July 4th Burt Hill Forest Lean-To

July 4 Sun
12-mile day, 10 years ago today I was hiking the AT, came into a parking lot where people were picnicking. A family was eating before they went out on their boat to watch the local fireworks. They fed me and sent food along with me to that night's shelter. Tonight, I am alone at a shelter, made my own fireworks i.e. a fire in the fire pit.

What do people miss when they drive by with their windows closed both on the highway or back roads? tracks of deer, fawns, turkey, raccoon, possum, bear, bees in the flowers, butterflies in the flowers, all the little flowers and mushrooms, horse prints, and ant tugging something back to the nest, a fox, and eagle, squirrel, Sounds of birds, wind, frogs, bees, flies, mosquitoes, chipmunk squeals, the call of a raven or crow.

Something you can count on: if a none hiker says, "oh, it is only 1/2 mile down the road", you know it is at least 1 1/2 miles down the road.

There were several warnings around the shelter about bears being in the area i.e. hang your food bag high in the tree. I am in the Burt Hill Forest Shelter this evening, one of the few over the last 100 miles. There is no cell phone service for Verizon in this location, so "I can not hear me (others) now."