Date: 2009-10-01
From: Millinocket, ME

To: Whitefield, NH
Miles today: 0.0

October 1 --The morning came quickly and sleep in the big bed was luxurious comfort after the full day, and late night, before. Rookie, Dioko and I went back to the AT Cafe for a big breakfast leisurely discussing departure plans and indirectly convincing each other, and ourselves, that the journey had ended. It was inrealizable, you can't dedicate months to an effort, stop it and comprehend the change, your body and mind's momentum won't allow it. Back at the lodge I settled with Paul on the lodging. His place, similar to Rebekah's was one of the best, he, a thru-hiker himself, truly understands and provides, beyond, what is necessary for hikers, he and his wife are dedicated to their cause, never hesitating, maybe it is a ME thing. While packing, I noticed a flier for "The Gathering", an annual ALDHA event where information is presented, this year in Gettysburg, October 9,10,& 11. "In October, maybe I'll go", I thought, then "October, today is October 1st!" Wow, a dose of reality, after more than six monthss of playing in the woods. I was soon walking out of the quiet town of Millinocket, the final fringe of the fabric that had been woven, for two seasons, with the encounters of hundreds of others, through countless conversations, over limitless landscapes and vistas, made of memories, some so distant they seem like years ago not months, a fabric of a community of individuals, now thru-hikers, who have now joined the larger group, sewn on like a quilt, of those before them, who will understand with insight the stories and experiences that arise. Now standing on ME11, my clean thumb flagging, I wondered what the day held as I made my way back to Monson where my truck was waiting. Within minutes a pickup stopped and I climbed in. It would be a short ride, the guy was just going to the forest road to pick wild mushrooms. Good enough for me, but he pollitely warned me that I would now be in the middle of nowhere and be stranded. I stayed by the gravel side road and removed my pack hoping for a ride, then hoping for a car to pass by. I was stranded, I once waited 41 minutes between cars and began to contemplate a tentsite event though it was just after noon. I did turn down a ride from a couple of guys with good intentions and a poor sense of direction, who offered me a ride in the opposite direction. Soon my mushroom hunting friend emerged from the sideroad, jumped out and said, "I was afraid this would happen", and suggested a different route out of Millinocket and after consulting my ME roadmap, he was compelled by his own kindness to drive me further, down to Brownsville where crossroads promised more traffic, and for the half hour or so we talked about the tricky aspects of gathering edible wild mushrooms, he was experienced, but, as he said, not an expert, it was fascinating. The second ride came quickly, but was no more than 3 minutes up to the top of a hill and out of town where right away, a Korean War Vet, stopped, and tossed his cigarette out the window as I climbed into his pickup. He was a Glen Beck fan and reflected his views, uncensored, genuinely a nice guy who loved this country. The ride was nearly a half hour to the market where he went for cheese and I was on the road, now in a light drizzle, for about 10 minutes when an older gentleman drove me to the far edge of Guilford where the final ride, who was going past the AT parking lot on ME15, stopped within minutes. I was back at the truck by 15:30 and headed back into Monson, to the Lake Shore Motel Pub for a burger and beer, and a brief farewell to Rebekah. I found my way south back to US2 at Newport which I followed nearly all the way back to Whitefield arriving well after dark. It was an evening of wonder. I knew, of course, that it was over, but how long it would take for my body, conditioned to walk every day, all day, and my mind, already overwhelmed by the drastic contrast of yesterday on Mt Katahdin, today here at home, to settle back to a routine that no longer exists? I now have no schedule, only a six month plan that must be organized for efficiency, perhaps the farthest thought, right now the transition to sharing the world with the rest of society must be played out, the sooner the better, but do I really want it sooner? There is much to mull. I am still not sure why I did it. How do I feel now that it is over? Like after a movie that is moving, leaving, knowing that there is more to it than what is presently in my mind, and I will come to understand it, bit by bit, over time.