Old Glory herself was the hero of our summit withstanding wind gust of 60+ mph. She hung in there standing tall and proud. It was a fine tribute and a true demonstration of patriotism towards our fallen heroes of 9/11.
We started out from the Benton trail head at about 9:00 am, a little behind schedule. But once we got started we rocketed to the top. We were greeted at the summit with high winds and dense fog. The task of assembling the pole and raising the flag in these conditions became difficult and dangerous at times. We had a great team of hikers that included George, Don, Beth, Carol, Ginny and me that applied all our engineering skills (thank God for bungee cords) in raising and securing the flag on the mighty summit of Moosilauke. Later we were joined by the rest of our hiking crew: John, Brian and Jim.
I would like to thank Brian for his genuine and thoughtful eulogy, John for his hiking support, Jim for bringing his friend “JD” along, Beth for showing us how to do laundry, Carol and Ginny for all the pictures they took, and Don and George for there determination and ingenuity in getting the flag raised.
It certainly was wonderful and memorial hike with good friends. Hope to see everyone back for next year’s event. Thank you all for your dedication and support.
Dave
