.:: If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.--
Henry David Thoreau ::.
Good time out tonight with Joe B. He was visiting town on business. We had dinner with him at the Dubliner. First time for me at the Dubliner. Worth repeat business.
Yesterday, I read a tweet about a death on the AT. The hiker that died was a hiker I shared a shelter (Hightop Hut) with the evening of July 22nd. I remember the night because it was Neale's birthday and I was trying to make it to high ground to make a cell call. It was a hot day in the Shenandoah Park and I had to get water from a hose at the Ranger Station too. The hiker was named Stonewall due to his interest in the Civil War. When I arrived at the shelter I was initially put off by spending the night with the guy because he had an unconventional look. He hiked in jeans and a tank top tee. He was at the picnic table repairing his shoes as they had completely fallen apart. But, he carried a 70 lb. pack with plenty of duct tape. By the end of the evening, he had his shoes repaired. After a few exchanges, I learned that he was an interesting guy. Since he was from northern Indiana, we talked about fun times in Chicago. He spent the day at the shelter as a zero day by himself so he was in the mood to talk. Likewise, he shared supplies that we left by other hikers rather than keep them to himself. The last time I saw him was the following morning as I heading up from the water source and he was headed down to it. He was not a morning person and he was out of cigarettes. However, I find it hard to believe that he would die of heat stroke or dehydration as he had backwoods skills. I contacted the information available in the article to share information that I had. I hope my actions are helpful and his case is resolved.
I gathered the materials for my homemade alcohol stove. I plan to construct it this weekend. The transition to lighter weight hiking continues. I will post a video of the stove's progress.
Good dinner at Charlie Gitto's for Debbie and Kelly's birthdays. Great service.
Added a small photos page for my Appalachian Trail hike (HERE). Uploaded videos from the trail too. The three Neale shot when I started down at Amicalola and two videos I took while on trail are on our YouTube channel.
Semester starts tomorrow. My teaching schedule is the same as usual.
~ 03:28 PM ~
"...let's get some runs...."
Last night, we went over to Alton to visit with Judy Hoffman. She was curious about my AT experience and also wanted to catch up with Neale as she had an eventful summer as well.
We had dinner at House of India and tried Chill, which is the third self-serve frozen yogurt place in the area. Yo My Goodness is my personal favorite. But, Chill does put more effort into topping. When we arrived home, I wanted to see the Conspirator as I had heard about it but have not watch a new film in months. Good movie.
Tonight, we have dinner with Debbie to celebrate her birthday. We are headed out west.
Another in-service week is winding down. It started with apprehension but I have accepted my return to work. Part of my anxiety about returning to work was losing the freedom of hiking everyday. It is not that I do not enjoy the classroom but nature will always be more rewarding. I am sure as the semester starts I will truly remember why I love the classroom. Many of my coworkers have expressed interest in my summer. I have also expressed interest in what they did as well. One went to Scotland & Ireland and another is becoming a father. Good people.
As result of my being a sociologist while I hiked the trail, I was asked to present my experience as part of our diversity calendar. I was not planning on this. My colleagues were interested in the walk at the start of the meeting and as a result, I will be giving an hour long presentation in the near future. It will basically be my Intro class having class in the library but the event will be open to the public like our other diversity events.
I am back to working out. My strength has decreased slightly but my cardio is strong. My knees hurt during part of my run but the endorphins in.
Cleaning my hiking water bladder (finally). Using warm water with baking soda and lime juice.
