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Simon Winchester certainly knows how to make the most of uncomfortable predicaments. Whether it is a dicey week on Greenland’s icy mountains as a geology student at Oxford University, or a spell in an Argentine jail on espionage charges during the Falklands War, he turns the experience into a great account. That account is realized to its fullest in his new book, "Atlantic." One suspects it is the book that the writer of such best-sellers as "Krakatoa" and "The Professor and the Madman" has wanted to write all his life — or at least since he first crossed the eponymous stretch of water aboard an ocean liner when he was 18.

REVIEW

"ATLANTIC: GREAT SEA BATTLES, HEROIC DISCOVERIES, TITANIC STORMS, AND A VAST OCEAN OF A MILLION STORIES." By Simon Winchester. Harper. 495 pages. $27.99

That voyage is one of the personal experiences that bracket this marvelous exploration of an ocean in all its qualities. The other is a more recent pilgrimage to a seaman’s grave on the Skeleton Coast of Africa, a voyage he conceived of in Patagonia, on the other side of the South Atlantic. For Winchester, like his compatriot Patrick Leigh Fermor with whom he shares an erudite enjoyment of adventure, such incidents are the starting point for ruminations that travel quite literally all over the map.

Open "Atlantic" at random and a classic turn-of-phrase jumps off the page. He uses a wry understatement, often associated with the British. Viking expansion, he observes, for some time made the Atlantic "a zone of unpredictable and ceaseless unpleasantness." He also has an eye for the detail that brings a story to life: In the Greenland emergency, his minimal remaining supplies included "bizarrely, a single carton of bay leaves." Then there is his curiosity about everything. Even the book’s typeface gets a little story. It all goes to make the hefty tome a joy to read.

Tackling the biography of the Atlantic — the original title, "Atlantic: The Biography of an Ocean," was vetoed by Barnes & Noble as too boring — is a formidable undertaking. There are two parts to the tale, and they are inherently incongruous. The human story perches roughly in the middle of the geological one, a mere 200,000 years (to be generous) in what will end up just shy of a 400-million-year saga. Actually, serious human interaction with the Atlantic is a matter of only a couple of millennia, during which time it has changed — in our understanding — from an outer limit into a vast mysterious entity, and then into a bridge toward new opportunities.

To frame our short but frenetic relationship with the sea, Winchester uses the "Seven Ages of Man," the famous speech from "As You Like It." Like toddlers, we first stuck our toe in the Atlantic’s water, then successively learned to explore it, to love it and to fight over it. The last three ages are more general: our growing oceanic dependence required laws and organization. And inevitably, with human order established, we started to take the ocean for granted, then became content to let it decline from our carelessness. But ours is a short perspective. The eternal ocean merely readjusts itself, whether to our liking or not.

Actually, it isn’t eternal at all, thanks to the power of plate tectonics. Winchester uses the ocean’s geological back story to set the stage for the creation of the Atlantic and to describe its probable death. His description of the former has the verve of a "You Are There" broadcast: "A gigantic series of explosions started to cannonade around … Unbearably huge earthquakes began to shake and shatter the planet … The immense universal continent of Pangaia … started to weaken and groan with the weight and weariness of its long existence."

The end of the Atlantic will be less dramatic, though it’s certainly not going out with a whimper. The author employs a lovely conceit: the bumping together — "with the slowest and gentlest of collisions" 170 million years from now — of two lighthouses that are now 10,000 miles apart.

"Atlantic" is a font of information, from fascinating facts (never use the honorific "mon" when addressing a French naval captain by his rank. Napoleon took it away in disgust after his navy lost the battle of Trafalgar; it is plain "capitaine" to this day), to important developments (the Dutch city of Rotterdam’s innovative response to sea-level rise), to sweeping historical conclusions (pirates and slavers were the "inadvertent godfathers" of naval warfare and its strategy).

Winchester addresses all things Atlantic, including the many ways we are polluting it, about which he writes passionately.

And yet he is surprisingly circumspect — unduly so, in my opinion — on the subject of the human contribution to global climate change. But perhaps other readers will appreciate such restraint.

Simon Winchester’s life and interests have taken him all around and back and forth and back again across the Atlantic. He has also amassed more than a few years’ worth of formidable research about it.

Top all that off with his gifts as a raconteur, and you have a book that will please and fascinate anyone who has ever seen a ship or a wave.

