Second time around on my trip from Smithfield to Dingman’s Ferry along the McDade Trail. On the first run, my friend John got a flat and I really wasn’t ready to be riding yet.  I was still adjusting to my thyroid medication.  First too little then too much.  I was riding on too much and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. So. I did it again. This time was a winner.

Some of you may remember the Tock’s Island Project. The Delaware was to be dammed just above the Water Gap to create a 45 mile long lake.  All the residents in the valley were relocated.  Some of the families had been farming this rich soil for over two hundred years! Horror.  It was a horror. Then the project was scrapped!  Can you believe it? So the land became a National Park. This is one of the few remaining farm houses.  Most were bulldozed to the ground.  Tragic it was.  Progress.  Well, I do love the park…

I got a sandwich at the Bushkill Deli, had half and went on my way. I had completed the worst of the trip.  A very hilly gravel section. My bike was heavy.  I had to walk it up the hiills and down some of them for fear of losing control on the steep declines. There was no hurry. It actually made the trip more interesting.

Had a nice chat with a 75 year old Hungarian.  He was so full of life! He comes over a few times a week, jumps into his kayak and paddles up stream until he is tired and then floats back. “No way I’m using that shuttle!” “Going down stream is boring,” he said.  He told me a story about a 500 mile walk he did in Spain, I think. He kept saying I should watch the movie, “The Way” with Martin Sheen. “That’s about the walk I did!  You must see it!  Martin Sheen.” I will…

This picture does not do these little guys justice.  They were bright orange!  Looked tasty. I figured they were poisonous, so I left them be.

The light at the end of the tunnel.  This felt like the driveway to an old estate.  Maybe.

My campsite…  Number 121, a Riverview site.  Same as the last time!

 

Big Agnes is ready for the oncoming rain and it came.  Nearly 12 hours of it and I stayed dry! I read most of “A Walk In The Woods,” by Bill Bryson.  What a book. Delicious reading.  Couldn’t put it down. Hysterical and informative and heart warming. What else does a book need?

I was actually letting the rain rince the pee out of this cup.  Sorry, TMO, I know.

And then I cooked breakfast in it!  Ha. I love my little alcohol stove.

Hmmm.  Forgot I had this picture here.  Well, you already know how I feel about this gem.  Maybe you saw the movie with Robert Redford and Nick Nolty.  Perfect casting.  Book was way better.

A lovely morning moon…clear skies finally!

My soggy bike.  At least 5 more pounds of water for the return trip I carried.

Back on the trail at 0715.  Beautiful mist over the soy field. Everything looks better in the morning. 

Bushkill access…gateway to the hilly section.

Beautiful trail section but it was just up.

One mile to go.  The hills finished so I stopped to have a seat on one of the new benches they just installed. I was tired and a little wonky.  I got on my bike and turned to the trail and for the life of me, I didn’t know which way to go! Then I remembered the river was behind me so I went down stream. It is so easy to get disorientated.  So easy.  This was a simple trail and very easy to follow and I made two wrong moves.  I am not ever going to hike alone for a long distance.  Just a few yards off any trail can get you lost.  Serious business this is. 

I respect the woods now the way I have always respected the ocean.  I have been a surfer all my life.  I am surfing tomorrow. Twice, I have been close to drowning. Even when you do everything right a wrong thing can happen. My life is precious and way too short.  And the people in my life are very important to me. Safety First Always.

Tomorrow night I am camping ay Sandy Hook! I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight! I have never surfed and then camped.  Camping at Sandy Hook! I love Sandy Hook.  🙂