Day 8 on the Trail

Two posts in one day!  Lucky Readers!  Dave called before 8 pm; tonight I have the energy to write, but sorry, there's not much news.  He had very poor service from the Mohican Outdoor Center shelter, and we lost our connection once.  The second phone call was short.

Dave's report on 6/19:
Miles today - 16.3
Miles to date - 86.5

Dave crossed into New Jersey today.  He had two fellow hikers, both female.  He told me their trail names, which now escape me.  He said they have hiked the White Mountains (in New Hampshire) and were giving him tips.  Good excuse!! For the first time, he commented how pretty the scenery was, then quickly said there was a beautiful glacial lake.  I can't find a map of that area, so I don't know for sure what lake it is.

While I was looking for a guidebook, I came across Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.  I've not read it but have heard about it for years.  I looked to see if there was a chapter about the area where Dave has been hiking, and found these gems:

"I never met a hiker with a good word to say about the trail in Pennsylvania.  It is, as someone told a National Geographic reporter in 1987, the place where boots go to die. ... (There is) mile upon mile of jagged, oddly angled slabs of stone strewn about in wobbly piles ... a sea of rocks.  These require constant attentiveness if you are not to twist an ankle or sprawl on your face - not a pleasant experience with fifty pounds of momentum on your back.  Lots of people leave Pennsylvania limping and bruised."  It's even more of an accomplishment for Dave who had only flat surfaces to walk on in Savannah as he prepared for this trip.  Good going, David.

Dave carries 30-40 pounds of gear on his back in an Ospry pack rather than the 50 pounds Bryson carried.  Equipment and the availability of dehydrated food have improved what hikers have to carry since 1998 when A Walk in the Woods was published.

Reading further, I believe Dave saw Sunfish Pond - "something of a glorious novelty, since nowhere south of here will you find a body of water on a mountaintop.  It is in fact the first glacial feature northbound hikers come across." When Dave calls next, I'll read him some of Bryson's descriptions if we have a good connection and if his phone battery has lots of charge left on it.

I've learned a lot in the week Dave has been gone.  I can now make my own cosmos, I got the wireless printer working, and I've learned I'd better cut the grass before it gets too long.  It was tough going yesterday - or maybe it's because I did it after playing 9 holes of golf (and walking) in the 90º+ heat.  I sure slept well last night.  There was a lightning and thunderstorm about midnight that had everyone talking today - there were tree limbs down and a lot of debris had blown into the pool.  I never heard a thing.

I was able to wish Dave a Happy Fathers' Day.  He deserves it!