July 17, 2000 - P and I pack paper and gin for Art's remembrance and leave Katahdin Stream campground a bit after 7:00 - heavy overcast, hints of drizzle - hike the road to Abol trail, arr. about 8:00 - begin climb, frequent rests due to P's chemo - at treeline we climb above the clouds, lunch on the rockslide - rockslide to tableland torturous, I fear for P, two steps, rest, one step, rest - she is in extremis, but grimly climbs on - we finally reach Thoreau Spring about 2:30 - we inscribe paper:
In memoriam
Arthur Hall
Nana Affoh
African dancer
1934 - 2000
pour libations, call on Obosuns to welcome home this great, wise spirit, fold paper and put in rock pile holding Thoreau Springs crossroads sign, closest we come here to axis mundi - seems Huey told me the Abenaki associate the top of Katahdin with the land of the dead - Heaven does seem very close and the world below far away and shrouded with clouds - we return by the Hunt trail, the northern end of the Appalachain - arr. back at Katahdin Stream a bit after 8:00 - 13 hours on the trail.
July 18, 2000 - Today is Gray's tribute to Arthur on WERU - thunder, lightning and hail storms - P and I sleep, eat, read all day ...
July 19, 2000 - P sacked out, I fumble with coffee - first people I see going up the
trail are Arthur's 4 year old dancer Lily and her dad with an old rabbi named Arthur - they
have not heard AH was gone - the old rabbi does not know of him, asks age and particulars,
concludes, "He had a good life, then."
Yes, I say, a very good life indeed ...
