Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 12:13:09 -0400 From: Daniel Eisenbud Subject: Monson, ME Dear All, This is surely my last email from the Appalachian Trail. I'm in Monson, Maine, only about 115 miles from the summit of Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus. The first hundred miles are the so-called hundred mile wilderness. There is actually a place to resupply seventy miles in, but I'm planning on carrying food for the whole distance from here, both for tradition's sake and to have a chance to collect my thoughts away from civilization for five or six more days. My pack is heavy. It's also extremely hot here, with highs in the nineties forecast for today and tomorrow, which is very unusual for Maine, and makes hiking a little bit less fun. But it's supposed to gradually cool off over the next week, and there's still no rain in sight, so it will be all right. New Hampshire and Maine have been the most beautiful parts of the trail so far. I still think that the White Mountains are the most spectacular, but Maine feels wilder and less touristy. Some friends and I watched the full moon rise over one of Maine's many ponds the other night, and listened to the loons calling back and forth, and I realized how glad I am that I've come on this trip. Love, Dan -- Daniel E. Eisenbud eisenbud@cs.swarthmore.edu