Granite Mon 2003
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Well, the 2003 GraniteMonChallenge has come and gone. It did in fact happen on August 23, and six intrepid swimmers showed up at 6:00 am:
The swim:
- Justin Pollard
- Ben Walker
- Andy Wanning
- John Clements
- Wing Taylor
- Ted Heyd
Most agreed that the water was as warm as it’s ever been, though I broke down and wore a wet suit (my excuse is that I was injured in a bike wreck) so I wouldn’t know.
The wind picked up a bit during the second half, and it was pretty choppy (well, relatively speaking) by the time we reached the Bectons’ dock. Justin, Ben, and I made the full swim, while Andy and Ted climbed out when they got bored … actually, that swim is pretty darn boring. Well, when you’re not freezing, anyway. A special mention goes to Wing Taylor, who arrived on three hours sleep and managed to whip out a broad array of strokes to make it from Long Island to the mainland, which is after all the difference between living and dying, in some hypothetical sense.
This picture (and the prior one) were taken by Wing Taylor, on a self-timer.
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The ride:
The post-swim break was leisurely and lengthy, and at noon, there was a lively discussion about whether to bike at all. I was out of the bike part (and the climb part) in either case, because of the aforementioned bike wreck. The intrepid crew:
- Justin Pollard
- Ben Walker
- Andy Wanning
…did finally set out, and plowed northward to somewhere near H… H… er, Bangor. This is where I took all their bicycles away and they drove north toward East Millinocket.
Here’s a picture of the three of them:
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All of these pictures were taken by Abby… oh dear, I don’t know her last name. Anyone?
The Climb:
Well, I wasn’t there, so I really can’t say much; the day was unbelievably cold, with an early-season cold front blasting Canadian air down as far as Blue Hill. Evidently, the conditions on the mountain made it more or less un-climb-able. Details, anyone? Fortunately, Abby took a bunch of pictures. Here’s one of Abby:
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As I wasn’t here, I can only guess at a chronological ordering on these. Here’s one labeled “lunch”:
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Here’s one of the lads in front of the mountain:
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And finally, two pictures of the atmospheric conditions that made the final ascent impossible:
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