Date: 2004-06-03
From: Angel on the Trail to Perdition

To: So Far, So Good ... So What?
Miles today: 17.5

Willy was already in a bunk and half asleep when I moseyed into the shed the night before. He was already leaving the next morning. On the way out, though, he said I could help myself to the cookies he took from the fridge the night before.         That was a pretty nice gesture from a total stranger. I ate those, plus a few more snacks from the fridge, while looking around. The property was located on one of those seldom-used mountain roads that cuts through the dense vegetation of the folded mountains. For the first time in a while, I appreciated the forest and hills I was climbing through, something I had lost perspective when I could see no further than the trees in front of me. Basically, I felt like a flea looking at a collie. Thanks to Wllie, though, at least I was a well-fed flea.Scrambled Legs Whatever doubts I had about why this section is called ¢Rocksylvania¢ were pretty much gone. Today effectively vanquished them forever.        Most of the trail was easy going. At one point it was so easy I decided to test myself to see how fast I could go. With a large stick in each hand, I emulated the ski-like stride of the ultra-hikers, easily overtaking a pair of daytrippers on the way to Route 309.* I learned if I really put my mind to it, I could manage 4.1 miles in 90 minutes. Which is a little better than two miles per hour. Which isn¢t bad at all. RoadkillersI walked along the edge of sharp cliffs through thunderstorms, and slept in bear-inhabited woods. Yet there was only one spot where I felt I was in danger: when I had to cross roads.         Route 309 was one of those two-lane interstates in the middle of nowhere, where cars, trucks, SUvs and big rigs shoot through the 55 MPH Speed Limit stretch at 75 MPH. Thankfully, the roads are few and far between.         I wish the same were true for rednecks in jeeps. While making my way to the Bake Oven Knob I watched a red jeep drive through a parking lot and go up the trail. Granted the trail was wide enough to accommodate it, but ... it¢s a foot trail! It¢s full of jagged, uneven rocks! No matter how good your shocks are, it can¢t be good for them. There¢s a reason why those Jeep commercials have a disclaimer!         What was worse, this idiot began driving back down the trail ... while I was going up it. I stepped aside. He came down, stuck his head out the window, and exposed his gapped teeth as he said, ¢Need a lift?¢         Sure enough, he was wearing a hat. Like all people who wear a hat when they drive, I felt a lot better when he was out of my sight.         Letting that aggravation go, I have to admit the view from the top of Baker¢s Knob Oven was ... um ... it would have been worth the uphill hike to watch the sunset. All the hues of the sunset couldn¢t penetrate my jaded vision. It¢s like when I was traveling through Europe: by the time I reached Madrid, I had seen so many arches, statues and cathedrals they lost all allure for me.         I made it over the boulders in the twilight. It had just become dark when I reached the shelter. I set up my stove. I filled the pot with water. The stove went out. The water disappeared. Sure enough, I had burned a whole through my aluminum pot. I tried melting the lid to the bottom. No luck. I tried melting them together. Again, no luck.         Whoever you the reader are, I hope you never have to choose between gong hungry or eating a brick of raw ramen noodles. If you are, though ... it really isn¢t that bad. It¢s better than starving. Not much, though. * I really wanted to see Route 309 again. This road passes through Montgomeryville (which I used to live just south of in Lansdale). When you¢re as nomadic as I am, familiar road signs mean a lot to you.