The report below was written by Seth Levy. His friend the legendary long distance hiker, Ed Talone has begun his hike of the Eastern Continental Trail(ECT) . It will be great fun for all of us to follow his progress northward on this 5500-6000 mile hike.

Seth will provide us with regular updates.

For those of you that have driven the 7 Mile Bridge, you know that there is no sidewalk and the road is very narrow, so it is a real challenge.

You can find a rough map of the ECT at www.nimblewillnomad.com

"This Sunday, Ed Talone, former Trails Information Specialist at American Hiking Society, arrived on the mainland at Key West, FL, and began a 6,000+ mile trek north. The day before, Talone took a 68 mile boat ride to Dry Tortugas National Park, walked the length of the Park, spending the night, and took a 68 mile boat ride back to begin a multi-year trek of the ECT – the Eastern Continental Trail. By beginning further south than anyone before, Talone is adding a unique twist to a daring adventure. First hiked by John Brinda in 1997, the Eastern Continental Trail links the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Pinhoti Trail, and the Benton MacKaye Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the International Appalachian Trail together into a massive network traversing the length of the East Coast. With thru-hikes of the Appalachian, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails behind him – Ed must have felt compelled to begin the ECT in style.

As of 2 PM eastern 3/1/11, he is just past the 7 Mile Bridge, and stopped for a break in Marathon, FL. He’s at mile 49, feeling strong, and looking forward to hitting northern Maine by late fall 2011. True to the style he began in, Ed is planning a few variations on the “standard” ECT thru-hike, if such a thing exists. He is planning to explore rail-trail networks in northern Maine, and Prince Edward Island."

______________________

Update – 2/17/11, I spoke to Ed Talone, who is 30 miles north of Lake Okeechobee, and some 375 miles into this Eastern Continental Trail thru-hike. He’s been hiking along reclaimed lands bordering the Kissimee River, averaging some 20 miles per day, and feeling strong and healthy. It’s hot in Florida, and Ed is reluctant to drink even purified water out of the muddy Kissimee, so he’s carrying more than a gallon of water. Campsites have been fine, except for the occasional encounter with cattle! There are a huge volume of cows in the area. Since the beginning of his journey, Ed has crossed 151 bridges and 8 cattle styles."

More than 60 people took a virtual hike along the International Appalachian Trail on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 at the St. Lawrence Arts Center.

“The International Appalachian Trail: Maine to Morocco,” sponsored by Friends of the Eastern Promenade (www.friendsofeasternpromenade.org) and Portland Trails (www.trails.org), explored the geology, geography, history and breathtaking scenery along the trail. Richard Anderson and Don Hudson, two of the people behind the International Appalachian Trail, along with Walter Anderson, Chief Geologist of the IAT Council, led the program.

The history and development of the trail was detailed in stunning pictures of the mountainous landscape between Maine and Morocco. The presentation explained how plate tectonics affected the breakup of the original mountains.

The International Appalachian Trail was proposed on Earth Day 1994 by Gov. Joe Brennan, Dick Anderson and Don Hudson. The three envisioned a hiking trail extending northward from Mount Katahdin – the northern end of the famous Appalachian Trail – along the Appalachian Mountains through Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. The idea received strong support in Maine and Canada, and after numerous meetings between citizens along the proposed route, a trail was developed from Mount Katahdin to Mont Carleton in New Brunswick and ending at the summit of Mont Jacques Cartier in Quebec.

Buoyed by worldwide publicity, supporters hope to extend the trail throughout the original Appalachian Mountains that existed 300 million years ago during the age of the super-continent Pangaea. Plans are under way to continue the trail southward to France, Spain and Portugal and ultimately to the geological end of the original Appalachians in the AntiAtlas Mountains in Morocco. Beyond the United States and Canada, IAT chapters now exist in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England.

REVIEW

"A GUIDE TO THE GEOLOGY OF BAXTER STATE PARK AND KATAHDIN." Douglas W. Rankin and Dabney W. Caldwell. Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation. $10.

The department evidently takes seriously the proverb that we can only conserve what we love, and we can only love what we understand. Not long ago, I reviewed Gawler and Cutko’s bountiful "Natural Landscapes of Maine" in these pages.

Now comes "A Guide to the Geology of Baxter State Park and Katahdin," a pragmatic book that will appeal to the casual as well as the expert rock hound.

