CANDOER Retirement Group

8/26 - Monday - Day 166 - Hiked 9.7 miles - (Mile Marker 1,901.3) The day I have been worried about for several days has finally arrived. Lots of apprehension in the air by all, but we finally got started at 7 a.m. In less than two miles, we would be entering Mahoosuc Notch (2,450). This is a jumble of rocks that is likened very much to a jungle gym. This is a collection of rocks, some the size of a house and you must really think out just how you are going to either get around, over, under or between them. There is one location where you are supposed to hear a stream where there is ice year around. I didn't hear nor see it as I was concentrating so hard in just getting through this jumble of rocks. Since I was hiking with my friends, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated as they were leading the way and I could see how they were getting through each tough part. With all the stretching I did to get from one rock to another, I should have grown taller. After getting through this jumble in less than an hour, we all sat and took a break where we talked about what we had just experienced. It was the consensus of all that it wasn't as bad as what we thought it would be. Of course, this was after we had finished with it and it was now behind us. Immediately after completing this tough portion of the trail it was straight up the Mahoosuc Arm (3,770). After successfully reaching the summit, it was back down again to Grafton Notch. (1,500). At the parking lot at the Notch I attempted to find a ride to get to Andover where I planned on finding a hostel to stay in. I approached a man who had just completed hiking to ask if he were going in that direction. Although he wasn't, he offered to take me to Andover anyway. He was from Boston and wasn't familiar with the area so we had difficulty in locating this small town of Andover. Since Boston was about four hours away, I felt badly that he was taking so much time trying to locate this town. I was very appreciative. We finally found the town and the Pine Ellis B&B. Paul & Eileen Trainor run the place and take you into their home very graciously. You have complete access to their home, even the living room and their TV. I actually watched the Red Sox game last night, and they won!! There is one room with four single beds which I am sharing with three other hikers. The town is very small, but does have a place to eat and buy groceries. We have quite a group staying here and others are staying at another hostel in town so we are planning on doing several slack pack days from here.

8/27 - Tuesday - Day 167 - Hiked 10.3 miles - (Mile Marker 1,911.6) What a great day for a slack pack. I was up early, but didn't have breakfast until 8 at the hostel and then it was off to the trailhead. There were nine of us hiking together. We stayed together all day and it was lots of fun hiking with this large group. The hike was not as difficult as the previous days. I had dinner at Addie's Place which is one of the few eating places in town. I watched the Red Sox once again tonight but they are losing. Can't watch the whole game as it ends too late and getting up early in the morning is a must. This morning our first challenge was hiking up Baldpate Mountain (East Peak) (3,660). This mountain has two main summits. It was a nice trail with a series of interesting natural steps to reach the top. The weather has been absolutely perfect for hiking. Unfortunately, it is dry and water is now becoming a problem. You have to be sure that the place you plan to stop overnight does have water or a place to get water nearby. Of course, since we are slack packing and ending up at the hostel each night, it isn't of concern right now, but we have to be alert once we begin hiking with our packs once again.

8/28 - Wednesday - Day 168 - Hiked 10.1 miles - (Mile Marker 1,921.7) Another great day for hiking as we did another slack and the weather was just perfect. The hike was pretty easy, or at least easier than we had all expected. We are seeing a lot of hikers here in Maine and everyone seems very relaxed and the excitement of finishing is starting to show. Since the opportunity is here to do one more slack I intend doing so tomorrow and then it will be hiking toward Rangeley with my pack once again.

8/29 - Thursday - Day 169 - Hiked 13.3 miles - (Mile Marker 1935.0) The slack today took us up and over Old Blue Mountain at 3,600 feet. This would be the highest climb for quite some time. Since we were slacking, the hike didn't seem so bad. Over the Bemis Range West Peak (3,580) and on down to Route 17 where we were to be picked up. We finished at 5 p.m. with a very steep climb up to the road. As expected, our ride was waiting for us with cold drinks ready for us. After a short discussion, it was decided that we would slack into Rangeley and have our packs dropped off in town. I spent most of tonight getting my pack ready to be shuttled into Rangeley tomorrow. I still haven't seen one of those infamous moose that are supposed to be all over the place.

