Trip Report: Mahoosic Range (August, 96)

August 96 Mahoosic Range (south half), ME-NH. A large trip with 9 people, (Tom, Molly, Sidney, Mellissa, Courtenay, Robert, Sonya, Me, James), many of them novices. This hike was not nearly so ambitious as the spring hike and did not meet with such dire weather. It was also my first experience leading and my first for a while with such a large group.
We started in Maine and climbed up the Wright Trail to the ridge of the Mahoosic Range at the junction between the two peaks of Goose-Eye on the first day. Beautiful weather, tremendous views, fine blueberries, etc, etc. Then on over Mt. Carlo headed south to the Carlo Col site. Slow going with nine people, and, despite the early start, we didn't get in until after five.
Tuesday we got a late start and humped over the several box cols and on up Mt. Success, the major mountain of the trip. The box cols were treacherous and involved some very steep climbs amongst large rocks for those with shorter legs, but as they were right at the beginning of the day's toils, it was more fun than not.
Upon reaching the summit of Mt. Success, three of us spent a few hours thrashing around in the bushes getting all scratched up looking for the crashed airplane just off the summit. It is a DC-3 that went down in `57 with on a foggy night. The wreckage can still be seen if you follow the eastern AT Corridor boundary just to the south of the summit. Very interesting and incongruous.
Facing time pressure, we came down Success and made our way through nice NH hardwoods. These were a very long few miles due to hurt joints and the late start we had gotten. Still, the stunning views of the inaccessable Bald Cap cliffs put us in a better mood. On the verge of darkness, we finally limped into Gentian Pond (litterally) and recovered nicely with the addition of stew. Despite the light rain, we slept out under the stars (which were spectacular) and listened to the wood-borers in the pines.
On the third and final day we hiked around Gentian pond and "south" on the AT as far as Dream Lake. This is a pleasent section of the trail which follows small streams through an otherwise trackless forest of fascinating rocks and tall trees. At Dream lake (surprisingly devoid of mosquitoes) we turned south and came down the steepest, longest descent I would care to make past Dryad Falls and thence to the Mill Brook Road. After a swim at the Bowls and Pitchers on the Mill brook, we trotted out litterally into my back yard to be greeted by showers, hot home-cookin' and real, honest-to-goodness beds. The trip was hailed as a great success by most participants though, unfortunately, not all.

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