Catch-up Time

September 7, 2011

Days 74-78.  Dave hiked his last 4 days through the second half of the 100 Mile Wilderness, then up and down Mt. Katahdin.  He had sunny weather but the trail was very wet, muddy and slippery.  When he got to the top of Mt. Katahdin, it was very cold and foggy and he could see just a few feet in front of himself.  Thank goodness he had someone take a picture.

Dave broke open a single-serving bottle of Old Granddad and shared it with his 5 buddies.  He had two bottles with him, but after they passed the first one around, it was still half full!  Fishes and loaves?



Total trail miles from June 12 to September 7 = 871.  That number does not include the miles back down Katahdin, trips into towns for resupplying, side trips for water, etc. etc.
Days on the trail = 78
WOW

In Salem, MA.  Dave had his beard shaved by
a barber but had not yet had a close shave.

Dave finished on Wednesday, 9/7/11, the first day of my drive.  I drove from GA to WV, having a great day of good weather and fairly light traffic until about 5:30 pm when traffic came to a screeching halt on I-81 due to a major accident.  Fortunately, I was right next to an exit with a Hampton Inn, so I squeezed my way off and checked into the hotel.  I had gone 650 miles in 11 hours. (I make multiple stops.) The next day as I was driving from WV to MA and having the worse driving day of my life, Dave took a bus from the hostel in Millinocket to Portland, ME.  One of his hiking buddies, Pilgrim, was meeting his wife in Portland and she offered to drop Dave off in Topsfield - my destination for the evening - at Kathie Tremblay's house.

I have to digress and tell you on my second day of driving I encountered highway and surface street closings due to flooding, constant rain, sometimes so hard I couldn't see the vehicle in front of me, two major accidents that caused me to sit in the car having to pee so badly I was wishing I had some Depends with me ... and finally got to Topsfield just minutes before Dave did.  It had taken me another 11 hours to go just over 500 miles.

So, I had ONE bad day of driving and Dave hiked on the Appalachian Trail 78 days.  No comparison!

Denise and Afton in Portsmouth, NH

We originally planned to spend several days in Maine, taking a little vacation, but when Dave knew he could catch a ride to Topsfield, he jumped at the opportunity.  I never made it to Maine!  We spent Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday with Kathie, leaving Sunday morning.  Friday we went to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem (what a museum it is!) and Saturday we went to Portsmouth, NH to have lunch with Deni and Aftin.  Deni had done some research to find the best restaurant with outdoor seating - and lobster - and we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.  We had planned to spend the night with them in Kingston, NH on our way back from Maine but everything changed when Dave hitched a ride to Massachusetts.

Dave, me, Kathie, Deni and Afton

Today, Sunday, we had a nice leisurely drive south to the Connecticut coast and spent all afternoon at Mystic Seaport.  We finally had a lobster roll at The Boathouse.

When we checked into our hotel tonight,  Dave poured the rest of the Old Granddad into two cups for a toast.  I asked if he was retiring the Old Granddad trail name. He said he was toasting the end of our long separation.  What a guy.

I think we'll be at Geoff & Betsy's tomorrow night.  I'd better call them and make sure that's okay!