Weekly Ephemera #154

• Last Thursday was the anniversary of 9/11.  My feelings haven't changed since I wrote about it in 2023.  Based on the other news that occurred this week, it feels like our nation isn't getting any closer to regaining its sanity.
• I walked three times this week.  I've kept pushing myself, though I did shorten my third walk this week.  I walked a total of 31.5 miles (50.7 km) which was very satisfying.
• I finished the last three episodes of "Foundation" season 3 today.  Other than that, the Wife and I have found a safe place in the "Great Canadian Baking Show" on the Roku Channel.
• I re-read some of my posts that I'd written in 2006.  My writing sounded so much happier then.  I do not write as much as before.  I do not take as many pictures.  *sigh*

One Year Gone

My Mom passed away a year ago.  It feels like it's been forever.

Mom and I were never really that close.  When I went to college, and then later moved to California for my job, we grew apart.  While we reconnected a bit during the last couple of years of her life, we still were never that close.  I guess that's why I've found it easy to move on after her passing.  I do miss her every now and then when something reminds me of her, but those occasions are fewer and fewer as time goes by.  

Another State In The Rear View ... Another Year Together

If everything is on schedule then today I will leave New Hampshire and enter the state of Maine for the first time.  What a way to celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

HAPPY SILVER ANNIVERSARY!!!

It turns out we probably have only spent half of our anniversaries together.  I always seem to be travelling for work or on the Appalachian Trail.

As for my current progress, I've been trying to get into Maine since at least 2015 when we went on our New England trip.  I'd hoped to get there that trip but time was limited and Maine was dropped from our itinerary.  In 2019 I'd hope to get there on the Appalachian Trail but, once again, I didn't make it, stopping only two days before I would have crossed the border.  Since you are reading this, I think I made it this time.

I only have two more states to visit: North Dakota and Delaware.  Not sure when I will visit this odd pair of states but I think I should put some effort into it.  Maybe during another of our anniversaries.

My Eleventh Caminoversary

Today marks the eleventh anniversary of the start of my first Camino de Santiago.  This journey was the first long hike for me and the inspiration for doing the Appalachian Trail.  I started the journey thinking I would never make it but perseverance proved me wrong and I am better for it.

Along the Camino on the first day.

The Wife has suggested she would like to walk the Camino.  The jury is still out if we walk it together.  I would love to see the Camino through new eyes but I know I may be a drag on her experience.  If I don't walk with her I will likely walk another route, perhaps the Camino del Norte.  That way I won't ruin her experience, I will have my own new adventure, and we will reunite a few days before Santiago de Compostela and we can enter the city together.

Weekly Ephemera #13

Due to the very busy weekend we had last week, there was no Weekly Ephemera post so this one is covering the last two weeks.

• The third of April marked the third anniversary of my second Appalachian Trail (AT) attempt.  I nearly forgot until Google Photos reminded me of what happened five years ago when I started my first attempt.  I still plan to go back and complete it in July but my head really isn't in it yet.  I still need to buy some gear that wore out during my last attempt and make a new more conservative plan to complete the last part of the AT.
• Last weekend, between two concerts, the Wife and I went to Minneapolis to celebrate the wedding of the Wife's niece.  The wedding was nice, matching the niece's personality well, and the reception was fun with good food, drink, and music. Congratulations to Laura and Tony!
  
  I overdid things that weekend either not eating enough or eating too many carbs depending on the day.  Unfortunately something else overindulged that weekend too ... COVID.  At least four cases that I know of so far.  The wife and I haven't got it yet. 🤞
• Last Sunday we had brunch at the MoH and BM's place with a lot of the Wife's family.  It was a fun time with lots of interesting talk.
• Called the Social Security office ... again ... and asked to make an appointment so we could deliver the Marriage Certificate they needed for my Mom's survivor benefits (The first certificate she mailed to them got lost in the mail).  Once again they said appointments were only for emergencies.  *sigh* We explained that my Mom can't live on her current social security check and bill collectors are not patient people.  The nice representative, after hearing about the lost certificate suggested we drive down to the Social Security office and "Slip an envelope with the certificate and a posted note with my Mom's social security number on it under the door".  SMH.  So, we drove down to the office and I slipped an envelope under the door.  I feel so confident with this procedure 🌵.
  
