Wild Adaptation

 

Miller's General Store in Blackwell hosts an Air B&B apartment downstairs - a lovely place to rest up!

We'd hiked 12 miles, just two days in. I checked Amos' paws that evening as I frequently do when we are on a long trek and found an abrasion on his right front paw. We'd cover this distance at home under normal circumstances on our daily runs and treks. I was concerned but not too concerned. He hadn't shown any discomfort. I smeared some ointment on it and hoped it would look better in the morning. 

We'd hiked a rough trail that day, following the North Link Trail, connecting us from the Susquehannock Trail to the Black Forest Trail in Tiadaghton State Forest. The North Link Trail is little traveled, nor meticulously maintained. The signage alone told this story.

Entrance to the North Link Trail - notice the tilted sign half-missing on the lefthand side

Still, this isn't my first rodeo nor Amos'. The trail started out surprisingly lovely, following an old railroad grade. We wound around the edge of a mountain with views of the sky through towering trees as the embankment dropped below us. However, after a few miles, we hit the bramble. And we walked off the map. Thorns ripped at my arms as I led the way, Amos ducked his head behind me. We met four women out for a hike who desperately wanted to know how much farther the bramble would continue. I told them it had just begun, which could only mean I had a long way to go till we were through it. 

Before the bramble, Amos in the lead

When we reached the other side, I was flustered but thought little of it. Then I looked at my arms, streaked with blood, my legs sliced to the thigh. I checked Amos over, he looked fine save for a twig or two in his harness. I sorted out just where we were, and we carried on. The late afternoon was hot and sunny, and I wondered once more at the cold weather gear that weighed in my pack. Next, we traversed a path rutted with deep hardened tracks from horses that had passed through in wetter conditions than todays. My feet slid this way and that, and Amos' did too. Perhaps these conditions contributed to his sore foot? Or perhaps he was already vulnerable given his skin sensitivities we'd been battling since last autumn? On last year's hike, I packed a can of antifungal mousse to resolve an infection. 

Beehive Spring on the North Link Trail

We camped that night not far from Beehive Spring, just a couple miles from the end of the North Link Trail. I pitched our tent on a bed of moss. Coyotes howled in the distance. Amos snored lightly. In the morning, I inspected his foot, it looked better. I decided to keep an eye on it and take a look again at a major road crossing at the start of our miles on the Black Forest Trail. If we had to we could hitch off the trail there.

The Black Forest Trail

Stepping onto the Black Forest Trail was like stepping into a dream. The path was a bed of softy rusty needles. Towering pines and birch saplings lined our path. Great big boulders sat sentinel in the woods. We crossed a quiet creek one, two times, I lost count, on rusted metal bridges. We stopped at the first camp available. I checked Amos' feet. Still good. I sat about and ate lunch while Amos tugged at his tie-out, ready to keep going! So onward we did. Two miles later, we found an equally lovely camp, this one high atop the ridge overlooking mountains painted for autumn. 

View from camp

Camp on the Black Forest Trail

I checked Amos' foot. It looked angry. A short day or not, we would stop. I purposely had carried an ungodly amount of water in case we needed to stop at any moment. That night the foot grew angrier. Amos limped a bit as he wandered from his snoozing spot beneath a tree into the tent. I shot an email to the vet. Of course it was a Sunday. I laid in our tent, gazing at our boy, so thankful to have him with me on this journey and wondering just how this injury had erupted. I had loose plans to meet up with Pete Fleszar, PAW Mega Loop Committee member, just one of his many roles in the hiking community. I've known Pete since back in my Finger Lakes Trail days, and then again when I hiked the Mid State Trail (Pete is Regional Manager of the Tioga Chapter) and we have remained connected throughout the years through our shared appreciation for the trails. I texted him and asked if he might be able to give us a lift from the nearest road. Amos needed a break. He responded instantly, even offering to retrieve us that night. Amos was already tucked in, as was I, and 2.5 miles from the nearest road. We made plans to meet the next day around noon.

The vista from Francis Road, where we awaited our pickup

Pete Fleszar to the rescue! A great big thank you, Pete!!

We sat on the side of gravel Francis Road, admiring what was probably the most epic view we'd seen yet. Amos pulled on his leash, whining to keep hiking. I assured him, he needed a break, even if he didn't think he did. I worried about him and how we'd resolve this sore spot. I wondered just how we might get back to this point on the trail. I wondered if we might have to alter our plans. I wondered how after just three days of hiking, only 18 miles in, we found ourselves here awaiting a lift back to our car. Amos has hiked hundreds of miles on long-distance trails with me. He's hiked the 330-mile Mid State Trail, the 250-mile Tuscarora Trail, 200 miles last fall in these very same PA mountains, Florida's Blackwater Trail, and trail runs and hikes daily with me. But hey, seasoned or not, sometimes you start a trail and you still get a blister on day one. I guess it was Amos' turn. So now, we rest.

Pine Creek in Blackwell, Pa

We lazed about Cross Fork, took a night at a lean-to on the Susquehannock Trail, and decided to still make use of the luxurious accommodations at Miller's General Store's Air B&B (see photo at top of post). If you're hiking through (or biking on the nearby Pine Creek Rail Trail) absolutely book a night at their apartment below the store. It is clean and quaint and funky. I would happily move in here. And even Amos, after some anxiety, decided it was quite fine. There's a covered porch overlooking a large lawn that stretches all the way to Pine Creek. Say hi to Anne and Ruth Anne (Ruth, whom I remembered meeting when I hiked through here on the Mid State Trail) are welcoming as can be and love pups. 

Amos on the Pine Creek Rail Trail (he still insists on short easy walks while we're resting)

And so, it hasn't been all bad taking some time of the trail. And Amos has good timing - it's been raining for days. We've downed some good grub, enjoyed driving these windy mountain roads speckled with cabins and creeks and barns and pastures that climb up hillsides, laid on a ridge watching the treetops dance in the wind and been lulled to sleep by rain hard as nails on a tin roof. I'm not quite sure where our path leads us next. It's up to Amos. But if there's one thing all these years of long-distance hiking have taught me, it's less about powering through and more about adaptation. You can power all you want, but if you do, in the end the mountain will conquer you. Remain wild. Adjust and adapt as all the other creatures do, despite your expertly crafted human plans. Open to the moment, who knows what it may have in store for you. 

Oh, and I must share some images from our first day on the trail, after our long climb up from Ole Bull State Park. Our first night was a spooky one! STAY TUNED to see where our path leads us next.

Spook Hollow on the Susquehannock Trail. Sign reads: Keep to the center of the trail. Stay within sight of companions. Refrain from looking back. DO NOT TRY TO RUN.

Spook Hollow Shelter 

The STS shelters are by far the most lovingly maintained shelters I have ever encountered. Each one is complete with decorative touches, which sometimes includes a battery-operated candle and calendar lawn chairs or picnic table, and often jugs of fresh water

A not-so-spooky vista from the ridge atop Ole Bull