August 4, 2004

I hiked 13.4 miles today, 6.6 short of my 20 mile goal for the day.  I hiked through mud, boggy ponds, and diseased forests.  The temperatures were cool and the air was crisp to inhale.  The stench from the wet ponds and forest floor was awful!  The biting flies annoyed me all day long as did the mosquitoes.  By 4:30 p.m., I was nauseous from the moldy smell and uncomfortable being covered from mid-calves down in mud.  I had had it!  I got a hitch into Dalton, Massachusetts from a kind woman named June. Bear and I told each other to be safe and we planned to meet in Cheshire on Thursday to begin again as a team. 

At this writing, I am at the Shamrock Inn, preparing for my 10 mile hike into Cheshire tomorrow.  I spoke to my daughter, Britty, and my husband, Bruce.  I am very, very homesick at this point.  I warned them that I will be calling them often. Getting to speak to my family is the highlight of my day.  I also spoke to Britty's pug, Cobie, and she said his ears perked up.  At this point many hikers have quit.  Sometimes, I am jealous.  But...my hike will continue for another 600 plus miles.  I am Walking for Walden from Georgia to Maine. Nobody said this was going to be easy.  I have been hiking the A.T. for exactly four months to date.  It is not easy.