  Fortunately for Mom, she has received acknowledgment of receipt of the certificate so things are moving forward.
• Woke up Thursday to surprise snow.  It wasn't much and it melted off the sidewalks and streets before I got up.  It was all gone by the end of the day.  What was that about March coming in like a lion out as a lamb?  I guess this lamb was cranky.  It wasn't the only weird weather we're having.  This week I walked in sleet.  We are having a real rollercoaster of a spring.
• Talking about walking in sleet, I ended up walking three times over the last two weeks.  I should have done more but my schedule and weather got in the way (I'm starting to run out of excuses for not walking).  I ended up doing 34 miles (54.8 km).

A Year After

 A year ago today I left Imp Shelter and Campsite and hiked off the Appalachian Trail (AT) for the last time.  While I have physically been off the trail for a year part of me is still on the trail.

After my diabetes diagnosis last spring I began walking again hoping diet and exercise would help (they have so far).  On those walks my mind inevitably wanders back to the AT and I begin second guessing all the decisions I made on the trail.  What if?  What if? What if?  It makes it hard for me to enjoy my walks.  

Sunset approaching along the AT.

  Maybe if I put it down in a post I can find a way to move forward.

• I should have started earlier.  Even a week earlier may have made a difference in the long run.  I would have reached Damascus, VA around the time for Trail Days.  I could have experienced this spectacle and it would have placed me, at least for a time, in the Damascus Bubble of hikers leaving the town en masse.  The extra people would have made the hike a more social and less lonely experience.
• I should have continued my food discipline north of Harper's Ferry, WV.  Food discipline while I'm on long hikes is an issue I first experienced on the Camino de Santiago.  In the southern part of the AT I did pretty good eating most of my packed food.  North of Harper's Ferry I began getting lazy.  I didn't eat all my food and I often was too lazy to boil water for my dehydrated meals in the evening.  Several stages I added an extra day while I was on the trail which often forced me to eat four days worth of food over five days.  Poor food discipline may have contributed to my body not recovering near the end.
• I was too fixated on staying in shelters.  I don't remember how many times I put up my tent but I think it was around fourteen times over my one hundred seventy-seven days on the AT.  I would often stop at a shelter early in the afternoon because the next shelter was too far to reach before dark.  What I should have done is stop at the shelter, eat some food, and take a nap before continuing down the trail, stopping a few hours later in a place where I could put up my tent.  I think this would have added two to five miles onto my day thus getting me that much farther down the trail.  This was especially true during the summer when the days were long and daylight was plentiful.

It's this last point that would have made the most difference I think.  Even If I averaged one mile extra per day I would have been over one hundred fifty miles ahead of where I was.  Having an extra couple of weeks might have made the difference.  The only downside is that the trail might have been even more lonely than it was.  *sigh* What if …?

For those who are wondering, I do not have the desire to go back and finish it.  When I made the decision last April it was final.  I just wish I could find a way to get Little Hill out of my head and move on.  Maybe this post will help Little Hill finally get some rest.

Another Year Around The Sun Together

Happy Anniversary to the best Social Distancing partner and world traveling buddy a man could ask for.  Every day I count my blessings that I am yours.

Happy twenty-third anniversary!!!

May our wonderful life together last longer than we can imagine.

My Ninth Caminoversary

While I walked the Appalachian Trail (AT) I often ran into people who had either already hiked the Camino or were planning to do so in the near future.  I had a Camino shell attached to my AT backpack.  One hiker even recognized it and asked me about my Camino.

As I was hiking the first half of the AT I decided that I would like to do a third Camino along the Camino Del Norte route.  I was even a little excited about the idea.

The path of the Camino.

Then the second half of the AT happened.  As I went through New England the desire to do the Camino, or any long hike for that matter, faded ... it faded very quickly.

At this time, the ninth anniversary of the start of my first Camino, I doubt I will ever do the Camino again. But, as the world had reminded us lately, you never know what the future holds.

