Well we rested on the 28th. We left Boston on the 29th. We rode the MegaBus to Washington D.C. and transferred to a bus going to Knoxville. We arrived in Knoxville on the 30th and met Dad for a ride back to the house.

We unloaded our stuff at the house and I laid my pack against a bookcase in my office. I sat in my office chair and looked around the room. White walls, dusty books, and buzz from electronics. I looked at my pack and thought about the sky, leaves, and chirping from birds. I knew at that moment, If I was alive in 2016, I would be going back out….

Sunrise: Day 082 – Operation Appalachian Snail 2015

I got up at 04:00 AM and caught this sunrise. I realized as I watched it that this was most likely our last day on the trail for 2015. What a Morning! I just thanked God for the privilege to live and come out here, whether he let me finish or not. “But Daddy, it would be nice to come back out if that is Your Will! ;)”

I got everyone up at 06:00 AM and we started breaking everything down and packing. If we left at 07:00 AM we would have 4 hours to hike 4.3 miles. We should be able to do 1 mile an hour.

We got on the trail about 06:30 AM.

We hiked. Steady and silent as the day heated up and the bugs came out to see us off the trail. It doesn’t matter where you walk in the Maine woods, it’s rugged.

We ended up getting to Jo Mary Road at about 10:30 AM. Then we began waiting for our ride. The care appeared at about 11:30 AM and we loaded our gear into it. The driver was happy to have company for the ride back to the Lodge. We had a great conversation. It was a relief to finally get completely off that leg and rest on a cushion.

We made it to the Lodge at about 13:00 PM. There we talked with the owner about the room we had reserved and getting a ride the next day to the bus station. I explained to him my plan for getting to Boston. Country Bus to Bangor, Greyhound to Boston, Megabus to Knoxville. I don’t know why, but I asked how much it would be to get a ride to Bangor. I think he said a hundred bucks. But that would save us twice that.

He said if we wanted we could leave in ten minutes…. What??? We could catch the bus in Bangor and be in Boston by 20:00 PM. Great! Just a little Amazing!

We left Millinocket and headed to Bangor. The driver was also very animated. We had a exciting ride to Bangor and made it in time to catch the bus to Boston. At about 21:31 PM we were at my mother’s house.

Really… at 05:00 AM I was in the 100 Mile Wilderness watching the sunrise and at 22:00 PM I was Icing my knee at my mothers in Boston. What a God we serve!

I was even able to Schedule the Megabus to Knoxville for the 29th at 09:00 AM. It was just too much.

Operation: Appalachian Snail 2015!

We had hiked 4.3 miles for the day. We had hiked a total of 146 miles in 082 days. So, at that rate it should take us about 15 years to complete the whole trail! LOL!!!

Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

Another Day… At least the packs get lighter and lighter as we eat the pounds out of them…

We hiked for awhile and came to a pine grove on the edge of a Beach. At the dock on the shore we got to take off our shoes and soak our feet. The water was freezing! But helped with the swelling…

I was starting to get worried about what to do. We had another 70 or so miles to go and the hardest part of the Wilderness was at its Southern end. If I was this bad now, what was I going to do when it got really bad??? Do I call for help? If so, who do I call? “Ok God,” I prayed, “I’m putting it in Your hands now!”

We hiked on. We planned to hike to a good campsite that night called Antler’s camp. There was a privy there, but it was 7.7 miles away. The dock soak and Pain Pills were the only way I was able to make it. But we made it.

Antlers Camp View

To my surprise I had 4G at the camp. I called Tipawa and told her what was going on. Up till that point I had not told anyone how bad my knee really was. But she was with me when I hurt it originally and knew how bad it had been. She understood and said she was ok with whatever I decided. I asked her to pray for us.

I then gathered everyone together and explained everything. They also understood and told me that they were ok with whatever I decided. Gig told me he thought it was better to take care of it now and be able to hike later, than hike now and not be able to hike at all. I agreed.