In the case of Baxter Park, of course, love and conservation are already there, but understanding will surely deepen the awe we already feel by merely watching Katahdin in the distance.

The book is a serious revision of D.W. "Dee" Caldwell’s earlier work that reflects advances in our understanding of the origins of the Appalachians over the 40-odd years since it was last published. Caldwell, well known to amateur geologists for his "Roadside Geology of Maine," died in 2006, and the task, including writing a new section on bedrock geology, was taken up by Douglas Rankin, scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey.

The result masquerades as a modest pamphlet such as one might purchase at any visitor center of a natural wonder. Don’t be fooled. It is a tough slog, and that’s without climbing Percival Baxter’s mountain.

But let me be clear: The writers have done everything they can to smooth the way and help the reader through what amounts to an advance course in geology.

If understanding is the key to conservation, the key to understanding is good clean presentation, both graphic and literary. Written with clarity, which is unusual for a fairly technical work, "A Guide" should thoroughly reward anyone with an interest in our planet’s ancient history.

Starting from the definition of the meanest terms of art ("A rock is a naturally formed solid, consisting of an aggregate of minerals and (or) naturally occurring glass"), we are taken on a journey through the mind-bending complexities of vast forces tangling with each over unimaginable time spans.

The bulk of the text is devoted to the two major events that gave us Baxter Park’s iconic landscape: its emergence out of the earth’s bowels 400 million years ago, give or take; and then, fast-forwarding to a mere 2½ million years before our own times, the scouring of the glacial period.

The first produced the raw model, the second gave it the final polish. A 1:100,000 geological map accompanies each section, which is a significant (and beautiful) aid to following it all.

It must be admitted that to savor some topics requires a higher degree of specialization than an amateur reader is likely to possess. I am not sure how many people can get excited over the biggest controversy in the book, "whether mountain glaciers persisted in the cirque valleys of Katahdin after the continental ice sheet had retreated to the north." However, for those who can, the case for each point of view is lucidly made.

On the other hand, the casual reader can expect to come across delightful little flourishes, such as: "Baxter Park must have been an exciting place for a time in the Early Devonian — although one would not want to have been anywhere close to it."

The writers calculate that volcanic explosions produced 80 cubic miles of ash flow; by way of comparison, "the devastating 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens was less than one tenth of a cubic mile." Pointing up the fact that sea level has risen in the last 25,000 years, mammoth teeth have been found "far enough from shore that we may conclude that these elephants, notoriously poor long-distance swimmers, were able to walk there."

A final section, "Exploring Park Geology," takes the science and chronology and packs them into five suggested hikes around the park, organized to expound either glacial or bedrock formations.

Caldwell believed in "observation and instruction in the field" above all, and the authors do not neglect its practical aspects. If you are lost in the park, "knowing that hills and outcrops are usually steeper on the southeastern side than on the northwest can be a more reliable guide than looking for moss on the north side of trees." And of one of the trails they suggest, "ascent should not be attempted in bad weather if for no other reason than that part of the story is in middle distance views."

Again and again, Caldwell and Rankin make the twin points that geology is a lively science, and that we have an extraordinary geological feature in our own backyard. They have written an essential tool to help us explore it.

And locked in them thar hills are plenty of answers to life’s persistent questions awaiting discovery.

Dick Anderson with IAT thru-hikers Mary and Denis Webster

Dick Anderson with IAT thru-hiker Denis Webster (L) and Bill O’Brian (R) former ALDHA Coordinator and Coordinator for 2011 Gathering

Dick Anderson with IAT thru-hikers Joyce and Peter Cottrell "Laurel and Hardy"

Dick Anderson with past ALDHA Coordinator and IAT and ECO thru-hiker JoJo Koby-Burley

Dick Anderson and IAT Chief Geologist Walter Anderson put a couple of thousand miles on their vehicle and represented the International Appalachian Trail at the annual Gathering of the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association(ALDHA). The 2010 Gathering was held at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia.

They organized handouts and mounted maps and staffed an information table on Saturday and Sunday. The new map, defining the location of Appalachian domains around the North Atlantic, was the centerpiece of the information display and created lots of interest.

Two hundred , hard core, long distance hikers attended this year’s Gathering. That was a significantly lower number than usual due to a scheduling issue.

