Date: 2018-03-24
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Miles today: 0.0

My last entry wandered a bit, starting with my reaction to being age-typed and ending on Mt. Stratton where I met caretaker Hugh Joudry, a relative of Dylan Thomas. I enjoy wandering, both literally when hiking and also in the free associations of my mind. I enjoy being surprised with where I end up and wondering how I got there.  The photo of the Welsh sheep in my last entry brought to mind a favorite Dylan Thomas story, from his forward to The Collected Poems: ¢I read somewhere of a shepherd who, when asked why he made, from within fairy rings, ritual observances to the moon to protect his flocks, replied: ¢I¢d be a damn¢ fool if I didn¢t!¢¢  It¢s a story in a single sentence, in prose easily as complex as my own. I laugh at the shepherd but then look at my own life, on and off the trail, and all of the little rituals I observe that may or may not have meaning, but that I persist in because ¢I¢d be a damn¢ fool if I didn¢t.¢ Does my religious worship have any more significance than a dog walking in circles three times before lying down? At least the dog gets a soft place to sleep. I don¢t believe that my prayer, or even my singing in the choir, purchases a farthing of salvation. It only makes me nostalgic for coins gone by. The Canadians stopped minting pennies in 2012. The British farthing, worth one quarter of a penny and 1/960 of a pound sterling, was withdrawn in 1961. A recent plan by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to drop the one penny and two penny coins was met by fierce opposition and has been withdrawn. I say, ¢Bravo!¢ to that. It¢s these silly little rituals and ridiculous tokens that define life and imbue it with meaning.  I find it infinitely sad that more and more undergraduates are seeking career paths instead of majors that excite their souls. Long after our science and engineering has been surpassed and forgotten, our art will live on, that is, if anyone still cares.  As the starting date of my thru-hike approaches, I observed one of my classic pre-hike rituals this week, The Tweaking of the Gear. It involves carefully considering each row on my gear spreadsheet, weighing the utility of an item and its harmony with other items against its weight. The one item that stood out was my bear canister at two pounds and the extra pound of backpack required to carry it comfortably. I asked myself what the odds were of encountering a rogue black bear with a taste for Little Debbies who could not be defeated by using bear boxes, bear poles, or cables when available or by properly hanging my food ten feet off the ground and four feet from the trunk or nearest limb, preferably following the Pacific Crest Method so there¢s no line for the bear to snag. Then I thought of how rarely I¢ve found the perfect tree for a proper hang, there being only one of them along the entire Appalachian Trail, and how seldom I¢ve managed to throw a line over the aimed-for branch. Especially in the dark. When it¢s raining. I think of the poor bear, who, through my carelessness or ineptness, might seek out Oatmeal Creme Pies or Swiss Rolls in the future, possible endangering another hiker, or worse, being euthanized as a problem bear. This is not a sin I would care to carry to the Pearly Gates, especially if St. Peter proves to have an ursine nature. So the canister stays.I did manage, through my ritual, to eliminate a little weight from my pack. The lid of the Bearicade canister is secured with three quarter-turn fasteners that can easily be unlocked with a quarter. Last year, I found that when my hands were cold in the morning, I was utterly incapable of managing that task. It is so frustrating to have food at hand but be unable to access it, which is hopefully what a bear experiences coming upon a canister. So this year, I decided to carry a squat 1/2¢ flathead screwdriver with a padded handle. Unfortunately, it weighs nearly 2 ounces and creates the illusion that I can use tools. Inspiration struck yesterday morning and I visited the hardware store, something that always makes me feel so butch. For 43 cents, I purchased a 2¢ diameter washer that works perfectly and can easily be manipulated even with gloves on. Weight savings ¢ 1.3 ounces.  Many years ago, I was caught in a violent hailstorm on Mt. Rogers in Southwest Virginia, the half-inch pellets blowing sideways, leaving my face windburned and bruised. Since then I¢ve carried a light weight balaclava in addition to a fleece cap. The cap is the first thing I put on when it¢s chilly and I often sleep in it. The two together weigh 2.5 ounces. I¢ve been following a northbound thru-hiker this year, Hungry Cat, also on Trail Journals. He has a great sense of humor and has managed to maintain a positive outlook in spite of a series of late winter storms. Have I mentioned that a sense of humor is essential gear? He loves a product called a Buff (www.buffusa.com).  The Buff is a seamless fabric tube measuring 20.5 x 9.75 inches weighing 1.4 ounces. It can be worn as a neckerchief, balaclava, headband, cap, pirate bandana or any of eight other fashionable configurations. I was skeptical that any one thing capable of doing so many things could do any of them well, but based on Hungry Cat¢s endorsement, I ordered one, permethrin-treated, stink resistant and UV blocking. After playing with it for a day now, I am a convert. It could potentially eliminate my bandana as well.  Saving 2.6 ounces may not seem like a lot, but it is the equivalent of two Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. Yum! The total weight of my pack, exclusive of consumables, is now 14 pounds, 14 ounces, not ultralight but still respectable.My other accomplishment this week was having the battery replaced in my iPhone 6S. I noticed that the battery life was become erratic and that apps seemed to running slower. Problem solved.