So, I looked in the guidebook for possible solutions. I read that the Appalachian Trail Lodge drops off food for hikers at a road that was only a few miles away. Maybe they wouldn’t mind picking us up on their next run. I called the Lodge. The lady told me they wouldn’t mind picking us up, and the next drop was at 11:00 AM the next day. We could even have the same room we had the last time we stayed. Could we make it there?

What? God What? Yes we could make it there. Glory to God! We had a ride out of the 100 Mile Wilderness at 11:00AM the next day and it was only 4.3 Miles away!

I told everyone and they were shocked. I called and told Tipawa and she told me to thank God! What amazing God we serve!

We spent the rest of the day swimming. Well Gig and Tink swam; I soaked. Gig got himself stuck on a boulder for awhile and Tink got attacked by an angry sunfish.

Amazing Day! 7.7 Miles Hiked.

Wadleigh Stream Lean-to

Woke up stiff, swollen, and sore. Still, we were in the 100 Mile Wilderness so we had to hike. But how far would we get with my knee swollen? Just had to grin and bear it.

We ate and packed and headed out. After all, it could be an easy day in Maine… Yeah right! Metal stair cases, wood bridges, bog planks, etc,.

At least it was a bright sunny day.

Beach with 4G!

Got to call Tipawa! Made my day!

I knew by this time it was going to be a short day and that I was pretty much done for the season. The new grinding deep in my knee joint was probably not going away.

We hiked till we saw a nice campsite off the trail beside a creek. There we set up for the night. We put on our shorts and water shoes and Gig and Tink went for a swim in the creek. I sat on the bank and soaked.

After our swim I heard the call of nature. Gig had to go too. So he went right and I went left. I grabbed my shovel and tp and went out into the woods. I took care of what I needed to as fast as possible due to the mosquito’s and turned to go back to the campsite. At that point I realized I had turned myself around. Normally I lay my shovel in the direction back to the campsite, but I didn’t this time in my rush to escape the Blood Suckers.

I knew I was in a precarious position. I was in the middle of the 100 Mile Wilderness. If I got really lost it would not be good. So I followed Rule Number One, “DON’T PANIC!” I stopped where I was, took a deep breath, and let myself relax. I waited. Then it came to me. The sound I was hearing was the creek bubbling away. The creek was right next to the trail. All I had to do was walk to the sound and I would hit the trail. It didn’t matter which way the campsite was on the trail, I could walk in each direction for ten minutes if I had too; either way I wouldn’t be lost.

I got to the trail and turned right and walked 100 yards to the campsite. As I walked in I saw Gig coming from the opposite direction. “Thank God we were at the creek.” He said walking up to me. “I had to use the sound to get back to the trail.”

“Me too!” I laughed, “We need to bring our whistles with us from now on. Next time we may not have the creek. And we can whistle while we poo!”

The Creek That Saved our Lives!

We hiked 5.8 Miles for the day.

We kept the fire going during the night and got up and left early on the 24th. Again it was a cloudy day. It drizzled off and on. But we trudged on.

We hiked up Nesuntabunt Mountain late in the day. Again, there was supposed to be a good view from the summit, which we didn’t get to see. We got an amazing view of milky water particles though.

As we started heading down the mountain the trail got very steep. Then it turned into a boulder staircase. Everything was wet. Even worse the rock on the mountain had a layer of slime on it. I did not like it at all. A fall from that place would mean serous injury or death.

As I placed my left foot on one boulder, at a particularly scary spot, I felt my foot slip forward toward the edge. In that split second my mind went into fast-forward mode. My life didn’t flash before my eyes, my kids future lives did. I had a vision of them having to live on after watching their Dad fall to his death before their eyes.

Thank God for His Wisdom! The thought hit me that if I just let my legs go loose my pack weight would pull me down into a sitting position. And that is exactly what I did. But it didn’t work out the way I had envisioned it. My left foot was still sliding. Letting my legs go loose reversed the direction of its slide. Instead of sliding out over the cliff, it slid backward under my butt when all my weight and the pack weight hit the rock. My left leg was folded at the knee under me.