Dick and Walter got to renew their friendships with legendary long distance hikers like "Baltimore Jack" ,"Mother Nature’s Son", "JoJo Smiley", "Red Wolf",

"Otto", "Nomad98" , "Mama Lipton", "Wing-Hart" and many others. They also had a chance to talk with Steve Paradis, Chief Operating Officer of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

They gave three Power Point presentations on the IAT. Their presentations were focused on the terrains through which the trail passes in the United States and Canada. They also discussed our Chapters in Greenland and Scotland and our new Chapters in Europe. Present developments in Spain and Morocco were also addressed.

Next year’s ALDHA Gathering will be held in North Adams, Massachusetts, only a couple of hundred miles from Portland ,Maine and Boston, Massachusetts.

The Program Coordinator for the 2011 Gathering is Bill O’Brien. Bill is a long-time ALDHA leader and has already been busy making plans for the 2011 Gathering.

He has appointed Dick to be on his Planning Committee. Dick will be keeping IAT Chapters and members up to date as we work towards the October, 7-10, 2011 Gathering.

At the Annual ALDHA business meeting Mike Wingeart was elected ALDHA Coordinator for the next year. For pictures and stories about the Gathering visit www.aldha.org.

On an IAT news note from the Gathering; well known and accomplished, long distance hikers Joyce and Peter Cottrell, "Laurel and Hardy" announced that they were planning a thru hike of the IAT in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011. They have already thru-hiked the IAT from Katahdin to Cap Gaspe. Some will remember that they joined us for the IAT 10th Anniversary celebration at Black’s Lodge in Nictau, New Brunswick, Canada in 2004.

Thanks to Walter who did his usual great job taking pictures.

Don Hudson delivers UMM commencement speech and receives Distinguished Service Award

MACHIAS, Maine — The University of Maine at Machias awarded 75 degrees during its 2010 commencement ceremony on Saturday at Frederic A. Reynolds Center.

Forty students earned Bachelor of Science degrees, 24 earned Bachelor of Arts degrees, nine were awarded Bachelor of College Studies degrees and two earned Associate in Science degrees at the 99th commencement in the school’s history.

Three students — Nathaniel Jillette of Lewiston, Cody Jourdet of Friendship and Andrew Hayes of New Castle, Del. — received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree. William Cassidy, Class of 1975, received the Distinguished Achievement Award, and 1967 graduate Howard McFadden earned the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

The event was billed as a “waste-free” ceremony, meaning everything was recycled or composted. Even the robes that graduates wore were made of 100 percent recycled material. The commencement speech was delivered by W. Donald Hudson Jr., president of the Chewonki Foundation, who also received the school’s Distin-guished Service Award, and his remarks reflected an environmentalist tone as well.

Hudson gave students a history of his life and experiences, starting with his first climb of Mount Katahdin in 1963 as a 13-year-old and ending with his recent involvement with Chewonki, the Wiscasset-based nonprofit that offers educational programs for youth that focus on the environment.

“In summary, as I look back on my path through life and upon the full spectrum of my work — from the summer of 1966 to now, the impulse to reduce my footprint, my impact, on the planet was unavoidable,” he said.

He then offered what he called the six essential principles of sustainability, which ranged from the understanding that people and nature are inextricably connected to the realization that quality of life is measured in more than material ways.

UMM President Cynthia Huggins had a simple message for students: Take care.

“Take care of this planet and its precious, limited resources,” she said. “Take care of your friends, your families, and the people you encounter on life’s journey. Take care of yourselves.”

I first saw the little blue and white plaques while hiking along the East Branch of the Penobscot last fall. IAT-SIA they indicated. Then I became obsessed with them. What were they, where did they go?

An online search showed the trail, from Baxter State Park in Maine clear to the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. I was dumbfounded. And then I read that it continued into the other Maritime Provinces, Greenland, and Europe. My next question was: Who created this trail? I wanted to begin hiking it right away.

Reaching IAT president and founder Dick Anderson resulted in another half dozen emails coming my way- information from trail volunteers about the sections they maintained. Right away, I sensed a lot of enthusiasm from a diverse bunch of people who seemed delighted that I was interested in their trail.

I’m not a strong hiker, I’m on the upper side of sixty, and I usually hike alone. The first thirty miles is pretty remote, beginning on a large clear-cut parcel following old logging roads, miles away from anything. I planned a four-day trip just to check out that section, hiking backward from my vehicle left in a gravel pit near the East Branch. It was a day’s hike just getting to the trail.

