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Journal
| About Downunda | Trail
Facts | Hiking the Trail |
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16th June 2002 From:
Clark's Ferry Bridge We had a steep climb out of the valley, and as the first shelter is only three miles out, we didn't carry much water to keep our pack weights low. Unfortunately, neither 'Réal' nor myself saw the track to the shelter and we must have sailed right on by. When we realized our error we were concerned as the next water was nine miles on, but we didn't want to backtrack. As it turned out, luck was on our side, for about three miles on, just past a minor road, a trail angel had left a cooler full of ice and some coke. There was only one coke left, so we split it, however, we poured the ice water from the cooler into our bottles, and we were set until we reached the next spring. Quite a few sections of the trail were strewn with rocks and boulders. A south bounder told us this is just the start, as it gets much worse all the way through New Jersey. It's the small rocks that knock your feet around, as there are so many you can't step around them. When the rocks are larger, one can select the flattest rocks to hop from and to. My feet are really sore tonight as I have a few blisters on my toes. I think this was caused when my feet got soaked two days ago. We're camped by a nice stream, which appears to have quite a few fish. As I was setting up my tent, I heard them jumping out of the water. Some time later, a fly fisherman waded up the stream and caught a trout just across from me (he later released it). The mosquitoes are really bad today. As soon as you stop walking, they dive on you. I found that after setting up camp, the only way to minimize their impact was to put my rain suit on, and then I only had to worry about my hands and face. The repellant I'm using is only marginally effective. That's all the news for today, goodnight all.
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