Sixth (Second) Caminoversary

Today is the sixth anniversary of the end of my second Camino.  The Camino was talked about often on the Appalachian Trail.  Everyone seemed to either know about it, wanted to do it someday, or had already done it.  All I can say is the Appalachian Trail is a totally different animal from the Camino.

Fisterra sunset in the clouds.

Appalachian Trail: Harper's Ferry, WV To Duncannon, PA

🐻 x 6

UPDATED 11-14-2020

This felt like a long time between zero days.  The heat and humidity has become my kryptonite.  They make each day seem that much longer.  I eat less even though I should be eating more.  My discipline is slipping and I am bending, if not breaking, rules I have set for myself.  That is where I am as I push my way through Pennsylvania.

This stage got me half way to Maine, past the 1,100 mile mark, and through another state.  I skipped an ice cream challenge but for once skipping ice cream was the smart thing to do.

The War Correspondents memorial.

Day 100 - I gave the Wife an anniversary kiss and left Harper's Ferry.  You cross the Potomac river on a footbridge that also marks the West Virginia - Maryland border.  I didn't see a sign and a Canadian thru-hiker named Fastball actually back tracked a few miles to find the non-existent sign.  After the bridge the trail follows the Potomac before heading into the mountains.

I stopped for water at Gathland State Park with its empty grave and a large War Correspondents memorial.

I did a 15.4 mile (24.8 km) to a shelter where I met new people like High Pockets, Scribbles, and Lone Bear.

It was starting to heat up and the humidity was high making the day tough.

Day 101 - This was a day full of history or at least it felt like it.  It started with the early morning encounter with a memorial for two dead generals - one Union and one Confederate.  The Union memorial was bigger and fancier than the Confederate one.

I passed a nice campsite where I topped off my water before flinging my glasses into the weeds.  I'd walked into a spider's web, had a spider hanging from my hat, and I whipped off the hat to throw off the spider.  My hat strap must have caught my glasses and flung them off my face.  It took me a few minutes to guess the trajectory of the glasses and find them in the weeds along the trail.

By the way, that is one of the jobs of the early riser.  Spiders weave webs across the trail during the night and early risers clear them as they hike.  It was a sucky job that didn't end until you met someone going the other way.  At these meetings you always thanked the southbounder for clearing out the rest of the trail for you.

Past the campsite was a nice restaurant that, sadly, was not open for breakfast.  Across from that was a nice chapel and historical plaques describing local civil war battles.

The Washington Monument.

Not far past there was the first monument to George Washington completed.  The trail passes right by it.  I climbed the squat tower and took in the view and cooling breeze.

The breeze didn't last long and the humidity and heat were back.  I did about the same distance as the day before but it felt harder.

Day 102 - This was going to be one of several long days ahead for me.  The terrain wasn't terrible and the humidity had dropped so it wasn't going to be too hard.

Entering the North and Pennsylvania - the Mason - Dixon line.

One minor highlight was High Rock with its view and high school graffiti.  Another bigger highlight was the Pen-Mar park and the crossing of the Mason - Dixon line.  I crossed into the North and left another state behind.  I was now in Pennsylvania or, as hikers like to call it, Rocksylvania.  The rocks on the trail would be getting worse as I headed North.

At the end of the 18.1 mile (29.1 km) day I ended in Tumbling Run Shelters which have a snoring and non-snoring shelters.  The one thing that made this place special was the privy which actually had toilet paper.  The lower humidity made this day easier than the prior fifteen mile days.

Day 103 - Another long day with lower humidity.

The first target of the day was the concession stand at the Caledonia State Park pool.  Unfortunately it was not open because they couldn't find a company to run it.  A nearby restaurant was also closed permanently.  A few hikers were depending on those places for food.  Fortunately I wasn't but they would have been a nice treat.

I made a brief rest stop at the Quarry Gap Shelter.  It was a great place.  A couple guys were doing maintenance.  There were flowers and benches. The porch swing would have been nice to rest in but I had more miles to do.

I reached the Birch Run Shelter at 19.6 miles (31.5 km) and was a bit tired.  I met Executioner here (Someone had seen her with her bug net on and told her she was either Executioner or Lunch Lady … She chose wisely).  She discovered a Timber Rattler on the way to the privy.  We all started to take alternate routes to the privy.