On the first day, I came upon a recently constructed log lean-to on the old tote road near the wild and beautiful Wassataquoik Stream. Pretty good start, I thought, especially since it was raining. Continuing in the rain the next day, I walked the 5.5 miles to the start of the trail at the Park border near Katahdin Lake. The little blue and white markers were all there, well visible on posts at every turn. My confidence in the trail got a solid boost.

This summer, I am walking the IAT. The Maine portion is behind me now, though I veered from the path as I approached Canada since I had a place to rest and revamp for a few days. The little blue and white plaques were my beacons for a couple weeks, those little signs of recognition that said, yep, you’re on the trail. Each one reminded me of the hard work done by a dedicated group of volunteers over the past decade, seeing through their dream of a through-trail along the entire Appalachian spine.

What is a through trail? It’s a trail where a person can begin walking and actually go somewhere. Some people bomb through the trail, their goal a far-away destination. Others, like myself, tend to stroll, though I don’t know anyone else who is as slow as I am.

I took six days to cover the first thirty miles, losing the trail due to inattention in rain and thick mosquitoes, but finding it again after a seven mile detour which was actually quite pretty. The only people I saw in six days were the IAT trail crew, out there cutting and hacking brush in the same rain and bugs I had started out in. Sharing a lean-to with them, I enjoyed homemade fish chowder versus my own dried store. I should add that most of these fellows are pushing seventy, even eighty years old.

The rain cleared for my climb up Deasey Mt. followed by Lunksoos with the reward of another lean-to looking straight onto Katahdin. Lingering at the Grand Pitch lean-to, I spent an afternoon at the brink of the thunderous falls.

The first thirty miles of the IAT passes through a sanctuary where no motorized vehicles are allowed (except for maintenance). It is truly another world full of wildlife, where bear and moose sitings are common. The IAT folks were very pleased to gain permission as well as support to build their trail through this beautiful land parcel skirting two major tributaries of the Penobscot watershed.

Beyond the sanctuary, the trail follows rural roads with a couple shelters along the way. The shelters sit high up on Aroostook County farms. One landowning couple had placed a camper near the shelter for hikers to use in inclement weather, offering coffee, a shower, and a whopping breakfast the next morning.

Soon I was on the multi-use rail-trail which provided three days of flat, easy walking down a shady lane, much appreciated in the sweltering heat of July 4th weekend. I had gotten off the trail hoping to get a hot dog and perhaps an ice-cream cone (treats I would never eat at home), when a picnicking couple offered me a steak fresh off the grill.

As I was about to pitch my tent in a grassy spot near the trail, indicated as an optional campsite, an ATVer suggested I go a little further off the trail to a private campground. The grass was mowed. There were fire pits and picnic tables along a tumbling, clear stream. All I needed was permission from the owner. I was welcome, he said, bringing a stack of wood later for a fire. But I had already joined other campers, friends of the landowner whose hospitality we all shared, to enjoy some miniature fireworks.

On the trail again, I opted out of the climb up Mars Hill where I was promised a spectacular view from the lean-to at the top, sticking with the easy rail trail most of the way to Caribou.

I’m not a purist. A purist will backtrack if he or she misses any part of the trail, to walk every inch of it. It’s part of the integrity in saying, “I hiked the IAT”. I call myself a convenience hiker. If the trail is convenient and fun, I’ll hike it. If not, I’ll find my own way. The offer of a rest for a few days is reason for a detour. But I missed the little blue markers which seemed to say hello from the founders of this trail and the volunteers who have worked so hard to mark and maintain it, like a bit of encouragement along the way.

Tomorrow, I’ll be on the trail again, following my own route along the pretty Aroostook River to Fort Fairfield and the border. From there I’ve had to make a decision. Continue as a through-hiker across the northeastern part of New Brunswick and on to the rugged Chic-Chocs of the Gaspe Peninsula, or take a bus. I’m hopping the bus- straight to Prince Edward Island followed by Nova Scotia, to hike the IAT in those beautiful provinces. I’m a segment hiker, mixing up the segments, no less, to suit my own whims.

