Date: 2016-06-23
To: Leroy Smith Shelter
Miles today: 30.0

Been sick the last few days. Started 3 days ago. Anticipated a 17 mile day. At seven miles, felt very fatigued. Stopped to rest and fell asleep on my pack right on the trail. Didn't feel like continuing, exhaustion deep. Made camp close by. Fell off to sleep, awakened to chills. Twice. No real symptoms except a slightly scratchy voice. Thought back a week to a tick (so many out here) embedded in my leg. Been checking for the circular rash, not there. But flu symptoms, fatigue are vague symptoms of Lyme's disease. Woke up next day feeling better-walked on a respectable distance, not wanting to overdo. Camped short. Fever and chills again overnight. Walked today until fatigue set in. Still no rash. If symptoms persist, will walk to a clinic a few days out for Lyme's test. My wonderful German friends, Dream Catcher and Rambo encouraging me to rest. Tell my so in no uncertain, beautifully accented terms, "Wonder, you must take some time to recover! You need to rest!" Feeling like a command from Schwarzenegger himself. Compelled to comply. So I will.   Picture is of my current reality. It's the path. No kidding. I don't really call it a path. I think someone came through here with some Agent Orange and dropped it in a line that extends through the northern half of Pennsylvania. DON'T like it. Not sure why this is necessary. On top of that, water is scarce here and a definite concern. A hiker friend tells me that every state feels the need to create obstacles so it has a claim to AT fame of being the "hardest" state on the trail. Wishing they'd be competing for the state of AT "best experience" or "friendliest to hikers". Personally looking forward to crossing into Jersey.   Been eating my way through currently, courtesy of the berry patches. The other day, I found myself within a very large blueberry patch that extended here and there for miles. A welcome treat. Stopped to help myself at one point only to hear, somewhere in the underbrush, a rattle from a pretty pissed off snake. Was not as friendly as others I have seen. Had a louder, more threatening rattle. Had a good look at him. Eyes darting up and down, tongue flicking in and out as he stared at me and dared me not to approach.   He moved off. So did I but with some worry as it's really hard to know where he slithered to. As I moved through the trail, I heard him again. Moved faster till it stopped. Whoo. Yesterday crossed a denuded mountain (from early 20th century zinc mining) that the state has recently attempted to rejuvenate. Very steep, rocky climb up this mountain. Glad for the clouds as sun would have exposed me. Anyway, at the top was met with a raspberry patch. Ate greedily with one eye on the berries, and another looking for snakes-and bear. Saw neither!   Said good-bye to my section hiker friends that I've previously mentioned. Yesterday, Mango left the trail along with her 3 friends. Saw her Dad again. He had more fruit! Also brought a few beers. I had one along side my German friends who never pass up a beer (their words!) We laughed about this. Told them I would love to visit Germany and their Beer Gardens. They told me to let them know when I'm coming as they would host me. Said that, in Germany, everywhere you go, there is a Beer Garden. If there is anything to see, a special site, a rock, a tree, anything in the tour books, you can be assured there will be a Beer Garden there. Can't dispute that wisdom.   Wondering- If there are any states on the AT that have a Beer Garden philosophy? Thinking Wisconsin could pull that off....