Balsam and Aspen

Still working on trees. Tried balsam fir today.

This one is with the black ink on the paper first and then a watercolor wash over that. I like this one.

This one is with the paint first and then black ink on top. Even though the paint tone is different with more blue in this one, I think I like the first one better. Balsam are dark.

Still struggling with the spring aspen. This is try #5. This is watercolor first with a sponge. Probably too much water. This could be improved with some more paint, I think. But it's still got too much foliage for early spring. The scalloped outlines don't say spring, either. They suggest too much fullness.

This is acrylic paint with a sponge first, and then the black lines over that. Needs a little more pen work so the trunk doesn't just end when it hits the leaves but this is starting to approach the look I want.

I edited and did a few other things. A pretty low-key day.

See Trying Trees

Charley Harper's Isle Royale

This puzzle was loaned to me by hiking buddy Bill. I really liked doing it. It was just the right level of difficulty to be both challenging and fun.

Its a puzzle of the art work "Isle Royale" by Charley Harper who is known for his geometric depictions of nature. Here's the entire puzzle.

The dominant dark shapes are two moose.

But the rest of the pictures are really oriented the other direction with birch and aspen trunks. There are also aspen and maple leaves that you can easily see.

And all the other animals are just hiding out in the trees. It would be too many pictures to highlight them all, but here are a few. The squirrel.

The butterfly.

A flicker.

And four wolves. I show this one, even though its tail bleeds off the edge because it has a blue jay on its back.

There are also a red-headed woodpecker, two chickadees, a sparrow, and a brown creeper.

It was a very busy day. I went to Muskegon to the dentist where they took new x-rays and said that the bone has grown back very well, so we scheduled a date in March for the implant!

And then, early this evening, I gave my program about the NCT via Zoom to the Green Mountain Club in Vermont. It would probably be more accurate to say they hosted it because people from anywhere could sign up. They said there were 123 people watching. And time for questions afterward. I love to share "my" trail with people!

See Delightful Cat Library

Chilly and Short

Had to do errands and get groceries today, so even though it was cold, I decided to walk. My body really wanted something more physical too.

Did the loop and spurs at Cartier Park which had been plowed, so it was better walking. But it was 11°!

This is Lincoln Lake.

Stumps had biscuits perched on top!

I spent the morning doing stuff for Confidence Camp, then all the on-the-go-stuff. Then a volunteer zoom meeting, and another meeting in 5 min. There you have my day.

Cartier Park, Ludington, MI, Loop and both spurs. 1.8 miles

See cARTier Trail

Adirondack NCT Hike - 1996

I spent all morning writing one of my newspaper columns. I spent most of the afternoon editing. Bell choir practice was cancelled, and it's still quite nasty outside. I didn't finish the current jigsaw puzzle. I didn't finish the prayer shawl. I need some different supplies to try more aspen trees.

So, you get another of my early hikes on the NCT.

In 1996, Marie, Mathilda and I decided to see the eastern terminus since we'd been to the west the year before. Sadly, David had to work for the summer although he really wanted to join us.

At that time, there wasn't even a hint of where the NCT route would be across the Adirondacks, except to say that it wouldn't go through the High Peaks. But the unofficial rule was that you could connect Crown Point with Forestport any way you wanted and it would count. So we decided that we wanted to see the High Peaks.

I was enchanted by the guidebook. Lower Wolf Jaw was described as "exceedingly steep." I couldn't wait!

The eastern terminus of the trail at that time was Crown Point on Lake Champlain. And the old bridge was still there. This was built in 1929, but was replaced in 2011 with the beautiful bridge with a pedestrian walkway that is now in this location.

We had to take some road walks to connect to the trail we were going to follow. This took us past Bulwagga Bay of Lake Champlain where we learned that they have their own "sea monster" whose name is Champ. These people claim to have seen him or her. We did not.

Hurrican Bertha was just winding down and managed to keep us wet quite a lot.

Lower Wolf Jaw did not disappoint. However, I have no pictures. We just felt lucky that we got up it. "Exceedingly steep" turned out to be a climb up a nearly vertical pile of rocks and mud. In the rain and wind that was the tail end of Hurricane Bertha. And, as some of you know, Mathilda is legally blind. I turned Chips loose to find his own way up. Of course, he beat all the rest of us. That day ended with the wet campsite we nicknamed our Frank Lloyd Wright "Falling Waters" site. That's the picture I used to advertise Confidence Camp.

