July 28th, Ludlow Lean-To

July 28 Wed, Ludlow Lean-To 40 days out

During my hike today, I made a wrong interpretation of the guide map and ended up going in a circle for a while. I did get to Bowman St. Park ok. I sat at a deserted swimming area and had my 12-noon break. While sitting there, I saw a mature Bald Eagle flying/circling around the lake. The timing was right to see the eagle, so my misreading actually turned out to be ok. There is a lesson embedded in this experience. I got to the shelter at 3:30 pm this afternoon. I usually want to hike to 5 0r 6 pm. The shelter had a fire pit with some smoldering ashes and several pools of water in the ravine. The pools had been made by people placing piles of rocks across the stream to back up the water. The sky was clear, the weather mild, good hiking conditions. I knew I could make another 2-3 miles and still have time to set up camp. The fireplace had a wooden double chair in front of it. The shelter was reasonably clean. I decided to stay, reminding myself that I did not have to rush my hike and to rest my body often. I filtered my water and washed up in the pool. I am getting into the habit of washing up in the creeks and streams whenever there is one nearby my camp. I find that always being alone during the hike and at my camp be it shelter or campsite, I walk around with fewer clothes on than I normally would be doing. I made a fire in the fireplace and dried all my clothes. I do prefer dry clothes in the morning, though more often than not, the clothes are at least damp and cool or wet and cold. The trick to drying clothes by a campfire I learned while working for SPRITE in Oregon, Wis. in the early 80's (it was a 4 season outdoor program for adjudicated youth). I continue to be in a Verizon Dead Zone i.e. no verizon service. Ate dinner at 7:00 pm my preferred time to avoid being hungry during the night. I heard a tree fall in the woods this evening -- yes there is sound in the forest when a tree falls !!