8/30 - Friday - Day 170 - Hiked 13.1 miles - (Mile Marker 1948.1) Although I said it before, this is definitely my last day of slack packing. On our way to the drop off point, our driver took us by a place where he could almost guarantee that we would see a moose in the bog. We did see one although it was quite a ways away. But…, I did see one. The driver said it was a female but he could have called it anything and I would have believed him anyway. After quite a long ride to the drop off point, we began what would be one of our easiest days of hiking in a very long time. There were no steep hills at all. I had not intended going into Rangeley, but Spoonful, one of the thru hikers and his dad were giving a barbeque and giving shuttle rides to and from the trail head. Since they made it so easy, I decided it wouldn't be bad having some food other than my trail food. It was a nice get together and then several of us headed back to the trail head to look for a place to camp out for the night. Our packs had been dropped off at the park where the barbeque was being held so now we are back carrying our packs once again. Wow, are they heavy after having several days of slack packing without the full pack. It wasn't real easy finding a flat place to pitch a tent, but finally found something that was relatively flat.

8/31 - Saturday - Day 171 - Hiked 10.7 miles - (Mile Marker 1,958.8) After slacking for four days, it was tough hiking today with a full pack. Starting out at 1,595 feet we would soon be going up and over Saddleback Mountain at 4,120 feet. There were some great views from the top. We continued on to the Horn (4,040) and then we started down again first to Saddleback Junior (3,655) and on to Poplar Ridge Lean-to. We were advised there was no water at this site, but when we did arrive we found water and decided to camp out here. I have still not seen any moose in the wild. The shelter and campsite are full to capacity. I now seem to be right in the middle of a bubble of thru hikers and everyone is anxious to get to Katahdin.

9/1 - Sunday - Day 172 - Hiked 13.8 miles - (Mile Marker 1,971.9) With today's mileage we will have less than 200 miles remaining to the end. There was lots of climbing today but not over big rocks for a change. Even so, it was still tough At the beginning we headed down to Orbeton Stream (1,555). According to our directory, this was a river that we would have to ford. However, due to shortage of water, we were able to just walk across rocks without taking our boots off. We hiked over Mount Abraham, but did not have to go over the summit. We did hike over Spaulding (4,000) and Sugarloaf Mountains. We had decided to hike one more mile to Crocker Cirque Campsite, but after the very difficult dissent to South Branch Carrabassett River (2,130) we decided to camp right here. It is a short day into Stratton tomorrow where I will be picking up my food drop.

9/2 - Monday - Day 173 - Hiked 8.4 miles - (Mile Marker 1,980.3) It was a quick, hard climb to South (4,040) and North Crocker Mountains (4,228). Not a lot of rocks this time, but the steep climb over the next three miles were tough. For the next five miles the trail was quite easy and mostly downhill to Route 27 where we would hitch in to Stratton. Someone had left some drinks near the trail when we came out onto the highway. As usual, these were a nice surprise. We got a hitch almost immediately into Stratton and checked in at Widow's Walk B&B. After taking a shower, I went to lunch and then to the Laundromat. I then did some grocery shopping and then back to the room to organize my pack. This is a nice place to stay which costs $15.00 and includes breakfast and a ride back to the trail in the morning. I will have to organize my food in the morning as the post office doesn't open until 8 a.m. and breakfast is at 8:30. I hope I can get everything organized in time for the shuttle back to the trailhead. I had dinner with Chipper & Jeff and Slow and Easy. They are thinking of taking a zero day here. If they do, this could be the last time I will be hiking with them. It has been great and I will miss their companionship. They are two great couples and they were so kind in letting me tag along with them.