Do you want to know more? The chapter about this hike in North Country Cache is one of the longer ones, and it will give you all the details. We sure had adventures! Most of them were good ones.

We found places where the ice never melts because no sun every reaches that deep into the rocks. We learned about peaty Adirondack mud. We learned that we needed to hang our cache bag higher! We learned a lot about being flexible in planning even when you've already started the hike.

The high point, literally and figuratively, was summitting Mount Marcy, the highest point in New York state at 5344 feet.

Our last big climb was over Indian Pass. Yes, we are on the trail. Yes, this was a piece of cake compared to Lower Wolf Jaw.

We ended at Henderson Lake, another place that was never destined to be on the North Country Trail. So years later, to finish my first hike of the NCT we had to start there and connect up because by that time there was at least an identified corridor where the NCT would go.

Tomorrow, I need to go to the store. Doug plowed our drive today, so I should be able to get out.

See North Dakota 1995

Trying Trees

OK, the trees are not testing my patience. I'm actually trying to paint trees. One of the reasons I didn't pursue art after high school was that to be good at it you have to practice, practice, practice and paint/draw, whatever, the same things over and over until you get them the way you want. I never could talk myself into that.

But here I am. This is four attempts at spring trees. Specifically, spring aspen trees. I need to keep trying until I get a style I'm happy with. This one is paper towel blobs with the black lines added after the paint. I like how the leaves look, but the trunk and branches are wrong for aspen.

This one is paintbrush with the black lines added after the paint. It's an OK tree, but it's not looking like early enough spring, and it's definitely not an aspen. It has good depth, but that also means it has too many leaves for the season I'm trying to capture.

Try number three is doing the black lines before the paint, and the paint is sponged on with the "wrong" kind of sponge. I watched some videos with this technique, and i like the result in theory, but this tree isn't right. The trunk and branches are too solid. The shape and branches are more aspen.

This one looks the most spring-like and it is beginning to look like an aspen, although I can't find my black paint, and the trunk needs to be gray. This was done with scrunched up tinfoil with the black added afterwards. Needs more layers of paint for depth, but the cheap paint is too translucent, and the tinfoil too "sparse," but I think I'm getting there. I've ordered the "right" kind of sponge and some pens that won't run in varying tip widths.

You need to know that these are done with el cheapo watercolors and paper from the box store. I'm not going to buy better paint and paper until I get better with technique.

There is a point to all this. If you've been around long enough, I last was working seriously on this project over ten years ago, but it made it on the blog if you remember that far back. Not quite ready to commit myself enough to post the goal yet. It's one of my many (embarrassing number of) unfinished projects.

In other news: I had a zoom meeting this morning and there were tech problems getting ready for it, so that took all morning. I put away the last of the Christmas decorations. I worked on most of the other projects a little bit each. May try to write a few more words more tonight.

See Art Center Bingo

A Troop of Tropes

More about writing today. It seems like I'm on a bit of a roll.

What's a trope, you ask? A trope is a recurring theme. If this were an afghan or a work of art, you'd call it a repeating motif like a granny square, or triangles. Or in a piece of music, the recognizable bit of melody that you hear over and over.

In writing, it's a brief and familiar summary of the plot. For example, you might think all the Perry Mason books have the same trope- they all have Mason taking on some case that looks impossible, and then he pulls a rabbit out of the hat in the courtroom and wins the case. But that is more of the genre. Like "courtroom drama," or "police procedural," or "amateur sleuth."

Books with the same trope might be everything from Oliver Twist, Lord of the Flies, or the Harrison Ford movie Firewall, to The Boxcar Chldren, which are all the trope of the endangered child. However the first two are in the literary fiction genre, the movie would be a thriller, and the last is a children's mystery. A trope cuts across genres.

My general mysteries are all in the "amateur sleuth" category, technically the cozy mystery genre. (Side note... cozies have sort of slid off into talking cats, quilt shops and bakeries with female sleuths and a touch of romance. But what cozy classically means is that the violence and sex happen "off stage." They are not gory, steamy, or thrillers. So I don't like to call them cozies. I say they are "light traditional" or "classic who-dun-its.")

