Note
Speck Pond Campsite to Full Goose Shelter. 5.1 miles.
Trip down Mahoosuc Arm was steep, but we did it mostly with John and Mary Lou, a couple with whom we shared the shelter last night. We snacked at a stream with them just before entering the notch, but didn't see them again until that evening. The notch was tricky, especially with full pack. Theresa had lots of problems and I had some. She mistakenly followed the arrows into one cave and had trouble extricating herself. The ***light (fill in "high" or "low" according to taste) of the trip was the dead moose in the notch about 90% of the way through. A young bull (spike, but no full antlers) had broken a leg or two and died on the trail at a point where the notch is only about twenty-five feet wide. I went by - through a cloud of flies - but Theresa went around. Total time through the notch: 2:45. How people do it in one hour is beyond me; we didn't do as much viewing as I would have liked, but the heat and humidity was getting to us. Finally, we cleared the notch and climbed Fulling Mills Mt. On the southern peak, we stopped and enjoyed great views and blueberries before descending to the shelter.