Already, half a dozen people from the two provinces have emailed me with a welcome, telephone numbers, and information about their portions of the International Trail. Some provinces provide online step-by-step instructions with maps as the Maine chapter does; others refer a hiker to government-funded guidebooks available for purchase. Some have free shelters as Maine does, others require a pass fee for shelter use, and others provide tourist information of places to stay. Every province has something different to offer from sheer wilderness and rugged mountains to seaside marshland and pretty little farms and villages brimming with culture. I’ve opted for the latter in the summer’s time remaining.

Like the trail folks, I have a dream also. If all goes well this summer, I hope to hike the ancient ways of Ireland next year where I might well see the familiar blue and white plaques if the IAT plans go forward. And from there, who knows. Did they say Spain and Morocco

On Wednesday, 9/22/10, Herb Hartman, Bill Duffy and his dog Trip, and Dave Rand with his ATV and wagon, arrived at Bowlin Camps (www.bowlincamps.com), an extremely convenient and pleasant base out of which to operate, at noon. This dedicated little group crossed the East Branch of the Penobscot on the suspended snowmobile bridge and headed south on the IAT. Additional IAT tags were nailed up, a directional sign post was placed on the trail at the junction of the former Little Spring Brook Road and the former Eagle Lake Road, encroaching alders were cleared, trail marking (tags and ribbon) were switched from leading over the rotten, collapsed bridge to the new ford site at Little Hathorne Brook, and the sign post on the Orrin Falls/Messer Pond Road checked. Walter “Cookee”, Anderson, Dick Anderson, and Wilfred Richard arrived at Bowlin later in the day and went to work northward, toward Grand Pitch shelter, clearing trailside brush. That evening, at our camp, “No Aces”, Walter’s renowned four bean salad accompanied Dick’s beef stew.

Thursday, Bill and Trip, Herb, and Will set out on the trail toward the Grand Pitch shelter, where they arrived two hours later after having chain sawn numerous blowdowns, lopped encroaching brush, checked a bear-gnawed sign post to which the added a directional and mileage sign. Dick and Dave followed on the ATV lopping and pulling up fir seedlings within and along the trail. Later in the day, Dave, Bill and Trip, and Will ATV’d south to work on the ford at Little Hathorne Brook.

That evening there was more four bean salad and Walter’s spaghetti with big, really big, meatballs. The new owner of Bowlin Camps arrived from New Jersey with his wife and was pleased the group was staying at the camps, which he is significantly enhancing, and hear of the IAT, which he enthusiastically supports.

It was agreed all the intended trail work had been accomplished on Friday and the party left in the rain after another of Walter’s hearty breakfasts.

After a hard days work

Bears!

Little Hawthorne Brook

New Trail Sign

Latona Torrey, Joan Hildreth, Pat Huntley and Linda Ives

In case you are wondering, “where are they now?” here is a quick update. We departed from Maine, July 6, and began hiking with two other friends in Perth Andover, New Brunswick. We had decided to skip the 100-mile section of the IAT in Maine and go for the New Brunswick/Quebec sections because of time constraints and a strong desire to make it to Cap Gaspé at the point of land where the Appalachian Chain “drops” into the Atlantic. We planned two months to hike this section.

We traveled through New Brunswick being treated like celebrities, or long lost friends, by the local people in the towns of Plaster Rock, Nictau and Saint Quentin. One of our friends developed severe blisters and we stopped in Kedgwick, first to see a doctor for advice, and then at a camp along the Kedgwick River for some R&R for her feet. Recuperation was slow, and she decided to get off the trail.

At this point, now three of us remaining, we had a choice of hiking, or traveling 65 miles via canoe on the Restigouche River – a pristine salmon river – and chose this opportunity. We paddled about 22 miles each day and camped along the river, often seeing the salmon swimming below us, or leaping above the river, and once being landed by an accomplished fishermen. That one was well-over three feet long. The end point of this river experience was floating into Matapedia, Quebec.

Here, we believed we would leave the road walks and flat rails-to-trails of New Brunswick and enter the more challenging wooded, mountainous hiking of Quebec. How true that would prove to be. We hiked out of Matapedia with full-packs – about 35 pounds with food, tent, clothes and the other essential to remain safe and “comfortable” as we journeyed. The shelters that we found during the first few days were beautiful cabins called refuges. The first was called Le Turcotte and sat on the edge of a beaver pond. We enjoyed the beaver family’s work and play all evening.

