I said I'd tell you about going rafting in Maine, and I try to keep my word when I give it. So here is a taste of the Smith family vacation of August 2004. It was a few short weeks before I moved in as a freshman at Grove City College and my brother proposed to my now sister-in-law. She came along on the trip too. We stayed in the little nigh nonexistent town of Millinocket, Maine. The hotel did have a sweet pool and jacuzzi though. Daddy hung out at the hotel and Mommy, Dan, Sarah, Zach and me went off to adventure on the Penobscot River. I think there was another couple with us in our raft. Our guide-I think her name was Marta did a fantastic job at instilling the fear of God in us. True, we did need to pay really good attention to her. None of us had ever rafted before (I don't think) and we had up to class V rapids (basically a small waterfall). Poor Mommy was scared out of her wits and would repeat every direction with even more urgency and volume than the guide. She (Mommy) was great though and I was really proud of her.
Dan and Zach did a wonderful job at leading in the front of the raft. They have that natural brother mind connection so we were really good at staying in sync rowing (very unlike the raft I was in here last month). It was hilarious though. Zach would dig in so hard and strong with his paddle he was actually steering the boat! I have STRONG brothers!
The water was pretty cool and it wasn't the hottest day, so I didn't take advantage of the opportunity to get out and float when the river was calm. I don't think anyone did. Remember, this is the mountains of Maine. It never gets very hot.
We were on the river for several hours. Lunch was served on the side of the river. I can't remember what it was but I know it was delicious! I think there was a choice of a burger or chicken or something like that. Mommy almost wussed out at lunchtime, but between the river company people and us kids we were able to convince her to stick it out.
And that's all I remember. BUT, vacation wasn't over yet! The next day we hiked Mt. Katahdin!! Yup, that would be the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail! It was SO great! It was a long, tiring day, but so worth it!
There was one part in the guide book that said we had to go through a boulder field. Boulder field? Sounds like a field with a whole bunch of boulders in it (that you just have to go around), right? WRONG!! No, that means scrambling up boulders-as close to rockclimbing that you can get without actually rockclimbing. Well, it was a lot like climbing. There were a few spots that had iron rungs stuck into the rock because otherwise it was pretty much impossible to get up (without extra equipment). I think that part of the trail is known as the Devil's Backbone, or something like that. It was crazy. It was a great hike though. We ate a lot of yummy GORP that Mommy made. GORP stands for Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. It's a kind of trailmix. Ours also included chex and M&Ms. Such delicousness!! And a good energy booster for the hiker!
We left really early in the morning and were back down by 4pm. It was a wonderful day. I think I'll have to hike Katahdin again someday... maybe after I do the rest of the AT first.... :-)
Oh and sorry to not have any pictures, but I'm pretty sure this was before I had a digital camera. You'll have to visit my parents, Dan or me to see some shots of our amazing hike.
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