9/3 - Tuesday - Day 174 - Hiked 10.4 miles - (Mile Marker 1,990.7) I was up early to pack my backpack and go to the post office. I had breakfast and then was dropped off at the trailhead. I was once again on the trail by 9 o'clock. The day started off as a dreary day and got worse as the day went on. There was a light rain and it was windy most of the day. We started out by crossing a footbridge at Stratton Brook (1,530) After that it was up, up, up. The climbs were tough, climbing over The Bigelows. From Stratton Brook, it was up until finally reaching Bigelow Mountain (west peak 4,145). We continued on to Bigelow Mountain (Avery Peak 4,090) and then on into Stafford Notch campsite (2,230). I hadn't planned on hiking quite as far as I did, but I needed water so had to keep going. Oh well, most of the hard hiking is completed after tomorrow morning…..at least that is what I am told and want so badly to believe. Hopefully I will be able to do longer miles. It is still raining and I haven't had my dinner yet. Guess I will just have to get wet. There are lots of college kids on the trail. There is a group from Harvard camping here tonight. It seems that the freshmen are offered an opportunity to do some hiking with others in their class with the purpose of getting to know each other before they actually begin classes. I fell again today and broke my only good hiking pole.

9/4 - Wednesday - Day 175 - Hiked 12.2 miles - (Mile Marker 2,002.9) I really hated to get up this morning as it was still raining. I had to tell myself to "Just do it, Rey" and that is just what I did. My tent leaked so most everything was wet which meant a real heavy pack. The first and most difficult climb of the day was over Little Bigelow Mountain (east end) at 3,010 feet. Believe we only have one more 3,000 footer before Katahdin. The remainder of the hike today was fairly easy but still had lots of rocks and roots. I passed the 2,000 mile marker today. Hooray, I finally saw my first moose. It was a young one, but never the less, a moose. She was standing knee deep in a bog and wasn't bothered by my being there. She just looked up and kept on eating. I am staying at the West Carry Pond Shelter (1,340) tonight. You can hear the loons on the pond. Although they call this a pond, it is probably the size of Star Lake, where our cottage is located in New York. I arrived at the shelter at 4 p.m. and since there was a bit of sun left, I was able to get most everything dried. That will help lighten my load tomorrow. There are four thru hikers staying here tonight, three of them I had not met before. I really didn't think this late in the hike I would continue to see so many thru hikers.

9/5 - Thursday - Day 176 - Hiked 14.0 miles - (Mile Marker 2,016.9) Although I hiked 14 miles, this was an easy day with flat trails most of the way. The last four miles followed the river over rocks and roots but I still arrived at the Kennebec River (490) crossing at 2 p.m. The first scheduled crossing was 3 p.m. Since we arrived early, we had to wait about 45 minutes for the crossing. The ATC and the Maine Hiking club give free canoe rides across the river as it is too dangerous to ford. I crossed with Weatherman and once across we had a short hike to Caratunk House (500) which is the hostel where we will be staying tonight. It is very nice having real beds with linens. After taking a shower and getting my laundry done I may get a chance to use the internet tonight later. We were transported down the road a ways to the Northern Outdoors which is a restaurant and micro brewery. The meal was very good and the couple beers that I had made it that much better. At the hostel they had snacks and drinks for sale.

9/6 - Friday - Day 177 - Hiked 14.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,031.6) What a good nights rest in a real bed but I still had to get up at 6 a.m. to get ready for breakfast at 7. Had a very good all you can eat breakfast with French toast, home fries, eggs, juice and coffee. Unfortunately, I was unable to figure out how to use the lap top computer so didn't get to do my journal last night. After breakfast, we were off again on the trail at 8:30. We got a late start, but the first six miles were quite easy. Then it was over Pleasant Pond Mountain (2,629). Although it was quite a climb, but I remember a lot worse. I then began hiking over roots and rocks once again. It was a great day for hiking. I arrived at the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to (1,300). I was happy to see Krankin, Movin and Birch as well as Weatherman once again. There is another section hiker here as well. I am planning on a long day tomorrow in hopes of making it into Monson. The terrain and weather will determine how far I go.

