Trail Notes – April 17

I may not always be able to do this, but I can today, so…

I’m sitting here at the shelter picnic table, waiting for the oatmeal in the Ziploc bag to absorb boiling water and soften up enough to eat. The view is over a lovely valley; there’s a woodpecker drilling for breakfast nearby. Mine took less effort – the propane stove actually lit for me!

Yesterday was a late start, but that was planned. I still would have been a lot better off if a couple hadn’t misdirected me, and I walk a mile the wrong way, then had to retrace my steps. That was NOT planned. It turned a 7.1 mile day into a 9.1 mile day… About six miles on the hardpacked, smooth C&O towpath, and then a lot of steep switchback – my legs cramped up, but I took it easy, rationed food, dosed myself with lifesavers and cheese and crackers, and once took a thirty minute break stretched out on a log. It worked.

I think the oatmeal is ready. I need to eat and get moving, 10 miles today. More later!