But what are the tropes of my books? I pose this question because I've been asking myself this for quite a while. People ask me what the books are about and I want to be able to give a swift and short answer for each. Today, I decided to get serious about nailing down the couple I hadn't yet identified.

News from Dead Mule Swamp is a "Cover-up." The cover-up trope involves hiding past illegal actions through deception, destruction of evidence, or conspiracy, often driven by fear of exposure, scandal, or protecting someone. News is a novella.

The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp is "the Endangered Chld." The endangered child trope involves placing a defenseless minor in immediate physical or emotional peril to raise stakes, evoke sympathy, or prompt heroic action. Hollow Tree is a short story.

Just FYI, the two are separate as ebooks, but are combined in one volume in paperback because they serve as a great intro to the whole series, introducing the characters and the location, even though they are not long, and thus not very complex.

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp. This is a "Cold Case." A cold case is a criminal investigation that has been rendered inactive and unsolved due to a lack of evidence, witnesses, or suspects to form a solid lead. Paddy is a little bit longer. It doesn't quite have a sub-plot, but it's not quite as linear as the first two.

Bury the Hatchet in Dead Mule Swamp. This one is "Revenge." Revenge is a driven, emotional response to injustice or harm, compelling characters down a path that often blurs the lines between right and wrong. It's one of the most common tropes in fiction. Hatchet and all the rest are full length novels- I finally got the knack of weaving in a subplot.

Dead Mule Swamp Druggist. This one has totally defied categorization. I struggle constantly to explain it to people in a couple of sentences. I just tried to look up some ideas. Maybe "Ambiguous Deaths?" - not exactly. Maybe "Connect the Deaths?" - I like this one better. Connect the deaths is where a series of seemingly unrelated murders or deaths are revealed to be connected by a pattern, such as forming a specific shape, timeline, or message. Although in my book, there are a series of seemingly related deaths and the question is "are they murders?" or "are they even related?" Hmmm. Did I actually come up with an original idea? I think I'll start calling it "Connect the Deaths."

Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe. This one is clearly the "Closed Suspect Pool." This is the cornerstone of classic mysteries. It is defined by a scenario where a crime occurs within a restricted, isolated, or clearly defined group of people, ensuring the culprit is among them.

Dead Mule Swamp Singer. This may fit into two tropes with the main and sub-plots weaving in and out. But The murder is "A Stranger Comes to Town." This is another classic narrative where a mysterious outsider enters a community and forces change, exposes hidden truths, or resolves conflict. This visitor disrupts the status quo.

And- how about the one I'm working on- Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp? Well, the setting is unusual, but it's probably a straight up "Payback" which is simply a form of the revenge trope. Dang. I thought I was trying to make every story different. The setting- within a Live Action Role Playing game- makes it very different in some ways, but I guess the underlying theme is revenge.

And here's a reminder of the cover for the one I'm trying to finish.

Maybe I'll talk about covers another day. Had you noticed that I changed them all from the originals?

I was partly good and partly naughty today. I edited, I worked on the prayer shawl, I figured this stuff out, which counts as working on marketing. I gave in and ate chocolate and crackers while reading more than my usual rationed time. I may try to write a few actual words yet this evening.

I also started working on something else that is part of one of the goals I've had for the past several (many?) years, but MAYBE it will get moving again. Stay tuned.

See The Skeleton of a Plot

The Skeleton of a Plot

Subtitle: Unlikely Plot, or Not?

This could also be titled, is truth stranger than fiction? Tonight you get some more of my thoughts about writing mysteries.

We've often heard someone disparage a fictional plot as so unbelievable it ruined the story for them. But, I'm here to tell you that there are plenty of strange stories out there that are absolutely true.

The mug shot is Herbert Mullin. He was aprehended in 1973 after killing thirteen people. He claimed to be following the voice of God who told him that human sacrifices would save California from the big earthquake. He claimed the victims volunteered to die for the cause. He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and insane.

I tend to think that insanity is a cop-out for a writer to use as a motive, however, I did use it in one short story.

Here is a true tale from Texas in 2018. Someone was placing flyers laced with fentanyl on windshields of law enforcement vehicles. They warned of "satellite microwave weapons." There were no deaths- one officer became ill, but fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, and can be fatal. That would be a great basis for a plot.

