Dear Bloggers,

I am writing this entry with a crumbling piece of charcoal found on the ground by a fire pit. I stare at 50 black flies as they suck water off of my discarded shoes, in a third world sort of way. On both sides of the bench are my damp belongings strewn about as if I were homeless and I was claiming this as my house. Across the pond is a family fishing, staring at me, probably just confused by the person bundled in plaid and scribbling with this microscopic pen. I am happily and comfortably waiting for my chariot to come back and take me out to lunch.

Yesterday at about 5:00, Johnson and I decide to ride a modest 16 miles to Penn Roosevelt State Park for a S24hr. overnight. My PMSing was making me ultra tired but I agreed to go at the last minute. It was a partly cloudy day with little wind, 70 degrees, perfect conditions for a pedal.

Yada, yada, yada, we rode for miles and miles and then…As we began to ascend up the mountain for the last 5 miles of our journey we heard the sound of a train. The train was a very fast moving thunderstorm. There was no time to take cover under our rain jackets. Instead, the wall of painful precipitation filled our shoes and saturated every article of a clothing I brought! Oh well, Johnson lent me his green wool t-shirt that was speckled with mud. I looked like a content speckled toad.

We had dinner before the ride so setting up camp was easy. The rain slowed to a dribble, then stopped entirely so we checked out the “lake” which was really a pond. From the top of the dam we were able to roll on a flat and warm concrete structure wicking off the excess moisture from out bodies. This was conducted in a dog-like fashion, all slobbering and barking aside.

As darkness fell we unsuccessfully started a fire. Instead of telling ghost stories we slipped into the tent with books and magazines and tried to get comfortable. By “tried” I mean tried for three hours before I fell asleep from the boredom of trying. I’ve never before had a more awkward sleeping position in all my wilderness sleeping experiences. That being said, I did wake up well rested and refreshed. Alas, even after a huge bowl of oatmeal I sent Ben Hur to get the chariot. Next time I’ll try a to and fro. Hope this fulfills the Johnson’s quota of entries for a bit.

Love,
Mel