9/7 - Saturday - Day 178 - Hiked 18.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,050.3) After a long day, I finally made it into Monson and even though it was considered an easy day, I found it difficult because of the distance and the fact that much of the trail was over roots and rocks. Usually when you travel along the river, you will find this type of terrain. The day started off by hiking up Moxie Bald Mountain (2,830). This was a steep climb, but there were great views from the top. After that, it was going down to the river which I would follow for quite some time. Unfortunately, the trail comes out to a road that doesn't get much traffic, so I ended up walking about two miles on the road to get to Shaws Boarding House and Hiker Hostel hosted by Keith and Pat Shaw. They claim to have provided lodging for some 30,000 thru hikers since 1977. They began taking in hikers when no one else would do so. I arrived at the Hostel just in time to sigh up for a terrific dinner. I signed up for breakfast for tomorrow as well. We had a roast, potatoes, corn on cob, vegetables and homemade blueberry pie and coffee and all for $10.00 and you can have all you want. Everything is home cooked right there in the kitchen. There are several rooms as well as a bunkroom. I will be staying in the bunkroom. The hostel is completely full of thru hikers and all are looking forward to entering the wilderness. This will be the last stop before entering "The Wilderness" which is the last 100 miles of the hike and although this used to be totally unsettled for the full distance, there is now a place to stop and re supply about half way through. It is suggested that you take at least ten days worth of food to get you through. However, this was suggested before there was a stop along the way. I will carry about six days of food just to be sure.

9/8 - Sunday - Day 179 - Hiked 13.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,064) After an awesome breakfast, I was dropped off at the trailhead. I am now heading into the 100 mile wilderness and I have to admit because of the unknown, I am a bit apprehensive. The sign warns the unprepared hiker to stay away. The sign also suggests that you carry a ten-day supply of food. Of course, knowing that there is a place about half way through the wilderness where you can stop eliminated the need for this much food. It is recommended that since this is the last 100 miles of your journey that you take it easy and enjoy these last miles. It was very hot today and I really got very tired. It took me a long time to cool down after arriving at the shelter. I did see my second moose today at North Pond. She was in the pond just cooling herself and she wasn't bothered that I was their taking her photo but just continued doing her thing. I stayed and watched for quite a long time. Although we are hiking at the lower altitudes now, it still doesn't prevent us from having several ups and downs to traverse and this is what today was like. In fact, the last .7 miles was straight up to the shelter. Before arriving at the shelter we had to cross Big Wilson Stream. It is a river that we would have to ford if the water was at normal levels. However, since the water was low, we were able to find rocks that we could cross over without taking our boots off. The water is really becoming a problem as they are having one of the driest seasons that they have had in a long time in Maine. We are beginning to see some of the leaves changing colors. I am staying at the Wilson Valley Lean-to (970) tonight along with eight others. It is really quite warm and hopefully it will cool off for a good nights sleep.

9/9 - Monday - Day 180 - Hiked 8.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,072.7) It was pretty hot for sleeping last night and is hot again today for hiking. This is the reason for the short mileage today. The radio indicates that Maine is having record temperatures with lows in the 90's again tomorrow. I haven't figured out exactly what my summit date will be, but must decide soon so that I can inform Mark and Donald who plan on picking me up. I hiked up and over Barren Mountain (2,650) where there was a beautiful view from the top. It was a brutal climb in the heat and I was glad to reach the Cloud Pond Lean-to (2,420). There is one other couple sharing the shelter and four people camping. I plan on getting up early tomorrow and giving it as much effort as I can to hike more miles. I now have less than 100 miles to go, 95.4 to be exact.

9/10 - Tuesday - Day 181 - Hiked 16.8 miles - (Mile Marker 2,089.5) I was up early at 5 a.m. and out of camp by 6. I knew I had a long, tough day ahead of me and it turned out to be just that. However, after the short day I had yesterday, I needed to do extra miles to put myself back on schedule. I am hearing that it is supposed to rain tonight which should cool things off a bit. I am hoping that it does as I have one more big mountain to hike and then it is supposed to be clear sailing until Katahdin. How many times have I said this before. I am staying at the Carl Newhall Lean-to (1,840) along with two section hikers and one thru hiker and one camper. It is 7:30 and still quite hot tonight. The hike today traversed lots of roots and rocks which are quite difficult on the feet. After a long day, it was great to hit the sack tonight.

