Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 19 – You’ve been bogged!
14th August 2023
Frye Notch Lean-to (261.6) - Tentsite (274.4)
Daily miles: 12.8
Total miles: 280.7
It rained, what seemed to be, all through the night, and I tossed and turned a bit. I woke up at 5am. I wanted to get an nice early start today but I just couldn’t make myself get up so I went back to sleep.
At 6am-ish and I was forced to get up and packed away as the urge to use the privy was quite pressing and it was the same way I was going; I didn’t want to walk any extra if I didn’t have to.
The weather looked ok, the sun was poking through the trees so I was hopeful of a good day ahead.
My sock had a hole in it. I’m not sure if I ripped it yesterday - there were multiple opportunities - or a creature chewed through it. Either way, it now matched the holes I have in my shoes. You can see through to the other side now and the main rip is getting worse with each day as they continue to get wet and never dry. Putting on wet shoes and socks is no longer that gross anymore though it’s just a normal part of the daily routine.
Hole in my sock
Multiple holes in my shoes
I ended up leaving at 06:50 which was far later than I had planned. I really wanted to be gone by 6am but this is what I had to work with.
I visited the privy and everything came out very quickly. On the edge of being not good. And that theme - on the edge of not being good - continued throughout the morning as I felt like I could vomit at any moment, especially if I pushed the climb so I took it very slowly.
The trail was pretty overgrown so although it wasn’t raining all the bushes and plants were wet so I got wet anyway as they brushed past. The trail turned into slab rock very quickly and there were some rocks which were tricky to navigate. It was a very slow climb for me. I held on to lots of tree roots to help me along. I was moving slowly but with every step I was moving forward so I was inching my way closer. There were a couple of ladders in place which until now have only really been helpful for NOBOs but this time they were helpful for us SOBOs.
After about an hour and a half I came up above the tree line and it was totally in a cloud and the wind was blowing. Not cold though which was a bonus.
Near vertical slab rock
Narrow slab rock
Metal ladders
Wooden ladders
Follow the ciarns
Into the mist
It was wet up there
After a lot of climbing up slab rock and following the cairns I made it to Baldpate East Peak then followed the cairns to hike over more slab to get to Baldpate West Peak. Cal caught up to me as I was shimmying my way very slowly down the slab trying not to slip and fall to my death on the wet rock.
Baldpate East Peak
Cal took this picture of me descending into the mist
I looked back up and couldn’t see him at all!
We hiked the downhill together as we can maintain a similar speed on the downhill (whereas I am so much slower on the uphill). Despite it being wet and windy out it was still humid and I was still sweating a lot.
As we are descending and chatting we see some NOBOs who tell us there is trial magic in the parking lot at Grafton Notch. YES! It couldn’t have come at a better time. I had seen quite a few NOBOs going up and over the Baldpates this morning. Probably more than 10.
Very pleased this ladder was here (going down)
Full steam ahead to the trail magic
I wasn’t feeling as bad as I did this morning but I wasn’t feeling great either. This morning I had genuine concern that I was getting ill. Now I think it’s the fact that my whole diet yesterday was mainly sugar and my body is probably suffering. I could really do with some real food.
So we hike without stopping the next, just over 2 miles, to Grafton Notch and find a lady called Pineapple in the parking lot with a great table set up with loads of food.
Parking lot trail magic from “Pineapple”
We took our seats and what she dished up was more than I could have ever hoped for. Bacon. Yes. Broccoli quiche. Yes. The most amazing creamy, cheesy potatoes. YES YES YES. And blueberry cake. All home made.
Honestly I could have cried tears of joy if I wasn’t so dehydrated. Then I get this amazing cold blueberry pomegranate drink and I couldn’t believe my luck.
