Standing at the beginning of the Mahoussac Notch, “the hardest mile on the entire trail”. I looked down at my watch: 9:30. I faced boulders the size of SUV’s and a very poorly marked line suggesting to the daring hiker that there really is no good way to traverse this next mile. So the white blazes were scattered, and soon so were droplets of my blood, and scraps of mesh torn from my pack.