9/11 - Wednesday - Day 182 - Hiked 7.2 miles - (Mile Marker 2,096.7) It didn't rain last night, but did cool off. I hiked up White Cap Mountain (3,655) which should be the last big mountain before Katahdin. It didn't turn out to be nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be. Many of the south bounders (sobo's) mentioned how tough this mountain was. I believe they thought it was tough as they were just starting their trek south and their bodies hadn't yet gotten into shape. I recall feeling the same way when I started out in Georgia. The mountains were all tough at the beginning. As I approached the top of White Cap, it looked as though a storm was coming in and it did actually start sprinkling. I figured I was about 1½ miles from the next shelter. I headed off for the shelter and made it just before the real downpour started. I still got wet from the brush along the side of the trail. I did another short mileage day today, but I will be able to make it up tomorrow. I arrived at the Logan Brook Shelter (2,480) and decided to go no further. The temperature has dropped so I had to use my warm cloths tonight. After getting my warm cloths on, I got into my sleeping bag even though it was only 3:30. I decided to take a nap as it is still raining out. Stump Knocker and Flash are also staying the night out of the rain. I recalled that this was the one year anniversary of the dreadful 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. I reflected on my good fortune to be alive and able to walk the Appalachian Trail.

9/12 - Thursday - Day 183 - Hiked 11.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,108.4) After the rain and wind that we had all night long, it has turned out to be a beautiful day. The hike today was great also. There were some ups and downs but mostly flat trail along the way. I arrived at the Cooper Brook Falls Shelter (880) at 1:30 and found a beautiful location to stay at the end of the day. The shelter sits right near the river with some falls right in front which is listed as one of the best swimming holes along the trail. With all the rain we had last night, the water level in the river is closer to normal now. I passed the 2,100 mile mark today with only about 60 miles remaining. This will be my last Thursday on the trail and I am really counting down the time now. It appears that there will only be two of us in the shelter tonight. It is now 5:30 and I'm already in my sleeping bag because it has turned cold and supposed to get colder. I heard that it had gotten down to 40 degrees last night.

9/13 - Friday - Day 184 - Hiked 13.7 miles - (Mile Marker 2,122.1) It was a bit cool last night, but not as bad as the night before. However, just before 6 a.m. this morning it started to rain and continued until about 7:15, about the time I took off from the shelter. Today was some of the easiest hiking yet. It was very flat and there weren't as many rocks and roots to hike over. I arrived at the White House Landing Wilderness Camp at about 2 p.m. There is an air horn that they ask you to blow one time and someone comes over by motorboat to pick you up and transport you across the water to the camp. Once getting settled into the bunkhouse, I took my shower, rested a bit and then was ready for dinner. I had a deluxe burger with a pint of ice cream for desert. Everything is very costly here because of the isolation. Everything they have has to be transported in. This is a resort type of place on the lake that caters to hikers, vacationers and snowmobilers during the appropriate seasons. I thought I was going to be the only one in the bunkhouse tonight, but Weatherman showed up and later Tigger and Prairie showed. Weatherman shared the bunkhouse with me while Tigger and Prarie elected to stay in one of the private cottages. I'm glad I am getting closer to the end as it is beginning to get cold at night now. In fact, it is supposed to get into the 30's tonight. I won't be getting an early start in the morning as breakfast isn't until 8.

