Second to Last Day

Sunday, September 30th, 2007. Allagash Falls, Maine. Darrin left his campsite at Allagash Falls, paddled over Allagash Rapids, and then out of the Allagash Wilderness. He stopped and had lunch in Allagash Village - a hamburger steak, mashed potato, green beans, coleslaw, and coffee - all for just $6.40.

From Allagash Village, Darrin made his way onto the St. John River, the last distinct waterway he would paddle on the NFCT. He encountered some nice class two rapids on the St. John, and eventually settled at Pelletier campground for the night. After settling in camp, Darrin checked his maps. The high water levels had made for fast, strong current, and Darrin was farther along than he’d predicted he’d be by this time. We were scheduled to rendezvous in Fort Kent on the St. John on Tuesday morning. He was only 13 miles away, just a three-hour paddle.

Fortunately, Darrin was able to reach me via cell phone. When his call came, I was with Melanie, his sister. I was spending the night at Melanie’s house in upstate New York, just a day’s drive from Fort Kent. I was thrilled to talk to him, to say the least. (It had been ten days since we’d spoken!) Darrin told me how close he was, and we agreed to meet Monday evening, as soon as I could race across Quebec to get to him (the shortest route to Maine was across Ontario and Quebec).

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