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This was my first backpacking trip ever. We started out friday late afternoon after Ivan dropped us off out
our starting point. Friday went by smoothly. We stopped at the lean-to. We made a fire and had tea
and yummies and slept in the Leanto. I could not sleep at first with Albert snoring right next to my ear
but eventually I got used to it and passed out. Mark could not sleep though because he was cold. But
he was so nice to give me his nice sleeping bag. I slept fine. It wasn't
that bad, it is just that small creature which were sleeping on top of the bag and refusing to move.
Yes, every time i get comfy on the sleeping bag one of those big guys either
kicked me, or called me saying that i was snoring... I really had no chance to sleep that night...
and the next day either... Only next night a little bit...
The second day started fine. We made a nice breakfast of semolina and started.
But we went the wrong
way for half and hour so we had to turn back.
And that was completely my fault, i thought that ftl will follow that dirt road for and was
distracting Mey by talking.
We finally found our path and we started. But by this time it
it was 11:00 and a very hot day. The entire path was in a very dense jungle without any clearance for us to stop and rest.
If we stopped for even 30 seconds, all sorts of bugs, especially mosquitos would attack us, so we hand no
choice but to keep going. And we went wrong way at least one more time. We were walking the entire day with only half an hour stop for some hurried lunch.
There were also killer uphills.
On one of them, I almost gave up and collapsed
on the ground. Mark had to make my backpack lighter by carrying some of my things.
According to the map we were supposed to come out of a jungle into a meadow with a nice view at the end of the day and then
we had to continue again into the woods and get into a second lean-to. But by 7:30 we still were in the first jungle. I
was exhausted and cranky.
Mark was his usual cheerful and patient self. When we got to the promised place
we saw that the view was a small peak of a lake and the meadow had grass coming upto our necks.
We were both very disapointed and decided that we didn't want to continue into the bushes again. We were also out of water.
We stopped at the opening to the second path and were discussing what to do when all of a sudden 4th of July fire works
started going from the house in front of the path and Albert went nuts.
He hates loud noises and
especially fireworks. He was such a wonderful dog. I was very hungry,
and big guys were so slow, so i had to wait for them every couple of minutes... and then they
decided to stop in the midst of deadly thunder! Wonderful idea! He is so small yet he cheerfully was pulling us the entire day.
But now he was very nervous and we saw the the fireworks were
bothering him a great deal, so we horridely left.
We were so disapointed with the entire trip that we decided to escape. First we tried to call someone
to pick us up, but no one was home. Then we decided to hitch a ride. But the road we were on was
a dirt road with almost no traffic. So we couldn't find a ride. Finally we found a meadow with relatively
short grass which we originally thought was a state property.
After we went there and pitched a tent
we realized that it actually was private property. But it was
already dark so we decided to stay.
And we decided not to start stove. So
we ended up having a very basic dinner and passing out. Mark was feeling guilty for bringing me here and I
was thinking that I am not a backpacking girl after all. We were also worried that a state trooper or
the property owner will come and kick us out. But amid all this, we were both so exhausted that we passed out.
The next day we woke up and quickly left the place. We originally were going to try to hitch a ride
but then we realized that if we
kept going straight on the road we were on, we will be able to connect to the
path again. We would just cut through some zigzag portion of it.
So we walked on the dirt road. It was
much more beatuiful and scenic than our entire trip the day before. Everywhere there were these old houses and
everthing smelled nice. It reminded me of north of Iran. And central parts of Russia to me. ;-)
This proves that country side is more or less the same everywhere. We had a great time on the road.
Then we reconnected into the trail. This stretch of the path had nothing in common with the other one.
For one thing, it had far few mosquitos. We very quickly found a beautiful creek and we replenished out
 2
water and we decided to have lunch there.
We compensated for the day before. We made a fire and
had a very yummy lunch. All three of us had second helpings after which Albert took a nap and me and Mark
had tea. Yeah, instead of sleeping my regular 15 hours a day i only have
slept maybe 10, can you believe that? We rested for an hour and half and then we restarted...
Half an hour later when Mark was photgraphing some beautiful
red mushrooms on a tree when I noticed a lake. I was dying to swim. Me too. -- Mark I wasn't dying to swim,
but they left me no choice -- Albert
So we went down to the lake and jumped in.
It was wonderful. After we came out, I threw Albert in so that he would cool off, but he wasn't very happy about it.
Right, would you? It took me at least two hours to dry my skin!! But on the other hand
it was indeed refreshing experience.
We started again and after some time noticed that what we saw was not a lake but a dam, in about one hour
we finally connected to the Watkins Glans state park. The park was breathtakingly
beautiful.
We stopped and rested in various places in the park and finally we got to where we were planing to get to initially and where
our car was. On the way, we saw a huge Harley Davidson parade for the fourth of July. I was so proud of myself
when I finally got to the car. But more than myself, I was really really proud of Albert. That dog is amazing. He
walked with us for three days without showing an inch of exhustion even though he is a very small dog.
I am small, but i am tough!
After we got into the car, we went for an ice cream and we decided to camp out at the side of the Seneca
lake. So we went to a campground and started a fire. We were planing to drink some brandy I had brought
with us but then those fire works started again and Albert got nervous. We tried putting him in the car and
brining the windows up, so he woudln't hear the fire works. He was fine while we were sitting there with him.
But as soon as we would leave, he would start howling begging us to come back. So I just took him to the tent
with me and slept with him there and Mark joined me after some time.
The next day I woke up with all sorts of pain and it was very very hot. We sat in the car and got some food
and finally came back home. When we got home, we had two prizes waiting for us, our mouse trap had caught two
rats one of them without any exaggeration was the size of a puppy. But I was happy to be home and take a hot bath.
I had a really great time and this might have been one of the best trips in my life. I am very thankful to Mark
for organizing it and taking me there. Thank you Mark very much to carry some of my weight the first day
and put up with my complaints :) You are very welcome - and prepare for Adirondacks in August! :)
Hey, is there any tough pugs in Adirondacks? Yes? I am going to!
More pictures are available here
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