September 6, 2004

I have hiked much of Maine with ZipOff, a retiree from Florida.  Today, ZipOff took a zero to concentrate on Hurricane Frances and tried to communicate with his wife of 42 years.  Zip is worried about her and the fact his home may have been damaged or destroyed.  My prayers are with Zip today.

My hike seemed so meaningless and awakened me to real life occurrences off the trail.  Nonetheless, I hiked 15.6 miles today reaching the mileage milestone of 2000 miles!  My hike was challenging as I hiked the Bigelow Range.  Bigelow Mountain's West Peak reaches an elevation of 4,145 feet, and Bigelow Mountain's Avery Peak is 4,090 feet.  Bigelow Mountain is known as Maine's Second Mountain.

I took an early morning break at Horn's Pond chatting with two local fishermen.  A swimming opportunity presented itself at day's end, but the air was chilly so I opted to hike on in dry clothes.  From beginning to end, I thought about Zip.  Eleven days until I reunite with my family!

"I have learned that love does not end, not even with death;

it continues to express itself in ways ever new." -James E. Miller