Again, Thank God for His Wisdom! It was my bad knee. Because of the injury and surgery I had had on that knee in the past, it was folded in the exact way it was already injured…. I’m not saying it didn’t hurt! I was crippled with pain and couldn’t get up. But, I was alive, and only reversed  the doctor’s work from a ten year old surgery…

Gig and Off were by my side as usual. Lifting up from another fall. I stood there shaking and tested my knee. I could still walk. And I had been through this pain before. All I wanted was to get down that mountain and take a break.

Every step was painful, but I could finally see the bottom. “Break time,” I said. But when we got there I didn’t feel right. There was something wrong there. Something we needed to get away from. Then I got a nose full of something very big and very dead… “Wait,” I said, “put your stuff back on we ain’t stopping here!” Everyone just looked at me puzzled. “Smell that?” I asked. “Anyone want something thinking we are taking its food?”

With that everyone speedily got their stuff on and we high-tailed it out of there. We had to wait another half hour before we came to a place we could stop. But, we avoided what could have been a very bad situation!

We had to night hike for awhile and finally got to the Wadleigh Stream Lean-to well after dark. As I laid there that night and felt the swelling in my knee, I could not help thinking that I had suffered a trail ending injury. I would know for sure in the morning. It was a crappy and painful 8.1 mile day.

Got up early and packed to hike again. It wasn’t raining anymore, but everything was still wet. Gotta keep moving though.

So we left the Hurd Brook Lean-to and continued heading south. We hiked up to Rainbow Ledges where there was supposed to be an amazing view of Katahdin. But we only saw fog and clouds.  So we hiked on.

We hiked for 4.4 miles and took a break at the edge of a lake. What I found amazing was that there was a row boat at the edge of the water. I thought about borrowing it for a boat ride, but I kept thinking about the movie Southern Comfort. It is a movie from the 70’s I think, so it is dated, but I did not want to upset any locals like they did in that movie… So we hiked on.

We started noticing giant piles of moose turds on the trail. They became so numerous that Tink started counting the piles…  Every time I saw a new pile on the trail, I would say, “Hey, that’s Moose Turd Pie! How many is that Tink?”

Moose Turds!

If you haven’t heard Moose Turd Pie by Utah Philips, Google it!

We hiked on till we got to a campsite that we were planning on staying at. We were tired and trail worn. But when we got there the best spot was taken and the rest of the sites promised a very uncomfortable night.

The men at the big site offered to make room for us. However, they had a very big, loud, and angry dog that I did not want to share a campsite with. Off said he recognized the man and the dog. So we talked with the man and found out that he was the very same man with the dog that shook mud all over Off’s gear in the Hawk Mountain Shelter way back in GA… I thought that was hilarious. Off didn’t find the humor in the situation.

The man had to leave the trail but decided to hike the 100 Hundred Mile Wilderness Northbound. God is amazing at setting up Divine Appointments.

So we decided after some thought to hike on. We got back to the trail. At this point it was a muddy bog. 100 feet from the campsite I lost my balance avoiding a big puddle. I was able to grab a thick tree to keep myself out of the mud. But the tree did not want to hold my weight. It bent over right in the middle and eased me tenderly into the mud. I let go of the tree and it lazily raised itself to its normal position.  Then Gig and Off came over laughing and lifted me out of the mud. I stood there staring at that tree… “Your lucky I don’t have an axe…” I said. Then I headed South once again; listening to stifled giggles coming from behind me…

At dusk we got a place called Rainbow Deadwaters. As we walked in silence I heard some very loud splashing in the bog to my right. I knew it was something very big running in the water. However, I could not tell if it was running toward or away from us. I stopped in the middle of the trail and started speaking loudly to the others, in case it was a bear. Then through the woods I saw the shape of a moose. It was a female moose.

We had scared it into the water and it was standing there trying to decide what to do. So I took out my camera…

Moose!

