I'm in Pennsylvania now! Getting close to the thousand mile mark! The last few states have been a blur. Connecticut and New York were pleasant, rolling countryside, but the mosquitoes were pretty rough. Of anyone had told me the most difficult part of the trail would be the bugs, I would not have believed them, but they swarm you constantly, buzzing in your ears, flying in your eyes, biting until you're in desperate need of multiple benadryl doses. I was very thankful when that ended!
Towards the end of CT I made some significant gear changes that have enabled me to travel further and faster than before! I swapped my boots for some cheap New Balance tennis shoes (size 10; I'm turning into a sea lion apparently). Lighter shoes coupled with some "Dirty Girl" gaiters of planetary design are definitely the way to go! Fewer blisters, better traction, and more stylish!
Towards the end of CT I made some significant gear changes that have enabled me to travel further and faster than before! I swapped my boots for some cheap New Balance tennis shoes (size 10; I'm turning into a sea lion apparently). Lighter shoes coupled with some "Dirty Girl" gaiters of planetary design are definitely the way to go! Fewer blisters, better traction, and more stylish!
My R&D department (thanks "Houston"!) researched sleeping bags and Dad bought me a new Kelty SB20 that's warmer, lighter and packs smaller than my old bag. It's filled with duck down, which is as warm as goose down but deals with moisture better. I no longer have to sit on top of my pack to coerce my sleeping bag into its compartment, saving me at least seven minutes every morning!
A chipmunk ate through my food bag, so I got a new one of those, and after breaking three plastic sporks (one while demonstrating its flexibility.... "See, I think this one is stronger and more flexible than the....SNAP. Maybe not.") I received a titanium spork capable of prying cold peanut butter out of the jar with ease. This may be my new favorite piece of gear. Probably because it has to do with food.
I got to see a bear in New Jersey, maybe twenty five yards away. He was a bit small, making me wonder if a larger bear might have been watching us both, and I was impressed with how quickly they can move through dense woods!
Springs have dried up quite a bit in PA, meaning that I have to go off trail for water more often. This frequently gives me an excuse to find places that sell fruit and ice cream, which are my two favorite treats out here! So far the best has been molasses flavored, which is something we don't have further south! Yum!
PA is also the land of snakes and spiders. I use one trekking pole to sweep the ground in front of me for snakes, and wave the second in big arcs to clear the spider webs across the trail in front of me. From afar I imagine I look as though I'm simultaneously searching for buried treasure and dueling imaginary dragons.
I'll try to update the blog more frequently ... The last few weeks went by so fast!
I leave you with an adaptation of She'll Silverstein's poem, "Somebody has to go polish the stars" specifically suited to large sections of Pennsylvania:
I got to see a bear in New Jersey, maybe twenty five yards away. He was a bit small, making me wonder if a larger bear might have been watching us both, and I was impressed with how quickly they can move through dense woods!
Springs have dried up quite a bit in PA, meaning that I have to go off trail for water more often. This frequently gives me an excuse to find places that sell fruit and ice cream, which are my two favorite treats out here! So far the best has been molasses flavored, which is something we don't have further south! Yum!
PA is also the land of snakes and spiders. I use one trekking pole to sweep the ground in front of me for snakes, and wave the second in big arcs to clear the spider webs across the trail in front of me. From afar I imagine I look as though I'm simultaneously searching for buried treasure and dueling imaginary dragons.
I'll try to update the blog more frequently ... The last few weeks went by so fast!
I leave you with an adaptation of She'll Silverstein's poem, "Somebody has to go polish the stars" specifically suited to large sections of Pennsylvania:
Somebody has to go sharpen the rocks
They're looking a little bit round.
Somebody has to go sharpen the rocks
For the frogs and the snakes on the ground
Say the hikers are hiking with far too much ease
They prefer when we stumble and fall to our knees
So please get the whetstones and honing strops
Somebody has to go sharpen the rocks!
They're looking a little bit round.
Somebody has to go sharpen the rocks
For the frogs and the snakes on the ground
Say the hikers are hiking with far too much ease
They prefer when we stumble and fall to our knees
So please get the whetstones and honing strops
Somebody has to go sharpen the rocks!
Cozy in my new bag!
New kicks!
RSS Feed