Mexico weekly ledger., 1921-04-07
Today's human
Interest Feature
By Ruth Taylor

The Inquisitor has spoken much OF
the Great out-0f-Doors in this col
umn and again would like to share
with the readers a letter which comes,
curiously enough, from the East,
which proves that Fasteners make
mixers as we'll as Westerners So
many people walk to reduce. This
,ej4s a different story. And how
would you dess for a real hike? And
what would you think Of doing
sixty-four miles, twenty miles a day?
"A party of five Y w. C. A. train
ing school girls Of New York City de-
cided to spend the Easter holidays by
taking a walking trip. The leader Of
our number was a Canadian who had
considerable experience in wood and
tramping ways. She said that we
would be surprised at the ease with
which we could walk all day. At this
time of year we had to depend on
hotels and inns for shelter at night,
Our intention was to return to New
York Saturday so that we might be
in the city for the Easter services.
Zone hope was to see a lot Of birds
but l suppose we walked a little too
fast for them. The total list seen
was very short; one downy, n blue
bird, a flock Of red-winged black
birds, one meadow lark, black-birds
of some undetermined variety, juncos
and everywhere robins with their
welcome red breasts and cheerful
notes. And more wonderful than
they were the song sparrows whose
beautiful music woke US every morn
ing and followed US by every hedge
row and old apple orchard.
at is q lovely time Of the year to
be on the road for the first buds and
blossoms are not yet too plentiful to
hide each other and n has a sense
Of seeing all. There is that lovely
plant known as skunk cabbage in the
swampy thickets. 1t has to be look
ed for. The rich reds Of the maple
flowers were the most colorful, while
the yellow Of the soft maple often
tinged the picture. Once a lowlying
thicket displayed the whole list Of
common naples blooming and set
them off by a great assortment Of
pussywillows in grays and greens.
There were many clear little
streams through the fields and along
the roads and among the hills. One
in particular. was set in my memory
because it was edged with the fresh
est green ribbons of watercress and
its limpid little course ran shiningly
over the whitest sand in Jersey. We
beside several lakes, some
domesticated and harvested and some
super-civilized and some wild as you
could wish, but all beautiful,
whether ringed by the simple stone
castles and marble palaces of the
rich and fashionable, or just marked
by a few faint trails Of wilderness
seeking people who have sometime
found their wooded shores and pro.
tecting hills. ~
We had variety Of all sorts, lakes,
streams, roads and trail places to
stay "a Y. M. G.. A. camp, a roadside
and a village inn,) wealth
sr, Grain, run, and cloud, adven-
lures Ia fire in the u~nderbrish, and
half a day wandering and struggling
to find the right trail through real
meals (campfires and can
nedheat, colored buffers at fashion
able inns, farmhouse plenty)-these
suggest a part of the truth.
I'VE walked sixty-four miles, sixty
the last three days. We reached
Saturday night a few hours
alter than planned. All of us show
ID up for three meals Sunday and we
rested Monday. l gained a
pound. So did two of the others.
our route was North from
Allendale, New Jersey, to Mountain
Vile, New York and west to West
Point where we took the train