Training Regiment Report

On Wednesday I hiked around my trails here for 45 minutes with 42 pounds. That is about the max weight we will each be carrying when we have full food rations and all water bottles full.

Yesterday I just did a quickie loop for Maggie with 37 pounds because then Om and I went on a bike ride- only about 8 miles, but it feels good.

Today I left home with Maggie on a leash and 45 pounds in my pack. I returned 1 hour 15 minutes later with 47.5 pounds. We walked the Scottville bypass, and I picked up 2.5 pounds of aluminum cans! So that's about 3 miles. I didn't break any speed records, but I did bend down to get all those cans. It was also pretty hot- about 80 degrees. That's good, because I always need to work myself into hiking when it's hot. It was long enough, but not so bad that I felt in pain or broken down when I got home. If I can keep up this sort of thing, I should be ready for August.

On a more artistic note, there have been some nice treats just around the house. I've found scarlet cup fungus, and yellow patches fungus for spots of color. Yesterday I found a live cicada that is somehow out of rhythm with the rest of his population. He (she?) was big and lovely with bright aqua patches where the wings met the body. I've never seen one with any color at all. I picked it up in hopes of corralling it while I got the camera, but it decided to fly away, buzzing in that odd cicada way. The wren is still hanging out trying to find a new lady love, and a cardinal is around too, nesting in the apple I think. A flicker is working hard to enlarge to hollow space that the bluebirds nested in this spring, so it won't be the right size for the bluebirds next spring. The deer and turkeys wander through the yard, and the moles and ground squirrels wander under the yard.

Got a call today from a reporter at the Grand Rapids Press. They want to do an article on my NCT hikes. The interview will be July 24th. Don't know when the article will run.

Yelping from the Sky

Today, while Maggie jogged and I skied, I heard a strange yelping from the north, and realized that it was not only moving, but that it was high overhead. I looked up to see a long arrow of Tundra Swans gliding to the south. The sky was blue with patches of high white clouds. But the birds were low, pure white except for black beaks and backward extended legs and feet. These swans fly with their necks straight out, making precise crosses in the air. They were only visible and audible for a few seconds, but they made my whole day memorable.