I oftentimes reflect upon the wondrous beauty of our state. Not only does Maine have an incredibly beautiful coastline, but we are indeed fortunate to have Baxter State Park and Mt. Katahdin to explore and enjoy.
This past summer I was able to spend some time with our granddaughter, Adalyn, who is 11 years old, the perfect age to read the book Lost on a Mountain in Maine, the classic story about 12-year-old Donn Fendler ’50, who in 1939, got lost in the Mt. Katahdin wilderness for nine days. A movie was released during November of Donn’s harrowing experiences.
I have my own story of being lost on a mountain during the summer of my sophomore year:
“I hiked and climbed Mt. Katahdin during the summer of 1965, when I was a camp counselor at the famous Girl Scout Camp, Camp Natarswi, located in Millinocket, ME. I climbed the mountain with two other camp counselors, and we too got lost near the top of the mountain when descending the summit. We followed trail markings, which we later found out were the markings for a new trail. We spent the night in an abandoned cabin where a can opener and a can of beans had been left. We split the beans three ways among us, slept soundly, and the next day hiked out to Chimney Pond and the forest ranger there showed us a map. We retraced our hike… No one had even missed us!
Now, hikers are expected to sign a logbook before climbing the mountain, so they certainly would be missed!
Last summer, I heard from our classmate Shirley Hanson McCarthy. She and her husband, Bob, were on their way to Caribou for Bob’s class reunion. After the reunion, they were planning to travel to New Brunswick, Canada. We certainly enjoy staying in touch with our classmates. Here is my contact information: Betty Loew White — email: Bejuwi@aol.com.