We stood silently taking pictures and watching. It was amazing. Until the Moose decided we weren’t a threat and turned to come back to where we stood. “Ok, that’s enough let’s go,” I said turning back to the trail. We then walked briskly away from the moose. Still, It was Awesome!

Well we finally got to the shelter we were hiking too. There was a bridge to this particular shelter. And as usual, the water was way too high and moving to fast to swim in. The next picture is a stock picture of the shelter. We did not take one that night, it was too dark. But the water was up to the logs and running white when we had to cross it that night.

Rainbow Stream Lean-to

We hiked a total of 11.5 miles for the day.

Since we hiked so long on the 22nd and got in so late, I decided to let everyone sleep in on the 23rd. We all got up around one in the afternoon. The River was so loud we had to yell at times to hear each other.

We spent the day drying things out, eating, repacking, and sleeping. We planned on leaving early on the 24th.

Woke up to another beautiful morning.

Abol Pines Campground

Did the AT Hike Morning Routine and got to the trail. We hiked back to Abol Bridge and saw this view of Mt. Katahdin.

Mt. Katahdin From Abol Bridge

We got some junk food at the Abol Bridge Camp Store and headed into the woods for the beginning of the 100 Mile Wilderness. Just in the woods we found this Warning Sign!

100 Mile Wilderness Warning Sign!

This sign reads:

CAUTION
IT IS 100 MILES TO THE NEAREST TOWN AT MONSON. THERE ARE NO PLACES TO OBTAIN SUPPLIES OR HELP UNTIL MONSON. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS SECTION UNLESS YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS SUPPLIES AND ARE FULLY EQUIPPED. THIS IS THE LONGEST WILDERNESS SECTION OF THE ENTIRE AT AND ITS DIFFICULTY SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED.
GOOD HIKING!
MATC

Ok then! Well We definitely had enough food. Maybe too much! So we were ready…

We headed South into the wilderness. We hiked about 2.5 miles before it started to rain. We were planning on hiking further, but were not in the mood to stay wet. We hiked one more mile to the Hurd Brook Lean-to and decided to stay there for the night.

Hurd Brook Lean-to

There were a father and daughter there and settled in already. They were from New Hampshire and had come out to hike the 100 mile wilderness. They informed us that the the rain was not going to stop until the day after tomorrow and that they were going to wait it out. They also had brought too much food and were willing to share it. Sounded good to us.

So we settled in and got the fire started. We kept that fire going all that day and night and the next day and night. The father was so impressed with our abilities to keep the fire going in the rain that he nick-named is “The Tennessee Fire Company.”

The rain stopped late on the 21st. So we rested and ate till the morning of the 22nd.

Another Maine Morning. Woke up, Ate up, and Packed up.

Heading South!

We were planning on hiking out of Baxter State Park. The park has some very restrictive rules. I love the place, but was ready to leave the crazy rules. We were trying to hike all the way to Abol Bridge.

9 Miles…

It was looking to be a beautiful day. But by the time we got to Daicey Pond it was starting to heat up. But we kept hiking. Then we noticed the bugs. There just seemed to be more than usual. ALOT more than usual. We started putting on DEET. But it didn’t seem to phase them for long. My hands and elbows turned into giant welts and we had to reapply the bug spray every twenty minutes.

We did get a break from the Lil’ Blood Suckers at the Big Niagara Falls.

Big Niagara Falls!

We hiked along for awhile and then came to the blue blazed high water trail that the owner of the Appalachian Trail Lodge had advised us to take. Look, I don’t consider myself a purest, after all we were flip-flopping North and South on the trail, but it is just water right? “We don’t need to take no stinking high water trail…” I said as I headed down the AT.

A short while later we heard the roar of a river. It did not sound like a creek, it sounded like a river. We rounded a bend and saw the water. I looked at it. Listened to it. I thought, “Oh no… Now what.”

