Saturday March 22, 2008 - WILLIE IS HOME!!!!!!

Hello Everyone! Willie made it to the Sanctuary Cabin yesterday at about 1:15 pm. He could hear the Park Service road crew up ahead. We chatted on the satellite phone and I told him, "hitch a ride & come on HOME! I called Tim at the Park Service & made sure it was okay for Willie to ride out with the road crew. Tim gave the okay and that was that... THANK YOU TIM & BRAD for all your help with Park road information! Willie took the ride out of the Park and showed up at my work at about 5:30 pm. I knew he was going to take the ride, but I didn't expect to see him until later. He surprised me outside by the back door, I could not believe he was standing there. It was great to see his face again! YEAH! He has long unruly hair, and a beard & mustache that have taken over his face. He is SKINNY TOO! He is 20 pounds lighter! He has a weather-worn look happening (like someone who just spent 61 days out in the backcountry of Denali!). His backpack had to weigh at least 55 pounds that he had been hauling out with him. It is great to see him! Anyway, I just want to THANK YOU for following along with me. And now, I am going to sign-out and turn this blog back over to Willie. He will soon be writing his own story here...so stay tuned! I look forward to his stories too! Cheers, Christine

PS. last night when Willie & I left my work the full moon was shining down in a clear night sky. It was the same moon & kind of clear sky that we had 2 months ago (3 lunar cycles) on January 21, when we skiied out to Savage together to start this adventure...very cool timing to have him home!