The second and third day we spent at the Le Corbeau Refuge nestled deep in the forests of the Lower Matapedia Valley. Here we waited out a furious rainstorm and realized that we had not seen another soul in three days. Latona’s famous quote as we anticipated going on was “There is nobody out there!” At this point we all realized that we weren’t comfortable at our ages to continue the hike in this wilderness area, so we decided to hike out a side trail and head to the national parks that were ahead of us and still part of the IAT.

The side trail turned into a nightmare. Latona fell doing a couple of rolls off the side of the mountain, bruising her lip, twisting her glasses, and damaging her left knee. We managed to get out to the road, after seven hours of very difficult hiking, and much pain for her. Eventually, made it to the next town. Here we planned to get a bus to the Gaspé National Park and go on after some rest for her. In this town, our other hiking companion got word that she needed to return home for a family emergency.

Now we were just the Daicey Duo again. It was the end of July when we entered the Gaspé National Park. We stayed in another refuge, and then hiked two days in the Chic Choc Mountains but soon realized that Latona’s knee was not happy going up and down mountains. Another decision. What would we do now?

We did not want to give up the trip so we decided to road walk the edge of the Gaspé Peninsula until we would arrive at Forillon National Parc and Cap Gaspé. We used the bus when the knee got too bad, and rested in motels in between. Walking along the St. Lawrence Seaway, sighting whales and seals, and enjoying the many, many Northern Gannets diving for their food was thrilling.

The final hike into Cap Gaspé was beautiful and we stood by the lighthouse and had our picture taken by the two signs that describe both the Appalachian Trail and the International Appalachian Trail.

We arrived home on August 23. Even though we spent more time in motels, and ate more meals in restaurants than we planned, we had an amazing seven-week experience filled with kind “trail angels” all the way, breathtaking sights, and the realization that we can still carry our backpacks – at least for a few more miles. Yippee!!

Linda Ives

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the Maine Chapter of the International Appalachian Trail was held on May, 7, 2010 at Shin Pond Village. As usual, Program Manager Walter Anderson put together an exceptionally fine affair.

Thursday afternoon we all gathered at the Patten Lumberman’s Museum to enjoy a viewing of pictures taken by the great photographer, Bert Call. Call took the pictures around the turn of the 20th Century in the Katahdin area. Frank Spizucco, manager of the Bert Call collection, gave a presentation on Bert Call and how the pictures were being shown throughout the state thanks to a grant by the Quimby Family Foundation. The photographs will remain on display at the Patten LUMBERMAN’S Museum through June.

The Thursday night speaker was noted author Steve Pinkham who gave a wonderful presentation about his new book, MOUNTAINS OF MAINE, and the intriguing insights and stories behind their names. He sold and autographed all the books he had brought with him. The book can be ordered from www.amazon.com ($16.95) and is well worth the money for all those who love to learn about how places got their names. Steve has hiked all the one hundred highest mountains in New England.

Steve Pinkham with IAT Maine Chapter Vice President, Torrey Sylvester

The program on Friday was composed of many experts who gave presentations on a broad range of subjects of interest to outdoor orientated people.

The Annual Meeting saw the approval of last year’s meeting minutes and a report on the financial health of the organization by Treasurer Bob LeMieux in which he pointed out that we ended last year with a small surplus. Board member, Herb Hartman led a discussing on some minor proposed changes in our By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation. These changes had already been approved by the Board of Directors and were approved by the members attending the meeting. Torrey Sylvester gave the report of the Nominating Committee. All the existing directors were elected to serve another one-year term. At the short directors’ meeting following the members’ meeting Torrey presented the slate of officers and the existing officers were elected to serve for another one-year term.

After a lively social hour and a wonderful dinner, we were all treated to a very special presentation. Thomas Urquhart, a Maine Chapter Board member, somehow convinced a friend, the journalist and best-selling author of many books, Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa, The Meaning of Everything, The Man Who Loved China, A crack in the Edge of the World), to be our evening speaker. Mr. Winchester has just finished a new book, Atlantic, the Biography of an Ocean, and kept us spellbound describing the book and some of his adventures. Many members brought copies of their Simon Winchester books with them and he graciously signed them all. Atlantic will not be for sale until the fall, but we are excited to have the opportunity to read it, now we have had the chance to meet the charming and generous Mr. Winchester, who plans to return to Maine and climb Katahdin.

Simon Winchester with IAT Board member, Walter Anderson

The dates were chosen for next year’s meeting: May, 12, 13 and 14, 2011. We all hope to see you all then.