So we sat and pondered how to cross this obstacle. We searched up and down the banks for a safer spot to cross. We went left and found deep fast flowing water with no boulders. We went right and the water got more and more turbulent, until it fed itself into an even bigger and faster flowing river. I knew that if any of us got swept to the right and went into that bigger river it would be very bad.

So we sat and stared some more. After awhile Gig and Off said they thought that we could do it. They would even carry Tink and I’s packs over. “No,” I said, “I’ll carry my own pack over.” Is it stubbornness or stupidity? Maybe it is both . . . I see how I get after the fact, But can’t help myself in the moment!

At that point we changed into shorts and water shoes and stared at the water some more. Then another hiker arrived and stared with us. He stared for awhile and then tried to boulder hop across. He got about three quarters across and could not go any further without getting in that winter melt water. We all watched his face as he eased himself into that torrent. We could tell from his expressions it was cold, swift, and dangerous. But with some maneuvering and balance he made it across.

It was Gig and Off’s turn. They were ready. They donned their packs and headed off into the water. I forced myself to watch as they inched along. It was tough watching Gig. I kept thinking about how I would have to jump in after him if he got swept down the river. I tried to remember all the river disaster and survival stories I had watched and read through the years. Thoughts of strainers, pressure waves, and submerged boulders cycled through my head. I just hoped I was mentally cool enough to remember those things in that raging and frigid water.

Thankfully, they made it without incident.

“The River!”

Once across they took off their packs and crossed back over. Gig picked up Tink’s pack and helped her across.

Off got ready to chuck our boots across to the other side. Once Gig was ready to catch Off tossed a boot over. Gig caught it. Off tossed another, but this time not hard enough. The Boot tumbled end over end but it’s arch was obviously too short. Gig stood on the other side reaching. “That boot is going to get washed into that big river and Gig won’t have anything to hike in…” I thought looking at Gig reaching. Then the boot plunked into the water.

But to my complete disbelief . . . As if in slow motion . . . I watched Gig dive forward into the river after it!!! “Oh crap. We are going to die!” I thought as I turned to my right to find a place to jump into the water after Gig. I scrambled along the bank trying to stay ahead of Gig while he “valiantly” swam with the current to save his Boot! All I could think about was jumping in before he reached the place where the two rivers converged. Then in the blink of an eye Gig caught the boot and grabbed the edge of a boulder. He held on catching his breath, while I caught mine. Then he climbed the boulder and hopped to the opposite bank.

I can’t tell you exactly what I yelled over the water at Gig. I think I may have been a little out of it. But I’m sure it was as colorful as my face must have been in my anger. When I got back to Off, he just stood there preparing to throw another boot. I tried to calm down.

Off definitely didn’t want a repeat of the last throw! So he huffed my boot high into the air. Again, as if in slow motion, I watched my boot fly high in the sunlight and then lodge itself into the branch that hung ten feet out over the river. We all stared dumbfounded. And all at once burst out in hysterical stress-relieving laughter.

Off tossed my other boot right into Gig’s hands. Then , while I carried my pack, we crossed over together for safety. We then spent the next ten minutes trying to rig a rope system for retrieving my boot. Which we were able to do without it falling into the water.

Gig went into the woods to change. When he came back he was wearing basketball shorts and sneakers that I didn’t know he had stashed in his pack. And as unconventional as always, we marched off victoriously into the woods.

Leaving” The River!”

By the way, I found out later that this very spot is mentioned in the book Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman. Check it out, it is an amazing book.

We then walked along the Penobscot River and under an amazing forest of huge pine trees. We were tired and hungry. At one break, while trying to satisfy hiker hunger, we dined on a Slim Jims dipped in Nuttella! Ah . . . Trail food!

We finally made it out of Baxter State Park . . .

Baxter Border!

And on to the Abol Bridge Campground for the night. It was a long and exciting day!

So we had hiked the Hunt Trail up Mighty Mt. Katahdin. We also hiked the Saddle Trail down Mighty Mt. Katahdin. And we slept in the bunkhouse at Roaring Brook Campground in Baxter State Park. But, we were still 18 miles from our shelter at Katahdin Stream Campground. What now?

