Date: 2006-07-22
From: Unionville, NY park

To: Tent at Pinwheel Vista Overlooking NJ94
Miles today: 13.1

Woke up at the usual 5:45am in the gazebo after a good night's sleep, until the garbage truck came to empty a nearby dumpster. We were packed up and ready to go by the time Sara's Soda Shop opened for breakfast at 7am. I had 4 pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs with decaf and OJ. Becca had a sausage and hash brown breakfast sandwich with coffee. Butch Fuller, the village worker who took us under his wing, took pictures of the FDOM (Four Dirty Old Men) and Becca, and Becca took pics of us with Butch. The mayor, Dick Ludwick, even stopped by to wish us a safe journey. We finally hit the road about 8:15am after Deet-ing up in anticipation of the mosquitoes, of which there were many. During the morning Becca and I kept up with the other FDOM guys, reaching Pochuck Mtn Shelter at 11am, too soon and too buggy for lunch, but about 3/4 of the first climb of the day was behind us. Before the climb we walked around a swamp. Interestingly, the bugs were worse in the woods than right next to the swamp.The others took off at a faster pace than Becca and I. We expected to catch up when they stopped for lunch, but grew hungry before then. At noon, we had lunch at a bug-free rock that gave a view off toward the west. There were a couple of drops of rain while we ate our bagels and potato sticks lunch, prompting me to put my pack cover on, but it did not amount to much. Just enough to goad on the mosquitoes, requiring another dose of Deet.The predicted rain arrived as a downpour of varying intensity from about 1:30 to 2:30pm. It eliminated the mosquito problem and we continued for the boardwalk, about a mile long, over the swamp on both sides of the Pochuck River suspension footbridge. We got soaked, but, except for the anticipation of walking in wet boots for the rest of today and tomorrow, it was really rather pleasant. About half an hour after the rain stopped, we emerged at NJ94 where .1 mile to the west we found the guys enjoying ice cream at Heaven Hill Farm, a nursery/produce/bakery/ice cream place. We got ours and it was very good. The wind had come up and the sun out, enabling us to dry off pretty well. As the gear was drying, we bought and ate some cherries for Becca, and a juicy "local" peach for me with some drinks. The other guys took off ahead of us, as they were making for the shelter 4 miles beyond our campsite.There was a steep, nearly 1000 ft climb, some of it on rock steps up to this lookout from the road below. We elected to carry full water, hoping for a bug-free campsite. We arrived at this wonderful campsite about 6:15pm. It is just back from the rock outcropping on a patch of grass that offers a great view off toward the west. There is a good breeze that has kept the bugs away, and there was a bit of sun before it hid behind the line of thunderheads in the distance.At 9.30pm, the clouds that obscured the sunset are bearing fruit. I note that my seam-seal job on this tent needs refreshing, as an occasional drop comes through onto my chest. Looks like Becca's pack towel will be busy tonight. "No pain, no rain, no Maine", as they say.I had a message from Dr. Koval reporting on the blood tests he ordered Monday. All is well with my blood chemistries, indicating all systems are working fine, but the test for Lyme came back positive. "Good call on the Lyme", said he. Fortunately, the antibiotics he prescribed "just in case" will cure it when it's discovered in the early phase, as with me. I sure will be careful to take them as directed. Already I'm feeling better, and I'll be sure to note any symptoms if they arise later. For all you hikers and outdoor folks out there, beware that as few as a quarter of the cases of Lyme have the characteristic bulls-eye rash around the tick bite. More often there are symptoms of a flu-like illness--lethargy and a very low fever, if any. Plus other species of ticks are now carriers, not just the tiny deer tick.On a different note, Becca will be going back the mile or so to NJ94. Her feet have been bothering her. I will be going forward to NY17A. Candace will be picking up Becca, then meeting me at NY17A with my 1-man tent. Then Candace and Becca will do a short overnight with me before leaving to visit a friend in CN. On! On!