8.23.2007

Maine, wild and wonderful

We expected to be disconnected from the rest of the world while we are in Maine, but there are quite a few public libraries here! It's crazy, because when we get to the top of a mountain and catch a glimpse of the surrounding countryside, we hardly see any signs of civilization...just trees and ponds and endless mountains stretching in all directions. But there are quite a few small towns to stop in, Maine is, after all, "Vacationland." Today we are in Rangely, which was once rated the 50th best resort town in the US. I was extremely excited to find a Thai restaurant here, and just enjoyed a delicious yellow curry for lunch.

Yesterday, M and I surprised ourselves by doing a 17 mile day - our biggest day in a month. We stopped at the stunningly gorgeous Sabbath Day Pond Shelter, sitting near Long Pond, which had a sandy beach, and cool, clear water. We met a couple there who is completing the AT in sections, and had a lot of good advice for us. They maintain a section of the Cumberland Trail in Tennessee, a piece of which my sister and I helped to build a couple of years ago.

I saw a moose, briefly, on the trail this morning on the way into town, my first of the trip. I am glad he ran away though, because he was terrifyingly large.

Tomorrow we'll go up and over Saddleback Mountain, which is another 4,000+ footer, and goes above treeline for quite a ways. If the weather is clear, we may catch a glimpse of the Big One...our goal, Mt. Katahdin.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Monkey & Cocoa-thanks for the great blogs and photos. I am rooting for you two to go all the way. Beach Bum is in Maine today(I think)-be sure to come see us in VB someday.
1st Wife

Leah said...

That's a lot of walking folks. A lot of walking.

Leah

Anonymous said...

Appreciated the update when I stopped into the office today, happy to know that you are still chugging along. Congrats on the 17 mile day, amazing. Another parishioner, Joe Hickey, a WW II vet, will be checking on to your site. He always wanted to walk the trail. Dad and I will be celebrating our 31st anniversary without you, but we are sooo looking forward to seeing you when you are done! God bless, Sherpa and PA (AKA,Mum and Dad)

Anonymous said...

Something tells me you won't be doing too many 17 mile days that involve 4,000 foot mountains!

You're doing great!

Vince and Mary

Anonymous said...

Hey Monkey and Cocoa! Somehow I lost your contact info, but got this blogsite from Casey. So it turns out when I visited Northampton from the Birdcage, I became quite ill, and shortly after found out it was the Lyme! So I had to return to my home in W.V. to pound a few weeks of antibiotics. I'm glad you guys are on pace to finish- I wish I was there with you. Good luck and keep in touch! -Jason