Ridin' Solo

This hike of mine has gone from all the company I could ever want in the South, to times where I camp alone in the North.  The attrition rate has certainly taken its toll and the further I move North, there are less thru hikers.   It's that simple.  I camped alone last night and it wasn't the first time, either.  I don't really mind it and, in fact, I pride myself on my independence from other people.  But there are times where I do get lonely...
I've come to the conclusion that I'm often between "bubbles" of hikers.  Since I have many friends on the trail ahead of me and behind me, I am aware of their location most of the time via their shelter register entries.   Most hikers will roll as a group, often hiking together... in a single line formation. But I don't want to be dependent of a group.   If I'm around some of my friends, fine.  If not, fine as well.
I don't mind hiking solo because it's hard to find someone that exactly matches my hiking pace and I don't feel like looking at someone's calf muscles all day.  Or hearing steady footsteps behind me.

Another issue I wanted to write about is WATER!

Water is a necessity out here!  It's been so hot and humid with temperatures in the 90s and due to surpass 100 in the next few days.  Unfortunately, (good) water is hard to come by.  The streams in NJ and NY were a black/red color.. mmm.. yummy...   The piped springs that were so abundant in the South have disappeared all together up here.  In NY, there are some water pumps along the trail.  However, the water that comes out, after you manually pump for a good while, is a solid brown / rust color and smells of sulfur.  Also, nowadays, my guide books lists "swampy areas" and meager streams (which sometimes don't exist because they're dried up) as water sources.
The people of NY were so kind.  I lost count of how many times trail angels left fresh water in numerous gallon jugs at road crossings and, sometimes, not even near road crossings.  They don't have to do that but the fact that they did made me emotional at some points...   Trail angels know that hiking in this heat without good water is virtually impossible and potentially a very serious health concern.   If it wasn't gallon jugs at road crossings, it was private residences and businesses close to the trail that would allow hikers to retrieve water from their outside spigots.   Sometimes, when I would be retrieving water from an outside spigot, I would get asked "how do you do it...?!  I can't even imagine..."  I reply with "I just... do."

Yep, I just do.

So, with that update, I'm eating what remains of this chicken salad sandwich and then hitting the trail again!  Peace! ;-)