During the week I'll see only about one person a day, but a good many people on the weekend. I'm doing about 2 miles an hour now, or about 20 miles a day. I've lost about 25 pounds since the start of the hike. Without my glasses on it looked rather like my mother's little dog. I wondered what a dog was doing on the trail.
Animals often use the trail since it's easier than climbing through the underbrush.
As I got closer to it, I realized it was a porcupine. Porcupines are generally noctural, so you rarely see them on the trail. I walked along several minutes behind this porcupine, but after a while it realized I was there and that I wasn't just another woods animal. I didn't even get my camera out because I just wanted to watch him. After a while he relaxed and kept going on along the trail.