Well, sit in the parking lot and ask as many people for a ride as we can, of course. All we needed was someone nice enough to drive four strangers and their heavy packs 18 miles through the remote woods of Maine. Shouldn’t be too hard to find right? No, not for my rule for life: When in doubt, pray it out!

That was the plan. We woke up at about ten and ate our oatmeal. Then packed our gear and headed for the parking lot. Thankfully there were picnic tables on the edges of the parking lot.

Gig and Tink sat and swatted mosquitoes while I cased the parking lot. The problem was that most people coming into the parking lot are there to hike. I realized it would be rude to ask those pulling in and focused on those pulling out. Many of those leaving had their own equipment and had no room for us. Additionally, driving us would be well out of their way down potholed dirt roads. So the pickings were slim. But God!

I asked as many people as I could. We got to the parking lot at 11:00 and finally got a ride at about 13:00 from two men in a minivan. I had seen them pull in earlier for a hike, but since they were hikers I did not ask them for a ride when I first saw them. But two and half hours after they had started their hike they came out of the woods heading for the van. They agreed to take us to the main gate, which was about 6 miles away. There we could try getting a ride from someone going to the campground where we were staying. Sounded great.

I was shocked when the older man opened the trunk for us to load our packs. The van was completely empty. Turns out they were in Maine for a visit with relatives and had borrowed the van to hike instead of hanging around waiting for their family to gather. Tink pointed out to me that Christian music was playing on the van’s radio. Glory to God!

We talked the men, during the bumpy ride, until the main gate appeared in the distance. Then the driver took a right and headed down the road towards our campground without saying a word. They must have agreed to take us the whole way without informing us. I was speechless!

We could not thank them enough when they dropped us off at the Katahdin Stream Campground ranger station. We waved as they drove off.

We then walked to our shelter.

Katahdin Stream Campground Shelter

We found Off there, sound asleep. He was happy to see us when woke him and he told us of the solitary battle he’d had during the night with the Maine mosquitoes. It was clear from his tired expression that he had not won the fight. Off had a ping-pong ball sized welt on his forehead as a testament to the mosquitoes bloodthirsty ferocity.

And so, together again, we rested for the remainder of the day. We would be heading south on the morrow.

Mighty Mt. Katahdin Part 4

The Sign!

We were at the sign on the summit of Mt. Katahdin. It was about 15:30 and late in the day for a descent down the mountain. It would probably be dark by the time we got to our reserved shelter. We needed a break…

The real problem was that I was completely exhausted. The climb up had taken more out of me than I had expected and I didn’t think it was safe for me to climb back down that trail. I didn’t know what to do (as usual…). So I sat and prayed.

While praying and awaiting an answer from God, I heard a childish whoop behind me. I turned towards the sound and couldn’t believe my eyes when up a side trail came a father and his ten year old son. They walked to the sign and started taking pictures. I was stunned! What trail did they come up? Whatever trail it was, that was the trail I wanted to go down!

Thank God for His amazing answers!

Just at that moment the father and daughter from earlier came from another trail. They had walked from the summit out to another peak on Katahdin.

Through our conversation, I learned the father and son had hiked up the Saddle trail; the very same trail the daughter had hiked up and down on her school trip when she was a teenager. They were all going down the Saddle trail. The problem… It was 18 miles from the Saddle trailhead to our shelter. If we hiked down that trail we would be stranded 18 miles from our shelter and gear. But there was a parking lot there. Well then, I’ll sit at the parking lot till I get us a ride! Better safe than Sorry!

I sent Off down the Hunt Trail to retrieve our trekking poles and to inform the park rangers that Gig, Tink, and I were going down the other trail and that we were not lost in the mountains. Gig, Tink, and I would hike down the Saddle and then get a ride to the shelter. That was the plan.

