Date: 2016-09-11
From:  The Summit Of Katadhin Mountain

To: Grafton Notch, Maine
Miles today: 10.0

Today was a very long day for me. Warren Doyle's hike ended when we summitted Katadhin, but one person from that hike, Ron and I spent the night in "Ole Man" and "Navigator" hiker hostel in Millinocket, ME. We got up at 3;45 AM, and drove to Andover, ME, because I had one day of hiking that I had missed and needed to make up. The day I did Mahoosuc Notch, Mahoosuc Arm, and climbed Old Speck Mt., also one of the most difficult days of the AT, I got extremely sick. I was gasping for breath for most of that day, even when at rest. I attribute that to a combination of several days of extreme exertion, coupled with poor nutrition, and I smply ran out of fuel. I took the next day off (while everyone else hiked that day.) That was the day I needed to make up. Ron and I arrived at the start of my makeup hike just as the grey, leaden sky began to rain very heavily. I began hiking anyway, in the heavy rain, and Ron drove off, to meet me at the end of my 10 mile hike. The weather got worse, not better. The rain got very heavy, with LOTS of thunder. I had to cross two high mountains that day, Bald pate East, and Bald Pate West. As you can guess, they are called Bald Pate because the top of one of the mountains is above tree line. I was concerned that at the mountaintop, the thunder would be lightening, and being above treeline, the highest object at the top of the mountain would be me, and catching lightening bolts is not my idea of a good time. half way along my hike was a shelter, and I made an emergency decision that if the lightening had not ceased by the time I reached the shelter, I would make a u-turn and return to my starting point and hitch hike to where Ron, my ride was waiting for me. I prayed that God would do me a favor and make the thunder go away. (I was willing to hike in a driving rain, but not an electrical storm.) Well, perhaps it was just a coincidence, or perhaps not, but to my utter astonishment, not only did the thunder cease, but so did the rain, and then the sun came out, and a very strong wind blew the clouds away. I have never seen clouds move as quickly as they did yesterday. However, those VERY strong winds were as much a curse as they were a blessing. When I got to the top of the mountain, the wind was so strong that I could not stand up, and I had to do a reverse crab walk down hill on 200 yards of exposed rock. I got two very pleasant surprises on yesterdays hike. When I was on top of that windy mountain, very freaked out, I heard a female voice saying "Marshmellow, is that you?" It was a hiking friend, whose trail name is Furiosa. She is a nurse and an incredibly strong and fast hiker. A few miles later I passed an old, gaunt, emaciated looking man going in the opposite direction from me. As soon as he passed me, I thought, "wait a minute, I know that guy." So I asked him if his trail name was "White Owl." It was indeed my friend White Owl, almost finished with his AT hike at age 70. The reason I hardly recognized him is because he has lost 30 pounds since I last saw him. Hikers on the AT love to play practical jokes on each other. White Owl is a very folksy, grandfatherly person that everyone likes. He and I attended a free, all you can eat pancake and bacon breakfast sponsored by a church in Franklin, N.C. The church provided free, stamped envelopes so hikers could write brief messages to loved ones to let them know they were ok, and to advise family of their progress. When the letters were completed, they were put on a table, and the church said they would mail them. White Owl was sitting at a table with 10-12 twenty somethings that he was hiking with and had befreinded. Unknown to him, one of the young guys stole White Owls letter, and all of them copied White Owls address, and wrote brief letters to his wife, giving their trail nicknames, and assuring White Owl's wife that all was well with them. All of this was unknown to White Owl. A week later, White Owl got a phone call from his wife, asking who all these people were that he was hanging out with. White Owl told his wife that he knew who all those people were, but he had no idea how they got his wife's address. He asked one of the culprits what had happened, and the kid fessed up to the foul trick he and his buddies had played on White Owl. None of their notes were offensive in any way, so White Owl and his wife had a good laugh over the practical joke.