Monson, Maine



Jay, Sarah, and Peregrine in front of Sutton's Place in
Manchester Center, Vermont. 7/27/11

From Sarah via phone conversation and email, 9/2/11: Jay is in Monson tonight, the last town before the "100 Mile Wilderness" and Katahdin. He has had a shower, eaten way too much, and is staying in a hostel with about 50 other people. He says they are all section hikers and haven't yet learned the need for that 8:00 p.m. thru-hiker bedtime. :) He also wondered how many men in his room would snore.  :)

Jay has had great weather since Hurricane Irene. There were wonderful views as he hiked through the Bigelow Mountains. He says Maine is a very nice state. After the Bigelow Mountain range, the trail has leveled out a bit. He says the hurricane left a lot of mud, but nothing else worth mentioning along the section of AT where he is. 



Sarah from the top of the fire tower on Glastenbury Mtn. 7/23/11

A few days ago he picked up a book I had mailed to Caratunk, ME. Caratunk has about 100 residents. When he asked the postmistress if there were anywhere to eat, she told him he would have to go about 3 miles the opposite way off the trail. (He had already hiked almost half a mile off the trail.) Jay said she must have seen his crestfallen expression, for she then said, "Wait here. If anyone comes, tell them I'll be right back." She went across the street to her house and brought back a plate full of the most delicious leftovers! She told him, "You came on the right day. I had a party last night, and had a lot of leftover food." He sat right down and ate it on the steps of the post office. What an amazing bit of trail magic!



Jay on the firetower on top of Stratton Mtn.
We hope is day is just as beautiful on top of Katahdin!

The crossing of the Kennebec River was another AT adventure. This river is too deep and fast to ford, so the AT Conference employs a man to ferry people across the river in a canoe. (When we read about this last spring, Jay said maybe that was a job he should apply for!) The day Jay arrived, the man had already ferried across two people and a dog, loading the canoe nearly to its gunnels. The river was still high after the hurricane, though no longer at flood stage. The current was swift, and Jay had to paddle for all he was worth to help the ferryman get the canoe across to the other bank. He said the canoe felt extremely tippy, and he wasn't used to being in the bow (front), which feels much closer to the water than the stern. The ferryman told Jay he was working the day of the storm because so many people needed to be ferried across as they came off the trail and headed for the nearest town. Jay saw how high the water had risen that day, and decided maybe this was NOT a job for which he would ever apply!

[Note from Helen: Just a few days after Jay crossed this river, the trail updates on the ATC website said the Kennebec River ferry was shut down temporarily due to flooding. It stayed shut down for several days. How fortunate that Jay was able to cross the Kennebec River after Irene and before the recent flooding!]



7/30/11 Jay takes a moment of respite atop Killington Mtn, VT.
He's looking toward the distant White Mtns. of NH.

Jay got his first view of Mt. Katahdin from the top of Moxie Bald a few days ago. He said it looked like a tiny tip on the horizon, like the point of a sail just peeking over the edge of the ocean. It is way cool to be able to see the end of the trail like that, even though it is still a ways off.