Day 157 – Gentian Pond to Full Goose Shelter 

Written by

Charles Stump

in

Today’s Miles: 9.6

Trip Miles: 1928.5

“Third boxcar, midnight train

Destination Bangor, Maine

Old, worn-out suit and shoes

I don’t pay no union dues

I smoke old stogies I have found

Short, but not too big around

I’m a man of means by no means

King of the road” – Roger Miller

Up at 7:00. On trail at 8:00.

Sunny, upper 70s, no wind. Hot day.

Solid uphill workout this morning including an upper body workout. Note the vertical rebar climb.

Vertical rebar climb

Mud bog on top of Mount Success. They are thigh-deep.

Mud bog on top of Mount Success

Summited Mount Success at 10:30 and 3.8 miles in. Hard climb but they all seem to be hard these days.

Yes, that is the trail straight down. Tossed my poles down carefully and slid/climbed down.

Vertical descent off Mount Success
Vertical descent off Mount Success

Welcome to Maine. Crossed the border at noon. Got 5 miles to camp assuming I don’t push onward.

Moss covered wooden ladder in MAINE
Welcome to Maine

Took a good fall. Damn slippery rocks.  Messed up my right palm on the fall. 

Maine is just pissing me off. Now up and over that.

Tough climb coming up

Oh man, now Maine is really, really pissing me off. Vertical climb with rebar ladder followed by steep wooden ladder.

Vertical climb with rebar ladder in Maine
Vertical climb with rebar ladder in Maine
Vertical climb with wooden ladder in Maine

Followed by steep ladders down.

Steep wooden ladder descent

Down, across the ridge, up the mountain, and down the far side to camp. You can see the trail across the ridges.

Down, across the ridge, up the mountain, and down the far side to camp

And one more rebar ladder but DOWN , which is scarier.

One more rebar ladder but DOWN

Crawled into Full Goose Shelter at 4:40. Got 2 good bars of cell service. Got camp set up and got water. I nursed my last tiny bit of water into camp. Really needed more water today. All set up and hydrated and dinner ready at 6:15.

Camp at Full Goose Shelter

What a day! Possibly the hardest day on the trail. The group of 8 folks from last night and again today concur. Steep as hell. Big rock scrambles. Slippery rocks. Upper body workouts. Up and down and up and down. The vertical descents are the hardest . Fell 3 times today, with one being a little bad. I guess this is what the next 2-3 weeks of Maine are going to be like. Hard, wild, beautiful.

Dreading the start of tomorrow with Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm. Gonna be damn hard, but Bethel, Maine, and a zero day at the end of the rainbow.

Day 157 Map – Gentian Pond to Full Goose Shelter

Technical Notes:

  • Pop Tarts 370
  • Snickers 220
  • Zero-sugar sausage 120
  • Snickers 220
  • Snickers 220
  • Oreos 160
  • Sausage 195
  • Ramen 370
  • Dehydrated chicken 170
  • Dehydrated chicken 170
  • Fritos 500
  • Water 3
  • Miles 10.6
  • Time 8:40
  • Elevation gain 4200
  • Calories consumed 2800
  • Calories burned 6500

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