiker came in to talk to me after I had told him my story earlier on in the day. He teared up, handed me a donation, and gave me a hug. He told me that his daughter is about 10 years older than me and that he really loves what I'm doing. It completely warmed my heart and served as a reminder for why I'm out here. I have met such wonderful people out here that truly believe in my purpose for hiking and it has been what's kept me going. A big thank you to everyone who has supported me! You all are the reason I am still out here and have made this such a magical experience for me! My faith in humanity has been renewed over and over again and, for that, I also thank you. In all that you do, do it with heart!
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