Another true story is the possibly unbelievably simple means by which a woman realized there was an intruder in her house. The toilet seat was up, and there was no male who lived with her. If that were put in a book, readers would say, "No burgler would be that stupid." Guess again.

Recently, there have been two Michigan scenes that seem to stretch the limits of belief. The first one, very local to me, wouldn't serve as a basis for an entire plot, but as a scene it would be great. But again, people would think it too outlandish. A driver took off as police attempted a traffic stop and led law enforcement on a 4-county chase.

The most gruesome is this story, and it has been in the news a lot in Michigan. The mother and step-father of a girl who was nine-months pregnant apparrently killed the girl and cut the baby out of her body. The baby has not yet been found. I have to use the word "apparently," because this one has not been through the courts yet, it's so recent. Even in a thriller, can you imagine trying to put that one in a book?

Anyway, I guess my point is that various implausible plots can work if the writing is good.

Here's a fictional example. I have mentioned that I'm re-reading the Joe Pickett books. My least favorite in the series is Trophy Hunt because it wanders heavily into a paranormal cause for part of what happens. I'm not a big fan of paranormal stories. However, in the notes at the end, I learned that the weird part of the book is based on real circumstances that happened in Montana in 2000 and have never been explained. Huh.

Hey! All this to say that I've outlined the rest of Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp (mostly... I'm still searching my brain for the details of one scene, but I have all the connecting parts of the plot). Although the setting for the story is unusual, I'll confess that the motive is one of the usual four: Lust, Love, Lucre, Loathing. So when I get it finished you won't have to wonder if the reason for the crime is going to be too outlandish.

I also worked some more on the prayer shawl and did some editing.

See The Thickening of the Plot

More About Me

Since I previously shared a couple of cartoons that describe me quite accurately, Nathan Pyle has come out with a couple more about hiking. Can't leave these out. The concept of the first one always makes me chuckle.

This one is marginally true. Actually, I don't like sweet cushions all that much, but what happens in the first 2 panels coupled with the scent of balsam is sort of like catnip to a cat for me.

It's a good day to hunker down. Actual temp -2° outside. We have the bathroom faucet dripping just in case. I did two rows on the afghan, but still have 6 to go because there were actually 8 to finish when I said 6. I really want to get this one done (so I can start a different one!). And then I have to do the edge.

I wrote 770 words in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp. I edited a little, but I am waiting for responses.

See These Are Me

LOL with Bill

OK, I'm not with Bill, but he's responsible for making me laugh out loud today.

For quite a while I've been vocally jealous of some small patches he has decorating his hiking packs. Imagine my joy when I received an envelope in the mail today from him with these gifts inside.

Yup, two ticks and a blackfly! These are the honest version of what you get while hiking, right?

Bill's friendship is bringing me joy on another front, too. He loaned me a very cool jigsaw puzzle that I'm working on. More on that when it's done.

Cold and windy outside. Supposed to be even colder, etc. for the next two days. I didn't have to go anywhere, so I didn't. I got one of my columns written and turned in. I wrote 565 words in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp. I did the last purple row on the prayer shawl.

And now that I'm keeping track (sort of), I've realized how many days I never actually do laugh out loud. Hmm.

See A Little More Swag

Prayer Shawl Sunday

Huh. I thought for sure I shared a picture from a year ago when it was Prayer Shawl Sunday at the Methodist Church, but I guess not. That picture would have looked a whole lot like the first one here.

I had only heard of them from my cousin Jean until last year. The idea is that they are handmade, and the maker prays for the future recipient (often people in care facilities) while doing the handwork. I had thought they had to be done with a certain pattern, but that is not the case.

In fact, in the picture above, the tubs are full of yarn that the ladies are trying to give out so people can knit or crochet a blanket/afghan/lap robe, whatever you want to call it. You can see the variety of ones they have to give away that are hanging on the railing.

Anyway, when I learned last year that these could be just about anything, I perked up immediately. I have as many tubs full of yarn as the whole church has here! I like to make things, but I don't need any more things. I've already given most of my close friends afghans.