Day 104 - Finally a short day.  I hiked a quick 9.8 miles (15.8 km) to Pine Grove Furnace State Park.   On the way I passed several markers for the Appalachian Trail (AT) mid point.  The AT varies in length due to detours and additions so the mid point changes every now and then.  If I were them I would make a portable marker and just move it when necessary.

Half Way Baby!!!

At the park general store they hold an ice cream eating challenge called the half gallon challenge.  It's kind of hokey since you have to pay for the ice cream and all you get if you complete it is a wooden ice cream spoon.  I'd planned to do it for many years but over the past few days I convinced myself that getting sick eating ice cream wasn't worth it.  Instead I watched Baby, Storm Chaser, Fish, Salamander, and Little Debbie compete instead.  Baby threw up but the others completed the challenge.  I ate a pint of cookie dough ice cream and was quite satisfied.  Storm Chaser completed his and then continued hiking - not sure how that turned out.

Hey!  A view!

Red Bush and Choo Choo showed up.  They'd gotten here the day before and spent the night.  I spent some time with them before they hiked on.

I stayed at the Ironmasters Mansion Hostel and visited the nearby AT Museum.  The hostel was part of the underground railroad.  There was a lot of history here.

I actually saw some stars here before I went to bed.  This had been a relaxing day with trail friends and it felt … nice.

Day 105 - The humidity returned as I left the state park.  In the guide book the terrain looks easy but I always struggle on the ascents.  I stop so many times while climbing hills.  It doesn't matter how little the hills are.

The small highlight of the day was a couple of rock mazes the trail has you crawl through - a sign of things to come in Rocksylvania.

Climbing through the rock mazes.

I reached Alec Kennedy Shelter which was my target for the day.  That is it was until I started thinking about the next town only four miles ahead.  I took a short nap at the shelter and woke up determined to go to Boiling Springs, PA.  I was hoping to catch up to Red Bush and Choo Choo.  This was a violation of one of my rules: never push to catch up with someone.  Pushing hard always leads to injury.

I left the shelter and started over the last small hill.  No more than fifteen minutes had passed and I heard thunder.  I reached the top of Center Point knob the original mid point of the AT.  As I started down the knob the skies opened up and it poured rain.

The trail comes out by a corn field and follows fence lines until you arrive at the backpacker's campsite just outside of town.  I called a few B&Bs but they were either full or no longer open and there wasn't a hotel or hostel in this nice little town.

While I was in Boiling Springs there was always fog on the lake.

I put up my tent and walked into town for dinner.  I ran into Little Debbie and The Goat at the bar.  They were in the one town B&B.  I ate a very slowly delivered pasta carbonara before I headed back to my tent.  Oh, did I mention that the train tracks pass twenty feet from the campsite?  Trains are very loud when they are that close.  Fortunately the last one I remember was at 10:40pm.  Apparently I slept through one around 3:30am.  I guess I was tired.

Oh yeah,  Red Bush and Choo Choo had taken an Uber to a hotel in a nearby town so my push just got me wet.  Live and learn.

Day 106 - The 5:00am train woke me up.  I must of been tired since I got a pretty good night's sleep.  I got up, packed up my tent, and headed back into town.  I bought some minor resupply at a convenience store before hiking on.

Am I hiking Pennsylvania or Iowa?

This was by far the flattest part of the AT I've been on.  It was also the most exposed with walks along roads, fence lines, and across pastures.  This was a relatively short day on easy terrain and my butt was kicked.

Our first Appalachian Trail tunnel.

I ended the 14.7 mile (23.7 km) day at the Darlington Shelter with its Taj Mahal privy.  It was nice but not that nice.

Days 107, 108 & 109 - It had rained overnight and it was drizzling when I left the shelter.  It started to pour shortly after.  I met Mojo and her dog Stella Grace.

I arrived in Duncannon, PA soaking wet.  This was becoming a bad habit.  I'd entered the last three towns soaking wet.  I checked into the Doyle hotel.  This place is very interesting.  Opened in 1909 it has hardly been upgraded.  The food in the restaurant is excellent.  It costs $25 a night.  It has no air conditioning.