9/14 - Saturday - Day 185 - Hiked 15.9 miles - (Mile Marker 2,138.0) As expected, we didn't leave the White House Landing until 10 a.m. after a very nice breakfast. It was a nice place to stop over and I'm glad I stayed there. However, as indicated earlier, it turned out to be very expensive. For instance, it was $5 for a shower, $5 if you had your mail drop there (I didn't), $5 if you had to use your credit card and the meals weren't cheap. Because it would be the last place that I would be staying I splurged and had ice cream, candy bars, etc. We were all dropped off across the lake as near the trailhead as possible. I had only one tough climb today over Nesuntabunt Mountain (1,530). There was a beautiful view of Katahdin Mountain. This was the first time I was actually sure that I had seen the mountain. Can I really climb this mountain? I am quite sure I will be able to. It turned out to be a long day today. With the late start and the number of miles I hiked, I didn't reach the Rainbow Spring Campsite (1,530) until nearly 6:30. Since it was getting dark earlier I had to hurry to get water and dinner started before it turned dark. I am sharing the shelter with Tigger and Prairie. We were treated to the flute playing by Prairie. It really sounded great as she played by the rippling river. Only 30 miles remaining. As it looks now, I will take two days to get to the base of Katahdin Mountain and summit the following day. Tigger and Prairie indicated they planned on summitting the same day. I am glad as I really wanted to summit with someone else, especially after hiking all the miles that I have hiked.

9/15 - Sunday - Day 186 - Hiked 11.5 miles - (Mile Marker 2,149.5) We woke up to rain this morning and it rained most of the morning. Last night a mouse went hyper and ran across everyone's sleeping bag. It woke everyone up and it was quite a sight to see everyone sit up in their sleeping bags at the same time. Everyone looked at each other, laughed and then went back to sleep. After all these miles, a little mouse is not going to make much difference. Went by the Rainbow Ledges (1,520), giving us another good view of the impressive Katahdin Mt. I arrived at the Hurd Brook Lean-to at 1 p.m. and had my lunch. I changed from my wet cloths to my night cloths which I always try to keep dry. The hike today was pretty easy, following the Rainbow Lake for several miles. I now have only 18.6 miles remaining. Tigger and Prairie are in the shelter again tonight. Two more SOBO'S came in at 6:15 so now there are five of us in the shelter.

9/16 - Monday - Day 187 - Hiked 13.4 miles - (Mile Marker 2,162.9) It rained all night and well into the afternoon. I hated to get up, but finally did and departed in the rain at 7:30. Just Do It Rey was on his last day before summiting Katahdin and this thought helped me in getting on the way this morning. It was easy hiking today. About 3½ miles from our shelter, I stopped at Abol Bridge where there is a store. I had coffee and a couple donuts. It really hit the spot. Just outside Abol Bridge I ran into a ranger who gave me a little info on what to expect at my next stop. He also advised that Sunshine and Trippinant took an extra day and were at the shelter and would be summitting the mountain tomorrow. I was so happy to hear this as I had been following Sunshine for quite some time but didn't think I would catch her. I had met her way early in the hike and we had crossed paths many times over the following weeks. I stopped by the Big Niagara Falls which was only about 1 mile from my final days destination. I entered Baxter State Park at the 2,157.8 mile marker. The park was donated by the late Governor Percival Baxter. There are no paved roads, no electricity, no showers, no stores and no telephones which was a stipulation of Governor Baxter when he gave the land to the state. When I arrived at the State Park Headquarters, I registered and made arrangements to stay at the Daicey Pond Camp ground which has shelters for the thru hiker. It was great seeing Sunshine once again and we had a great time catching up on all the news of our fellow hikers. I am sharing a shelter with a young fellow from outside Buffalo who is awaiting orders to go into the Marines. He plans on hiking south until his orders come. I must say he wasn't very well prepared and I ended up sharing some of my food with him. I hope he makes it because he wasn't prepared as far as clothing goes either. There were three fellows who came around the shelter tonight who were interested in getting all the information they could about a thru hike on the AT which they plan to do next year. They shared some beer with us which was a nice treat for our next to last day on the trail. I am hitting the sleeping bag early tonight in anticipation of my final day tomorrow. At times, I thought it would never come but on the other hand, I am feeling a bit sorry that it is coming to an end. It is supposed to be a decent day tomorrow, but you couldn't tell that by the weather tonight. LAST NIGHT ON THE TRAIL, HOORAY!!