We would hike down this:

The Saddle Trail

See the white line going down into the valley? That is the “safer” trail…

Well, it was much safer. It was an old land slide. All we had to do was sit and slide from rock to rock down to the treeline. At the treeline the rock-slide turned to a boulder trail. And from there, we hiked on . . . Till it got dark. So we hiked on with headlamps and had to take many breaks due exhaustion.

At about 21:00 we took a break and I sat down to roll a smoke. At my feet I saw something metallic on the trail. Gig and I looked it over and found that it was an expensive tactical flashlight. It was nice, so, we packed it and forgot about it as we finished our break and started hiking again.

About twenty minutes later I saw my headlamp’s light reflect off of something in the distance. I stopped and looked more carefully down the trail. I knew what I was seeing then, and didn’t like it. It was reflectors on someone’s shoes. Someone who was walking at night, in the dark, in the woods of Maine.

I told Gig to get ready. I got ready. I told Tink to walk a little behind us and be ready to run if something happened. Gig and I would slow whoever it was down if we needed too. Everyone ready, we walked on cautiously.

Then I noticed that the person had noticed us and was waiting by the trail. My light flashed across his face. It was a man. But, he was an old man and I could see he was scared of who he had run into walking at night, in the dark, in the woods of Maine.

“Are you okay?” I asked in the hopes of calming him.

“Yes.” he said slowly as we walked up to him. I think he realized we were leery of him and his situation, because he continued, lowering his head, “But, I lost my flashlight somewhere back on the trail.”

“No you didn’t.” I said quickly and I reached for the light we had found. “It’s right here.” I said lifting it up to him and smiling. He just stood there stunned. Then after a few seconds he reached out and slowly took the flashlight. I could tell he couldn’t believe the situation.

Isn’t God amazing? He uses us even when we think we are doing crazy things; like hiking the wrong trail down a mountain only to be 18 miles from where you want to be.  Who decides to walk into the unknown, knowingly, because he knows God will knowingly use the unknown? Well . . . Me! With all that God does, what else is there to do? God wanted us to save that man by having us take the Saddle trail and take a break at the exact spot the man had dropped his flashlight.

“Thank you.” The man said. I said, “Your welcome,” as Gig, Tink, and I hiked on.

We hiked on for awhile with the man following slowly. But we kept getting further and further ahead. So I told Gig and Tink we needed to slow down and walk with the guy. So we let him catch up to us and we used his pace to keep going.

We learned that he and his wife had hiked Katahdin that day. He had gotten tired and sent his wife ahead. Then he lost his flashlight. He had been walking in the dark for an hour or so trying not to get lost when we showed up. His wife would be waiting for him at their car. He told us he would love to give us a ride to our shelter on the other side of the park. God again…

So the four of us hiked on…

At about 22:30 we stepped out of the woods and onto a road. We could see a building up ahead. As we walked to the building a park ranger called to us and asked us our names. We told him. He had been waiting for us and the man to come off of the trail. The man’s wife had informed the ranger her husband was still on the trail. The ranger knew about Gig, Tink, and I from Off. Oh yeah, Off…

Off had made it. He had hiked down the Hunt Trail, got our trekking poles, and found a ranger. He told the ranger we would be hiking down the Saddle. The rangers looked at the list for a bunkhouse where we would be and found that it would be empty. They decided to let us stay in the bunkhouse for the night for free. Then they sent a truck to pick up our gear and bring it to the bunkhouse for when we got there. After telling the rangers, Off went to sleep in the shelter we reserved.

We decided to stay in the bunkhouse instead of riding with the man. After all the the Baxter State Park Rangers had done to accommodate my family and I, I couldn’t refuse.

We thanked the man for offering us a ride, but, we told him, he needed to get himself and his wife home to get some rest. He thanked us for his flashlight, we shook hands, and he headed for the parking lot. Then the Ranger took us to the bunkhouse.

At the bunkhouse we ate Ramen and went to sleep. We had hiked a total of 10.7 miles.

It was an amazing day . . . Just unbelievable! Filled with God and His Will…