I’m flying to Boston today and planning to catch a ride with my brother Tim to Unionville NY tomorrow. I’ve been busy preparing for this next section – anticipating warmer weather, more bugs.

I dried a whole lot of fruit and vegetables for the next few weeks:

The thought of being able to see the NYC skyline in a few days is intriguing. I’m very curious to see how the trail designers negotiated this part of the journey.

The fact that we have undeveloped and protected public lands that continue for over 2000 miles near some of the most densely populated areas of the US is impressive.

I read this interesting article on the plane:

While hiking the southern Appalachians I met several Germans who noted that  the US is known for its efforts to manage public lands as wilderness (Thanks, Teddy R!). This article reminds us how fragile the support is for that protection.

I am so thankful to be able walk in the wilderness once again.

J