Mahoosuc Notch is commonly referred to as the ‘hardest mile of the Appalachian Trail’. Looking at it on the map wouldn’t betray that fact to a thru-hiker, no, it is the legend of Mahoosuc Notch that somehow floats back down the trail which gives this section the aura of mystery. We first heard about it way back in Virginia: Longterm told us stories about it whenever we found ourselves complaining: “well, this still ain’t nothing compared to Mahoosuc Notch” to goad us forward during difficult days.
As we drew closer to it, we heard tales from other hikers about why it is so legendary. Hearing things like; “its basically a huge jungle gym that you have to navigate with your pack on”, and “you will definitely want to do it in the morning on a clear day”. We heeded none of this advice. Lil Bell and I arrived at the marker indicating the beginning of Mahoosuc Notch after an already grueling day of pointless ups and downs off again, on again rain with about three hours of daylight left.
As we entered the hardest mile a light drizzle gently coated the valley wherein that great maze of boulders awaited us. We slid down into that labyrinth laughing at our bold stupidity. What makes Mahoosuc Notch so difficult is the constant climbing and sliding. What makes its so time consuming is that with every successful climb and/or slide, one then has to take a minute or two and look at the next obstacle before deciding what is the best path forward. Every obstacle is different. Some boulders need to be climbed, and they were quite slick when we did it.
I remember looking down at my watch and seeing that an hour had passed and then checking my GPS and seeing that we had yet to walk a half mile. After all was said and done It took us one hour and forty-five minutes to pass through the hardest mile. It was grueling and we were exhausting afterwards. But we made it to camp with enough daylight left to set up our tent and heat up a freeze dried meal, so we had that going for us.
From the otherside,
Pan and Bell
from the other side 