This was SO GOOD
AND dessert
I get seconds. She encouraged us hard because she has more food and she expected more hikers than this. So I had a bit more quiche and a good dollop of potatoes. The potatoes were out of this world. I knew it was going to be a step too far eating seconds but I just couldn’t help myself, it was too delicious. Cal had a mega plate of seconds; he can’t stop eating and says his hiker hunger has properly kicked in.
Pineapple then offered us dessert, which was cake with Maine strawberries. I didn’t need it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat it, but I said yes anyway because it sounded so good. I also know that if I couldn’t finish it Cal would eat it because he had already polished off my milkshake when we were in Stratton, and that’s exactly what happened, I had about 4 spoons and Cal ate the rest.
Pineapple was wonderful
It was really nice to sit there for a while and chat to Pineapple, just to sit in a chair. She doesn’t charge anyone for this but there was a donation pot and I was so grateful and so satisfied that I put in $20. It was worth every cent.
We left just as a NOBO was arriving and we are now on the second Far Out map section and nearly out of Maine.
We had considered getting through the Mahoosuc notch today (the hardest, slowest mile on the AT) but I think this stop had just put the nail in that coffin and we would be stopping before that.
Unfortunately a big climb up to Old Speck was next and the whole way up I felt like I was going to vomit, this time for an entirely different reason. I was too full and in an ideal world I would be taking a nap right now and letting it all digest instead of climbing up a mountain, but we don’t live in an idea world!
Thankful for this wooden bridge over this mossy slab rock
All I could do was take it slow and put one foot in front of the other and eventually I would get there. I ran into another confident kid (my new favourite thing) with his father and brother, and the kid and I had a good chat. He was telling me all about how he’s been learning about trees and how the roots keep the trees from falling over. Also, some trees look dead but they aren’t. He was too cute.
I ran into a couple of NOBOs and told them about the trail magic. One was a lady who looked like she had bashed her legs on every rock on the way down and she was over the moon with the knowledge, and the other guy said he had run out of food so he was off like a rocket.
I spoke to the 3rd NOBO and he said in an annoyed tone that he already knew so I stopped mentioning it after that. Most of the other people I saw were day hikers, the NOBO stream seemed to have dried up a bit.
I don’t know how long it took me to get to the top of that climb but it was far longer than it should have been. I think I was travelling and a fraction over 1 mile an hour. When I reached the top I felt a bit stronger and not quite so much like I was going to be sick because I was so full.
A little waterfall which was a great water source
This ladder has been here for some time
There were some decent views and the sky was full of moody clouds and I could see it raining in a couple of places. The descent from here was full on, so steep with a lot of rock slab and high potential to tumble and fall. At one point a couple of guys made sure I got down safely which was nice. It was super windy up there and I needed to get back down into the trees because I was getting cold.
Cal had gone up to the top of Old Speck. I camped up there in 2018 and it was a great campsite with a nice fire tower, but I didn’t feel the need to go up there again.
I was hoping he would catch me up so we could do the Mahoosuc Arm together. There were a few bog boards to negotiate between the summit and Speck pond. Even some on a slope with ‘chocks’ on them. My feet weren’t wet but they weren’t dry, they were damp and had been all day.
On the way down Old Speck
I vividly remember climbing up this the other way in 2018
Bog boards
I got to speck pond and had a look to see if there were any moose. Couldn’t see any. The trail follows the pond for a bit then crosses at the outlet where a bunch of logs have been piled up so it can be crossed with dry feet, I’m not sure of this is on purpose or not.
The edge of the lake
Very handy logs for keeping your feet dry
I have been noticing a lot of irritation on the skin on the outside of my left ankle so when I got to the other side of the logs I sat for a while to inspect it. I assumed it was a bit of dirt or something suck to my sock and irritating my leg, but it turned out to be raw skin. I don’t think it’s a blister, but something had obviously been rubbing it and the skin is now raw.
I stuck a Compeed over it - I wasn’t convinced it would stick because of my damp and dirty skin but it was worth a go it actually stuck alright. I shook out my socks and rotated them to the other feet to see if that would help.