So, on the train to New York last February, I started a prayer shawl. I wasn't going to show you until it was done because... you know... I have enough unfinished projects that it's a little embarrassing. But I needed a topic for tonight. And Sunday was the promotional day. And, I"m really close to being done. I have one more purple row and then 6 blue rows, and then an edging.

My plan is to get it finished before heading East for this year's flower show. Then I'll start another one in a different pattern. This didn't even make a noticeable dent in my yarn stash. It's done in shell stitch for anyone who cares. I'll show you again when it's done.

I was supposed to go to Muskegon for a dentist appointment today, but I cancelled. I wasn't interested in 2-3 hours of white-knuckle driving. I did go out locally to do a couple of errands. Wrote 533 words in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp.

See A prayer shawl cousin Jean made

Winter Images

The big ticket item here is still winter and snow and more snow. Bell choir was cancelled, so I didn't have to go out. But winter sure can be beautiful.

This picture is from the other day at Cartier Park

The sun didn't quite break through this afternoon, but it tried for just a few minutes.

And I got another set of polka dots and stripes.

Bell practice was cancelled, so I didn't have to go anywhere.

We took the Christmas tree down, and I took the compost out. That was the extent of going outside.

I made my brain work on continuing the plot of Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp and managed another 656 words. I at least have the next piece of what has to happen.

See Photoessay in Black and White

Thickening of the Plot

A little philosphy on the topic of writing today.

I'm working my way through re-reading the Joe Pickett novels by C.J. Box. I picked one of them for my top 10 reads of 2025. But, honestly, I could have picked them all. I really like this series. Why? And why am I re-reading them so soon?

I'll answer the second question first. I'm doing them again because I didn't actually READ them the first time through. I listened to the audiobooks while I was down with shingles. First of all, audio is my weakest input channel. Secondly, I usually fell asleep listening and had to go back and figure out where I had "lost it." This may have resulted in missing some things. Third, highly related to the first reason, I take in much more when I see the print, when I can flip back through pages to check something. I'm highly visual.

Why do I like this series? I like the (mostly) outdoor setting, even though it's set in the West which I understand much less than the eastern forests. The characters are a little bit larger than life, but not excessivley so. Joe is (mostly) a little too good. Nate is (mostly) a little too feral. Joe's family is spot-on, except his mother-in-law, who is a little too grasping. Law enforcement at every level is a little too corrupt. But like the Jack Reacher books, sometimes you just want to see justice being done, even if it's not exactly legal.

The writing is good. Here's a sample that's not part of the high-tension plot. "The moon was a perfect thin slice of ice-white in a thick soup of stars that hardened as the temperature dropped near freezing."

Dialog is crisp and is fitted to the character, not generic and stilted.

Here's what got me thinking today. I just finished Free Fire, where the story is set in Yellowstone National Park. Parts of the plot are somewhat believable; the motivations for the crime(s) are solid as eventually revealed. Four people are slaughtered in a remote section of the park that, because of the wording of the law, turns out to be a place where one can commit a perfect murder. In fact, the killer turns himself in, knowing he can't be prosecuted. The rest of the plot then hinges on what was his motive. No one can find a connection between him and the victims. Except Joe, of course.

Now, if I were to give you a five-sentence syopsis of the rest of the plot, you would probably snort and say, "Ridiculous." And you might be right. But the point is, as the way it's written, it works.

So, where am I going with this? As you may or may not be aware, I am stalled on the plot of Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp. I have A,B, & C written. I know pretty much what E is going to be. Part D has eluded me for months. I've kept writing, hoping the next piece would appear. It has not. I've written some nice stuff in this transitional section. For example: "I heard no deep, even breathing suggesting that anyone was asleep. I certainly wasn’t. Flapping nylon, moaning wind, the uneven percussion of rain falling from branches as well as the sky, and fricative sighs of pajamas against blankets created a muted sound track for our emotional discomfort."

What hit me today was that maybe I don't need part D to be quite as realistic as I've been thinking. The whole story is a bit ridiculous anyway- set against the background of a Live Action Role-Playing Game- Ana, Chad, and Mariah find themselves compelled to play by a sinister stranger. Can it get more goofy than that? (I've warned everyone that this story is "different" - you'll either like it or you won't.)

