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!
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:
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!