It was nice to just get a bit of air to them because they were so wrinkly and pruny. It helped. I was on my way again and my ankle wasn’t in pain anymore.
Sore skin on my ankle
Covered it up with a Compeed plaster
The holes are getting bigger
There was another small climb and just as I was admiring the view at the top Cal catches me up. Great timing as we are right at the start of the Mahoosuc Arm – the steepest mile on the AT and unfortunately we were going down it. I’m not sure which is the worst option actually.
A rock scramble to the top
Very helpful ladders
The views are the reward for the climb
Just before the arm was a series of bog boards, most of which were submerged in the mud. This is where trekking poles come in very handy because you can test where they are with your poles and still walk on the boards even though they are slightly submerged and you’ll get your feet wet, but better than falling in the bog.
When I made it safely to the other side I turned around to take a photo of Cal crossing the bog and he slipped and fell in. It sent a spray of mud towards me which went in my eye and in my mouth, and in blobs over me, but that was nothing to the state of Cal’s leg! He was lucky he only went in with one leg because he couldn’t feel the bottom so he could have gone in up to his chest.
Feel for the board with your pole
Make the leap
Slip off the board!
The mud flew straight at me!
Couldn’t stop laughing
YOU”VE BEEN BOGGED!!
It was hilariously funny, even more funny because it happened to someone else and not me. I couldn’t stop chuckling about it. He had to do the whole Mahoosuc Arm with a muddy led because there was no water to wash it off. Every time I looked back and saw his muddy leg it made me laugh.
I’m still laughing about it now hours later as I write this.
We descended The Arm which was slow going and we tripped and fell. Honestly one misstep and you could take a nasty tumble down, if you’re really unlucky you could easily break something and because of that I was very carefully picking my way slowly down so I didn’t fall and break my face.
The only photo of the Mahoosuc Arm I have because I was busy concentration on not falling to my death
Some parts were crazy steep and involved a bum shuffle or swinging from tree trunks or branches. A lot of the best routes were down the sides where you could dig your feet in the dirt and use the tree roots. I took one fall where my left leg ended tucked up underneath me and I was lucky that wasn’t a lot worse.
On one bit I had to take my bag off and cal passed it down to me. I would have done The Arm on my own, but it was very nice to have someone there with me, and the chatting also diverted our attention from the ridiculousness of the task.
It was slow going of course, it took us about an hour to do the mile to the river where Cal could finally wash the mud off his leg and we could fill up in water having both run out at the top of Old Speck.
Cleaning off the bog in the river
Filtering water
I managed to bash my shin on the top of a rock just as we got out of the really hard stuff. No pictures do it justice and actually I was too busy trying not to fall and die to take many pictures, but basically it’s a jumble of massive boulders with sheer faces and lots of pointy, spiky, hard things to hurt yourself on.
Another 0.3 miles and we made it to the campsite at around 18:30. I definitely had no interest in going through The Notch now. Our knees needed a break after that intense downhill and there wouldn’t be enough time anyway before it got dark.
This is not an official campsite but it’s well used and there are flat pitches around, but no privy or anything. I think it’s here for people like us or NOBOs who have got through The Notch but can’t face the arm straight after and vice versa.
Camp at the end of a long day
There have been reports of mice being bad in this area so not much looking forward to camping here to be honest but very much looking forward to being horizontal.
There is only one NOBO here. We thought there would be more. Hardly seen any NOBOs this afternoon.
When I take my shoes off I notice a matching patch of sore skin on my opposite ankle. I leave it out to air and I’ll stick a plaster on it in the morning.
Taking off wet shoes and socks…
And getting cosy in my luxury item!
My sleeves of my shirt are covered in salt crystals from where I have been sweating so much. My legs are a mash up of filth and cuts and scrapes.
I ate a tiny bit of food but my top priority was being horizontal. Cannot wait for a shower and laundry.