Maybe I need to just buckle down and outline a scenario skeleton that makes some sense and then put some muscles and flesh on that baby. I've got people who like my characters. I need to run with that and get them through this bizarre, thick, plot

I wrote 182 words today, and they don't move the story along. Got to fix that.

See Cover of Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp

Bell Choir- January 2026

Today was handbell Sunday. We hadn't practiced these songs much because we worked so hard on the Christmas songs. But we were granted the gift of everyone reaching deep and doing a pretty good job. Sorry that neither video is framed very well, but the music is the important part.

This is "Song of Joy" by Arnold Sherman



The second song we played was "In the Bleak Midwinter." I'd never heard this until I was an adult and was involved with Methodist groups. It's pretty much a Methodist hymn. The words are a poem by Christina Rosetti, a well-known poet of the mid 1800s.

I've put the words below the video.



1 In the bleak midwinter
frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone:
snow had fallen,
snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter,
long ago.

2 Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign:
in the bleak midwinter
a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

3 Enough for him whom cherubim
worship night and day,
a breastful of milk
and a mangerful of hay:
enough for him
whom angels fall down before,
the ox and ass and camel
which adore.

4 Angels and archangels
may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim
thronged the air,
but only his mother,
in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the Beloved
with a kiss.

5 What can I give him,
poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb,
if I were a wise man
I would do my part,
yet what I can I give him,
give my heart.

I took a walk after church, but the snow is deep and even Cartier Park wasn't plowed. Shopped because we are supposed to get a blizzard tonight and tomorrow, and filled the veggie bin.

Going to bed early. I didn't sleep much last night.

Miles hiked in 2026: 23.4

Cartier Park, Ludington, MI 1.4 miles

See Bell Choir Christmas Part 2

The Second Long NCT Hike - 1995

Everyone seemed to like last night's ancient history post. Since today's news is more snow, I'll just share another early NCT hike.

In 1995, we added my grad school housemate, Mathilda, to our hiking troupe, and decided to check out the western end of the North Country Trail. Prior to that time I'd only driven through North Dakota in the winter, and we had no idea what to expect. Except for the heat, we were delighted!

I'll start at the end. We finished at the western terminus in Lake Sakakawea State Park. There was no lovely sign there at that time, just a small post in the ground.

We were astonished at all the water. I had not previously realized that this was the prairie pothole region and there was lots of water and lots of waterfowl. I've always loved this picture. It just says North Dakota to me. Potholes and headwaters of the Sheyenne River behind us.

We started at the eastern edge of the Lonetree Wildlife Management Area near Harvey, ND, and hiked west. The "Mighty Og" was a privately constructed bit of roadside art that we found hilarious. It's gone now.

I'd love to show you lots of pictures from that hike, but I'll try to limit myself. Almost all the wildflowers were new to me. This is purple prairie clover.

The white pelicans were amazing. They remain one of my favorite birds, although they are so shy I have yet to get a truly decent picture of one.

My scariest night outside, ever, was on that trip as we survived an impressive thunderstorm while completely exposed on a bluff. And we'll never again find ticks problematic. We were covered with them all the time. We had to wipe quantities of them off each other at every stop.

The biggest problem was the relentless heat. It was over 100° many days in a row. If we couldn't find any shade (if we could, it was usually a single tree), we took to setting up our tarp at lunch and taking a snooze. We were super-thankful for the irrigation canal. We continaully wet our shirts and hiked until they dried- under a half hour, and then we did it again. In the evening we swam. It was always there so we had water to filter.

This was the first trip of many where my feet turned to hamburger. It was pretty awful. Mostly I just learned to walk anyway. It took 19 years, and many iterations of attempts to solve this problem, before we figured out that I needed to ditch the boots and use trail runners. The boots kept my feet too hot.

And at the end of these 134 challenging miles, I realized... I wanted to hike the entire NCT.

I had delusions that Chips would be able to do it all with me. Of course, dogs don't live long enough at the rate we were hiking. And his life would be shortened even more. But, to my knowledge, he still hold the record for the canine with the most unique miles on the NCT at about 1200.

Following this hike, I attended my first ever NCTA Conference to see if I wanted to get involved with this organization. Well... I think you know how that turned out.

I edited, did errands, washed dishes, blah blah.

See Allegheny NF- 1994