Our Last Backpack: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating trip report from a vanished era
Review: This is the account of a hike the author and a friend took in 1966 through the Mahoosuc range: the roughly (and rough!!) 35 miles of the Appalachian Trail between Gorham and Grafton Notch (the route has changed a bit since then). Their 5-night hike is described in great detail, along with flashbacks to trips they took all the way back to 1929.
I hiked this section last year and recommend the book to anybody who has been through the Mahoosucs (or plans to). It's probably more interesting to read after hiking than before, to compare their trip with yours.
The most interesting aspect is seeing how things have changed since 1966. Many of the sheer rock climbs they did (near Goose Eye... or is it Goose High?..., for example) now have ladders. Hiking techniques have changed a bit (they brought an axe, thought about uprooting bushes to make a campsite, used balsam boughs in shelters, etc.): this is pre-LNT! And they were alone for days at a time (not likely in early September nowadays).
A fascinating description of a tough hike (I take my hat off to the late Mr. Doan and his friend Claud).