Maine man paddles 740 miles from NY to Maine
6/29/09 | 5 comments

Maine man paddles 740 miles from NY to Maine


By The Associated Press

FORT KENT, Maine — A 67-year-old man has become the first to paddle his kayak without assistance 740 miles over the Northern Forest Canoe Trail from New York to Maine.

It took Gil Whitney 57 days to complete the journey from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent, Maine. The retired tractor-trailer driver from Lakeville, Maine, shed 30 pounds and survived nine days of rain, a spill in Class IV whitewater and a close encounter with a swimming black bear.

Whitney's wife, Kathy, reported his arrival in Fort Kent on Saturday on a blog.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail officials say there have been solo canoeists, but Whitney is the first solo kayaker. The trail follows historic American Indian paddling routes through northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and part of southern Quebec.

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Comments
5 comments on this item
On 6/29/09 at 3:34 PM, sidelineobserver wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Congratulations! That's a great achievement! :)

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On 6/29/09 at 4:21 PM, donnelly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I kayaked 2 miles on Saturday and was exhausted. Kudos to this man!

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On 6/29/09 at 5:53 PM, Northwoods_Maine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Atta boy Gil, your friends and neighbors here in Lakeville are proud of your accomplishment.

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On 6/29/09 at 10:00 PM, commonsence wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

That is AWESOME! Congratulations!

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On 6/29/09 at 10:14 PM, MaineExpatriat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well Done Gil, Wow! A bit disheartening to know a man old enough to be my father could run circles around me. Maybe it's time I got off the couch!

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