9/17 - Tuesday - Day 188 - Hiked 10.4 miles - (Mile Marker 2,168.1) The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived. I slept fairly well last night even with the excitement of what was to happen today. It was pretty cold this morning, but was a beautiful day. I was packed and out of the shelter by 6:45 along with Sunshine and Trippinant who I will be summiting with. I dropped off my full pack at the ranger station where they will store it until our return later today. They loan us a day pack which we will return when our hike is completed. We headed out to the mountain at 7:15. What a climb it would be. Katahdin was probably the hardest hike of all. It had a little of everything that we had experienced along the AT. To my great surprise and joy, I was greeted by a shout "Hey Grampa" from Jbird who had caught up and joined me for my final ascent to the summit. What a surprise it was. Although it seems that everyone at home knew about it, they had managed to keep it a secret from me. After some tough hiking/climbing we finally summitted Katahdin Mountain together at exactly 11 a.m. What an emotional moment that was for me as well as for the other two who had hiked the full distance. We celebrated by eating all the goodies we had and reminisced for an hour before heading back down the mountain at 12 noon. There were several day hikers at the summit and all gave their congratulations for our feat. We now had to climb back down over the same route that we had just come up. While we were anxious to reach the bottom, we weren't anxious to go back down over those rocks that we had just come up over. However, it didn't really seem as bad as what we thought it was going to me. It appeared much easier going back down. We reached the bottom at 3:20 where we would be met by Mark and Donald. We had to wait a little while for them to show up, but soon they were their ready to pack us up and take us home. Stumpknocker and his girlfriend were at the bottom drying out their camping gear and clothing. They would be summiting tomorrow. On the trail this morning, on our way up the mountain we passed couple who had hiked this mountain 10 years ago and they were doing it again in celebration. What an inspiration they were. We were inspired because she was 79 years old and he was 80 and they were in such good spirits. Her comment was that she didn't remember it being quite as difficult. I really don't know how they did it as I had all I could do to get over some of the rocks/boulders. I really didn't think they would make it all the way, but as we were coming back down, they were still coming up and almost to the summit. Once we finally made it back down, we packed up, we headed off for Millinocket where we would stay for the night and take off for home tomorrow. Since we were going by the Bangor airport, Sunshine came with us and we will drop her off tomorrow for her flight back to Florida It is very difficult to put into words how much I enjoyed this hike. It was a great adventure but I am happy that it is now over. I have now accomplished the second goal that I had made to myself once I retired.

I owe special thanks to so many people; My children, Mark, Mike, Paul, Jeff and Amy, who helped with transportation and any other support whenever I needed it; My brother Donald, who also provided transportation as well as meeting me at various locations on the trail providing lodging, food, etc. I owe more special thanks to Don and Sue Thalacker who met me along the trail and took me to lunch and provided me with a very welcome gin and tonic; Barbara and Chuck Heath for the great stay at their vacation home and the transportation they provided back and forth on and off the trail; John and Alice Hubler for the hospitality they provided on my way through Pennsylvania; Vangy and Blasé Schweibin who also provided a wonderful nights hospitality in Pennsylvania as well as transportation to and from the trail and finally to my cousin Fern and her husband Ken Goertz who put me up and carted me all over the town of Littleton, New Hampshire, providing me the opportunity to take care of official business while I was there. Many thanks also go out to the many, many folks who gave me all the moral support and prayers that I so badly needed. Thanks go out to all these folks and last but not least, a very special thanks to my wife, Grace who gave her full support in my preparation for this once in a lifetime venture. Not only her moral support, but by physically supporting me in preparing my food (drop) boxes and shipping them off to the various pickup points, insuring I had the proper clothing at the right time, transporting me whenever necessary and just being there whenever I needed something, and just simply allowing me to be away from home for such a long period of time. Without all the above support, this trip could not have been accomplished and I would not have all the wonderful memories that this trip has given me.