I was already planning a zero day in Duncannon.  The forecast pushed me to take another day.  They had heat indexes over 100℉ (38℃) forecasted.  I hate weather delays.  I always wonder if I'm being too cautious.  I do know that once again I caught up with people I like and once again I am going to be behind with a new group of strangers.

Speaking of which, turns out Red Bush and Choo Choo were in Duncannon while I was there.  They were staying an a church basement hostel.  Unfortunately we never crossed paths.  Also Red Bush ended up quitting here due to stress fractures in his foot.  I wish I could have said goodbye.

I did meet a new hiker here named Ruckus.  He was a crazy guy.  He "brought the ruckus to the Appalachian trail."  When I met him he had just arrived from the trail in a linen sun dress and a flowered floppy gardening hat.  He'd picked up the dress in a hostel from the hiker box and he loved how it kept him cool in the summer heat.  (Sadly the dress would not survive, tearing when he took it off after a particularly sweaty day.)

When I restart on Sunday it will be hot, humid, water will be scarce, and they say the rocks make an appearance in earnest.  And still I will hike on.

Pictures can be found in my 2019 Appalachian Trail Google Photos album.

Total Distance: 1,149.0 Miles (1,849.1 km) Section Distance: 128.4 Miles (206.6 km) Section Elevation Up: 18,433 ft (5,618 m) Section Elevation Down: 19,049 ft (5,806 m)

The Fifth Anniversary Of A Wonderful Ending

This is the fifth anniversary of the end of my second Camino.  Five years ago G_v and I arrived in Fisterra and left our footprints in the sand before watching the Sun set over the Atlantic Ocean.  A day of wonderful, and melancholy, memories.

The end of our second Camino on the beach near Fisterra.

My Seven Year Caminoversary

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the beginning of my first Camino.  In 2011, on a damp day, I left St Jean Pied de Port, France and crossed the pyrenees mountains on one of the most important adventures of my life.

A shelter in the mist.

I had no idea how this trek would change me.  I gained a confidence and a sense of well being that I'd never had before.

I've lost some ground in the last year or two but I will never forget all that I gained on the road to Santiago de Compostela.

Anniversary Dinner Theater

For our twentieth anniversary, the Wife and I went out to eat in an ... interesting ... restaurant.

A raccoon soaking its front paws in a cool wading pool.

The Alpine Inn is a bar with food located north of the Florence area of Omaha.  It sits along a road that climbs through the woods in the rather beautiful Ponca Hills.  The Alpine Inn's claim to fame is not it's food but rather its unusual entertainment.  The restaurant feeds its scraps to raccoons.  As you eat you can watch the raccoons lounge around and take dips in the wading pool right outside the dining area.

We were concerned that the high temperatures we've been experiencing (95℉ - 35℃) would keep the raccoons away like it did with the Carlsbad's bats but the pool was just an irresistible draw for them.

The ambiance of the restaurant is shabby dive bar which is perfectly fine for us.  It had a quirky, biker bar, run down, yet comfortable feel to it with a friendly staff.

The menu is limited but is predominantly fried chicken-centric.  The Wife and I had the chicken dinner which consisted in a more than generous portion of fried chicken and potato wedges.  No silverware was provided which fits the place perfectly.  If you can't eat with your hands then why are you here?

Overall it was an experience full of good food and good nature filled entertainment.

Twenty Years ... Like A Blink Of The Eye

Happy twentieth wedding anniversary to the Wife.  You filled the last twenty years with love, happiness, and laughter and it went by, like all good things, in a blink of the eye.

Who knows what the next twenty will bring but I know it will be full of joy, wonder, and sunshine.

My Sixth Caminoversary

Today is the sixth anniversary of the start of my first Camino.  This was the view at 8:27 am soon after I left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France.

The start of my first Camino.

It was the first of many beautiful vistas along the way to spiritual healing along the Camino.

A Reasonable Facsimile Of Normality

A few weeks ago I hinted that I was getting back to my routine after being on vacation for a couple of weeks.  That isn't really true.

