Friday, April 29, 2011
Distance: 0 Miles
Rest Day. The pads of my feet were tender and demanded the day off, especially the left foot. I planned to move on to Clarksburg the next day.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Day Thirty Eight - Out of Order
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Distance: 40.5 Miles
Bookkeeping note: I will get to the backlog of entries, and I will post this now to bob along with what is fresh and recent.
I started the day at the top of the eastern continental divide - Backbone Mountain: to the east, the Atlantic watershed flowing through the Potomac River to the sea; to the west, the Mississippi watershed flowing through the Ohio River and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
I started out at 0720 and finished around 2310. I walked out of Maryland, back into West Virginia and ate breakfast at the rural equivalent of a diner, the family restaurant. An older gentleman struck up a conversation across a table. He laid out in his country baritone the road, towns, and ridges I would travel that day. He asked about my shoes and suggested I rotate pairs daily as he had in Vietnam. I am warmed by the generous goodwill, the gentle, rolling conversations, and the encouragement I have received from the people I have met along my way. The gentleman got up paid his bill and left. When I later asked for my check, the waitress informed me that he had already paid for my meal.
The state flower of West Virginia is the Rhododendron. The S-curved highways, hewn from the rock and hanging over gully and ravine, form beautiful knobs of flora and stone.
I stopped for lunch at a glorious gas station, general store, gift shop, grocery, and hunting supply:
Here a gregarious coal-miner, having asked where I was coming from, told me he had been to New Jersey several times - then ducked my question, Where in New Jersey had he been, later returning to the topic unannounced, to characterize his activity as being "import-export." The wink and nod in his tone left little doubt he had been smuggling and trafficking drugs as a younger man in New Jersey. "And all over. Canada, Mexico" - as by his description.
I humped on in the daylight, past sunset, through the night, under the stars with my headlamp on. The last miles grew slower as I plodded on exhausted not daring to stop, nor let my legs seize, nor allow blood, and with it pain, to flow into my feet. In Grafton, West Virginia I arrived to find the New York Football Giants had drafted CB Prince Amakumara. Nice.
Distance: 40.5 Miles
Bookkeeping note: I will get to the backlog of entries, and I will post this now to bob along with what is fresh and recent.
I started the day at the top of the eastern continental divide - Backbone Mountain: to the east, the Atlantic watershed flowing through the Potomac River to the sea; to the west, the Mississippi watershed flowing through the Ohio River and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
I started out at 0720 and finished around 2310. I walked out of Maryland, back into West Virginia and ate breakfast at the rural equivalent of a diner, the family restaurant. An older gentleman struck up a conversation across a table. He laid out in his country baritone the road, towns, and ridges I would travel that day. He asked about my shoes and suggested I rotate pairs daily as he had in Vietnam. I am warmed by the generous goodwill, the gentle, rolling conversations, and the encouragement I have received from the people I have met along my way. The gentleman got up paid his bill and left. When I later asked for my check, the waitress informed me that he had already paid for my meal.
The state flower of West Virginia is the Rhododendron. The S-curved highways, hewn from the rock and hanging over gully and ravine, form beautiful knobs of flora and stone.
I stopped for lunch at a glorious gas station, general store, gift shop, grocery, and hunting supply:
Here a gregarious coal-miner, having asked where I was coming from, told me he had been to New Jersey several times - then ducked my question, Where in New Jersey had he been, later returning to the topic unannounced, to characterize his activity as being "import-export." The wink and nod in his tone left little doubt he had been smuggling and trafficking drugs as a younger man in New Jersey. "And all over. Canada, Mexico" - as by his description.
I humped on in the daylight, past sunset, through the night, under the stars with my headlamp on. The last miles grew slower as I plodded on exhausted not daring to stop, nor let my legs seize, nor allow blood, and with it pain, to flow into my feet. In Grafton, West Virginia I arrived to find the New York Football Giants had drafted CB Prince Amakumara. Nice.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Day Twenty Two
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Distance: 19.1 Miles
Rough day, long day, wet day, cold day.
The day started foggy.
I crossed the Appalachian Trail.
Finished late and cold.
Distance: 19.1 Miles
Rough day, long day, wet day, cold day.
The day started foggy.
I crossed the Appalachian Trail.
Finished late and cold.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Day Twenty One
Monday, April 11, 2011
Distance: 19 Miles
I returned to and followed the W&OD trail to its terminus in Purcellville, VA.
I did that twelve miles in one shot, found a Greek restaurant, ate a gyro, and continued west on US-7. The trail was great: well-built, shaded, picturesque, popular, and lovingly maintained. I do suspect that someone's brother-in-law is now enjoying retirement, as a small fortune was spent posting signs all over the trail. All over. It's a soccer mom's safety fantasyland. This one, however, was my favorite.
A lovely bridge:
Trail's Emblem
Off of US Highway 7 I found Bear Den, a hostel set just off the Appalachian Trail. It was quite special and reminded me of the Stone House at the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum nestled in my neighborhood back home in Short Hills.
[Taken the following morning]
Sunset from US-7
The lit rooms were crawling with brown marmorated stink bugs and the caretaker would vacuum them up every half-hour. I did laundry, ate a pizza, watched 50 First Dates (bad), and went to sleep.
[http://www.bearsdencenter.org/]
Distance: 19 Miles
I returned to and followed the W&OD trail to its terminus in Purcellville, VA.
I did that twelve miles in one shot, found a Greek restaurant, ate a gyro, and continued west on US-7. The trail was great: well-built, shaded, picturesque, popular, and lovingly maintained. I do suspect that someone's brother-in-law is now enjoying retirement, as a small fortune was spent posting signs all over the trail. All over. It's a soccer mom's safety fantasyland. This one, however, was my favorite.
A lovely bridge:
Trail's Emblem
Off of US Highway 7 I found Bear Den, a hostel set just off the Appalachian Trail. It was quite special and reminded me of the Stone House at the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum nestled in my neighborhood back home in Short Hills.
[Taken the following morning]
Sunset from US-7
The lit rooms were crawling with brown marmorated stink bugs and the caretaker would vacuum them up every half-hour. I did laundry, ate a pizza, watched 50 First Dates (bad), and went to sleep.
[http://www.bearsdencenter.org/]
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Day Twenty
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Distance: 0 Miles
Day off spent watching TV and Netflix on my phone.
Distance: 0 Miles
Day off spent watching TV and Netflix on my phone.
Day Nineteen
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Displacement: 0 Miles
Distance: 4 Miles
I spent the day hanging out with Josh, his two race teammates Andy and John from his home town, and Andy's racing group. At the end of the day, I got dropped off at my motel for an upcoming day-off. I did not get any pictures.
Displacement: 0 Miles
Distance: 4 Miles
I spent the day hanging out with Josh, his two race teammates Andy and John from his home town, and Andy's racing group. At the end of the day, I got dropped off at my motel for an upcoming day-off. I did not get any pictures.
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