Here
is the journal of Jim's final two days. It is so hard to believe that
this four year quest to hike from Key West, FL to Lubec ME is actually
done:
Thurs., Oct., 5
- Some days I feel really lucky if things have gone
particularly well. Today was not one of those days. After breakfast at our
B&B, we drove to Machias so I could buy ANOTHER Subway sandwich for lunch. Then
off I went, heading east and hoping to minimize the number of miles I would walk
on heavily trafficked U.S. Route 1. The first way was to take another road that
more or less runs straight while Rte 1 curves for the first three miles. Well I
had difficulty finding that other road named Scott’s Hill Road. Turning onto
what I thought was that road (no road sign visible) I walk a short distance and
come to a mailbox that showed an address of Old County Road. Now either this
street goes by two names, or it changes names and Google didn’t recognize that.
Not wanting to risk walking down the
wrong road and having to backtrack, I returned to Rte 1 and walked this highway
for the first three miles. That brought me back to our B&B, where I picked
up my backpack, used the bathroom, and then left to do the rest of today’s
mileage.
Within a few minutes I was on the road that Google showed
getting me to Rte 1 in three miles. Alas, that paved road soon turned to
gravel, and in another ¾ mile was a grassy path heading into the woods. NO WAY
was I going to rely on that path lasting another 2 miles. So I backtracked for
15 minutes, found Rte 1 and continued on my way. This cost me at least a half
hour of time, and an extra 1.5 miles of distance, not counting the extra mile
or so that I would have to hike along the highway because the “shortcut” wasn’t.
Route 1 may be a Federal Highway, but it is in incredibly
poor condition east of East Machias. The paved shoulder is missing in many
places, with chunks of it preventing me from walking adjacent to the car lane.
So I would hop onto the road when there was no vehicle approaching, then back off as a car or truck came by. All-in-all,
not a really pleasant walk today. A little after noon, I found a decent spot for lunch – a large cement block
about two feet high and a flat rectangular surface about 2’ by 3’ – situated on
a dirt driveway about 100 feet off the
roadway. Perfect for sitting on while I ate my sandwich and relaxed my feet.
But the break was brief, as I knew I had several more miles to walk today than
the 16.5 originally planned.
The afternoon miles passed pretty uneventfully, as I walked
now on a wide paved shoulder most of the time. The terrain was rolling hills
with gentle changes in elevation. Although the temperature was warm – the car
thermometer read 73 degrees – there was no humidity and a pleasant breeze. By
now I was in really rural Maine, with very few houses or other buildings to
break the monotony of the woods that lined this road. A few minutes before 2:00
pm I hear the familiar toot of Jane’s car horn and she pulls off the road for a
brief discussion. At her suggestion I swap my backpack for a bottle of water as
I have just about 2.5 miles left to reach our B&B, where she is about to
check in. And 45 minutes later I joined her there, happy to have finished today’s
long and unlucky journey.
Miles Today - 18 Total Cumulative Miles - 239.5
Fri., Oct. 6
- This is it! Day 7 of
this section, and day 17 of the walk across the entire state of Maine, from the
NH border in Fryeburg to the Canadian border in Lubec. More significantly, this
is the last day of my hike up the East Coast from Key West Florida. So no
wonder I began today’s walk with great excitement.
As I set out from the bed and breakfast, the sky was overcast
but not threatening rain. I would be on the same road all morning – Maine state
route 189 - with just 10.5 miles between me and the bridge to Canada. Jane and
I agreed to meet up in Lubec and walk together to the border in the middle of the
bridge. This is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt bridge over the Lubec Narrows
that connects Canada’s Campobello Island with the mainland U.S.
The real estate market in this area must be pretty poor, as
nearly half the residences I passed were either for sale or had been abandoned
and let fall into disrepair many years ago. The only notable thing I saw was an
unusual wildlife sighting: a beautiful large red fox jumped out of the bushes just ahead
of me, ran to the middle of the road, then apparently changed its mind (maybe because a person was just a few feet away?) and
returned to the protection of the same roadside vegetation it had just emerged
from. All of that in the space of less than five seconds.
As I neared the city about three hours after starting, it began
to sprinkle. So I donned a light jacket and hoped the heavens wouldn’t soak me
before I could meet Jane. This is the only rain I have felt all week. Fortunately the sprinkles didn’t get any worse and I
stayed dry. A few minutes later I saw her car and with umbrellas in hand, we
strolled the quarter-mile distance to the bridge. We met the U.S. Border Patrol
agent that was stopping all cars coming in from Canada and asked if we could
walk the bridge to the middle. He said OK, and so long as we didn’t get out of
his sight, we wouldn’t need to produce the passports we had brought along in
case they might be needed. Although there really was no pedestrian lane for us,
traffic was very light, so we just shared the car lane with whatever vehicles
came along. At the middle we snapped some pictures, then returned quickly to once
again meet up with the BP agent. When we told him this was the end of a 2,500
mile walk north from the Florida Keys, he laughed as though we were pulling his leg.
“Really!” we told him, this is the end of a very long hike. I think he then
believed us, but I’m not positive.
By now it was time for lunch, so we drove to the waterfront
restaurant that our B&B hostess recommended this morning. Naturally I
ordered a celebratory beer, and had already begun to drink it when I recognized
how appropriate was the brand I had selected: Long Trail Ale. Yes, I had walked
a very long trail to get to this point.
In a few days I will
write the usual epilogue and include some reflections on completing this
2,466 mile journey, my third after earlier walking the Appalachian Trail (2,180
miles long), and hiking across the country (4,300 miles). That’s a total of
nearly 9,000 miles. Each of these three was physically challenging and all three
are different from each other. Now what will be the next big challenge?
Miles Today - 10.5 Total Cumulative Miles - 250
Total Miles From Key West, FL to Lubec, ME - 2,466
Pictures:
Day 16 - Riverside Inn B&B - note the bed on the top of the sign
Day 16 - Hike Start in Machias
Day 17 - Hike Start from Whiting Bay B&B
Day 17 - Welcome to Lubec
Day 17 - The Easternmost Point in the US
Day 17 - FDR Bridge Sign
Day 17 - Jim Walking on the Bridge to Canada
Day 17 - The end of a very long walk - a Long Trail Ale
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