I have been out of my routine for a few months now.  RAGBRAI training has bitten three to four hour chunks every few days since early spring.  With the arrival of summer, a season I regard as the great routine killer, vacations, family reunions, school breaks, and other activities associated with June, July, and August leave the shredded remains of routine strewn around in their wake.  With the quickening approach of RAGBRAI and my RMNP camping trip soon after, the few remaining fragments of my routine have been thoroughly ground into dust.

I am a man who likes his routine.  I gain comfort from the well worn schedule.  This summer (and a bit of the spring thanks to RAGBRAI) has been a bit discomforting to me.  I think that is what has been driving my funk for the last few months.

So today.  Today, a day when I should have been riding my bike, I spent my day deeply ensconced in my normal Saturday routine.  I had a relaxing morning and read my book while I did laundry in the afternoon.  The remainder of my time will be dedicated to blog post editing and chillin'

The day's routine had not been exactly normal.  I am fur baby sitting the Wife's niece's dog, Cooper.  Both Cooper and Iago have been behaving themselves so the routine has not been disrupted very much, if at all.  Also, the Wife would normally be here but she is spending the weekend at her Parents' lake house.  In a way you could argue that this is actually part of a bigger routine.  Why?  Today is out eighteenth wedding anniversary (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the WIFE) and it has become rather routine that we are not together on our anniversary.  I haven't really kept close track but I think we could count the number of anniversaries we spent together on one or one and a half hands.  (The anniversary is sort of connected to my birthday in that we also tend to celebrate it apart - this year I will be on RAGBRAI on my birthday.)

Despite these minor differences, I've managed to put together a reasonable facsimile of my normal routine and, while it hasn't done anything to get me ready for RAGBRAI or my camping trip, I think it's done wonders for my sanity.

To The Wife ...

To the Wife, at Fort Robinson learning about the Plains Indians:

Happy Anniversary!!!

I can't wait to see what the next year will bring and the places we shall go.

Happy Anniversary To ... US!!!

We've been pretty hit and miss when it comes to spending our wedding anniversary together.  The Wife is usually at some workshop or seminar working on her professional development.  This year she returns home on our anniversary (today) and we will celebrate by going to the roller derby (How else woulds you celebrate your 12th?).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY To ... US!!!

The coming week should be fun too as the "J" is coming to visit.

Happy Anniversary!!!!

It's our wedding anniversary (#11) today. This year we managed to be in the same state, WOO HOO!!

One Year Anniversary

Wow, the one year anniversary of Homer’s Travels came so fast that I missed it. Homer’s Travels is now 1 year and 2 days old. I started this blog to let our family and friends know what we are up to and it is serving that purpose well. Over the last year a general theme has emerged. One that actually jives with the name – Travel, Hiking, and Geocaching. A few observations:

• My writing hasn't changed much. I wish I could say that my writing has improved. I was hoping that after 226 posts my writing would have improved. When I am writing I always feel that my writing sucks but over the past few weeks I have been re-reading my old posts and some of them aren't half bad if you ignore the spelling and grammar errors. The wife says that my writing has a voice and that it sounds like me. I guess it does. I tend to write as I think which is often how I speak – though I often speak without thinking, something I am trying to improve upon. I have found that leaving a little time between the event and writing about it improves the writing but not the recollection – a trade off.


• My posts are longer then I expected. I figured my post would all be short but I always seem to have stuff to write. I guess there's nothing wrong with this.


• It is getting harder to come up with things to post about. I try not to make posting a chore and it usually isn’t but there are times I feel pressure to post something and nothing comes to mind. This can be a frustrating. I have averaged about 17 posts per month based mostly on my hikes which guarantees at least one post per week, and our weekend outings which come in fits and spurts. I have posted about all our past vacations and our next vacation is several months away. My 1995 roadtrip will take about 14 or 15 posts to complete. We have a few more California Missions to visit. We have at least one concert in October. I'm sure something will come along to post about.


• Some of my best posts are not about Travel, Hiking, or Geocaching. Some of my best posts, in my opinion, are shorter then my average post and rarely have anything to do with travel, hiking, or geocaching. They are also some of the harder posts to write.
  

I shouldn’t feel bad I guess since most blogs don’t survive a month. I've done a lot better then I expected to do.