[at-l] Wanchor Report

[Bluetrail@aol.com (Bluetrail@aol.com)]

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!!  (Or at least I think it is.)  Jon did call last Thursday night from Monson.  He was well but tired and the phone call was in his usual brief style.   

He should have picked up his last maildrop at a Wilderness camp somewhere west of Millinocket on Monday night.  He warned me that they might not have a phone, and I didn't hear from him. If all went well, he should summit Kathadin and finish his thru-hike today.   

If something ran amuck, he'll still meet me in Millinocket tomorrow (Friday), and we'll go back to Baxter State Park to finish his hike on Sunday or Monday.  I'm a little worried that I didn't hear from him this morning, but I'm not sure if he passed any phones as he entered the park.  If there was some long-winded person the the phone, he probably opted to keep on hiking rather than hang around and wait for the phone. 

Last Thursday he reported that the gnats and horseflies coming into Monson were horrible.  He said his head was sore from all the horsefly bites he'd taken.   

He also said he hadn't seen any females in several days of hiking and thought maybe he'd passed most of them.  He was happy that he was back up to his normal 2 mph hiking speed.  Going so slowly in early Maine had really depressed him. 

Our friend Diane heard from Henry, whom Jon missed when he stopped in Rangely. Henry, his girlfriend Pam, and my friends Diane & Kim will ALL be with us at the Wooden Canoe Festival in Millinocket this Saturday. Look for us having breakfast at the AT Lodge! 

Joan