Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-09-05


many miles. Here is what he says
To the Editor of the Telegraph:
Dear Sir: For the benefit of pedes-
trianism will you please permit me to
make a few statements concerning my
sixty-mile birthday walk. Walking is
one of the healthiest of avocations, but
requires so much time that few can
enjoy 1t to it's fullest extent. / would
say right here that my style of walk
ing Is almost universally condemned
as being foolish-just seeing how
many miles you can cover. The ideal
walk is to start out with no objective
point and leisurely go where you
please, stopping to admire the scenery,
sitting down to read a book or hold
converse with your friends. ITO peo-
pie who like that sort of thing that Is
about what they like" but ! prefer my
way, although / do not claim it is the
better. There are two things that
must he watched closely in order to
ton and, second, the condition of
your feet.
Don't Eat Too Much
AS soon as you hear of n hiking
party walking two or three miles and
then enjoying a chicken and waffle
supper, you may be sure that no bene-
fit was derived. To walk fifty miles
needs training in many directions, but
particularly in abstaining from eX-
cessive eating. a person who over
eats cannot be a good walker, so when
you said | enjoyed a big dinner you
made quite an error, for you must eat
sparingly after any great eXertion, be-
cause the stomach is only as strong
as the exhausted body. The shoes
lN,r
wrongly shaped anatomically. With
pointed shoes a man cannot be COM
Portable. Light woolen stockings and
broad-toed shoes will enable you to
walk in comfort. The smallest knot
wrinkle or seam Is bound to cause you
suffering and eventually to compel you
to stop.
Everything else being equal, any
person by hard training could walk
sixty or more miles and 1t would be
more than foolish for any one to essay
a long walk without many preliminary
trips.
Why He Likes 1t
Why do | like this foolish insane
way of tearing through the country?
First, the feeling of the ability to do
something hard and to enjoy all the
discomforts incident to such a walk;
the development of such a thirst that
a cup of iced tea looks better than
anythin that you could put alongside;
the knowledge that you are fit is a big
inducement. Then the enjoyment of
the country and the contact with the
country people and their kindly soli-
citation. People don't like the auto
mobile inhabitants. 1t seems that
they are only thinking of themselves
and they willingly give you dust for
miles, rendering houses and lang along
highways hard to live in. My birthday
is on September Z, and couldn't walk
on that day for many of my friends
take that time to congratulate me.
Doesn't Carry Pedometer
/ don't carry pedometer, for they
are not reliable. On my walk to
Reading, which is 53A miles by turn
pike, l wore two pedometers. One
registered 43 miles and the other 67
miles. They are made to register
your steps, but the step varies so
much that the instrument is not re-
liable, and then your last mistake was
about the Bernheisel brothers. They
gave me a start and then met me at
Camp Hill and brought me to good
old Harrisburg.
j. II. EAGER