Today ended up being a zero mile day. No hiking. The morning brought gray skies and a steady rain. It wasn't a good day for hiking.
Ray, a trail maintainer for the Bowerston section, was planning to hike with me today. I phoned him in the morning and suggested we hike on Monday instead. He was fine with that. Ray maintains several trail sections in the lakes region here. I hear he does a great job maintaining the trail.
I left the Barn only once today when Maria and I went out to eat at the Express Cafe on Tappan Lake. When our order arrived the waitress brought a large plate of food for me and said "I hope you are hungry". I just smiled at her and said "no problem". When we were done there was not a single dinner roll or pack of crackers left on the table. I ate everything.
Maria left in the afternoon. For the rest of the day I enjoyed the solitude of the Barn. Mary told me there is not much to do there. This was fine with me since I don't do much on my zero days. By late afternoon the rain had stopped and the temps were in the mid 60's. The sun tried to come out once.
I can't believe it is May 1st already. I have come a long way since April 1st when I was in Pemberville. April was a wet month. Lots of rain. I hear reports that April was the wettest one on record or at least in 50 years.
Two weeks from today I celebrate a milestone birthday - one of those birthdays where your age ends in a zero. I have always remarked that hiking on the Appalachian Trail is my personal fountain of youth. Long distance hiking makes me feel young and strong. I am delighted to discover that the fountain of youth is on the Buckeye Trail too.
