On The Road Again
Posted in Boots are Made for Walkin on May 31st, 2007 by Erin DietrichOur shoes are shined, my field guides packed and Jenny and I are ready to walk. Tomorrow we are embarking on one of our longest walks this summer, over 90 miles, 145 kilometers in 6 days. Pending nothing goes wrong (which would be a first), we will knock off at least 2 more state trails. If you are wondering why we spend our vacations walking through blankets of mosquitoes and ticks, click here to read about a certain little dare.
I’m feeling pretty good about flexing a little muscle to show the dare-giver who’s boss and am delighted to be outdoors and spending a week hiking and camping. However, we still have one small hang-up. No, it’s not the mileage we will be covering or Jenny and I running out of things to talk about in the 170 straight hours we’ll be spending together – it’s the camping. You see, Jenny is more of a bubble bath, painted toenails, air-conditioning kind of woman. Sleeping in a tent, eating burnt campfire food and not showering for a week has little appeal to her. I’m not trying to say she is high-maintenance, she isn’t, but she is definitely not what I would call rustic either. Truly I’m still shocked that she agreed to this and a bit nervous that if I giggle at her one too many times she’ll call the whole thing off. This is going to be hard…
I must admit Jenny has had valid ammunition to call the whole camping thing off. In addition to a sizable fear of snakes and getting over the worst blisters I have seen in my life, she is still camping despite hearing about a little ‘mishap’ last week involving a sleeping camper and a bobcat a 2.5 hour drive from where we are staying. Click here to read the article. Keeping in mind tip #7 from Top 10 Tips for a Successful Business Partnership, if she becomes scared I will try my hardest to wear a reassuring face. That’s what friends are for, right?
So, for the next week we will be out on the trail. We won’t have much of an opportunity to tackle your comments and emails; rather we’ll be tackling the great North woods – bobcats and all.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:25 am
Have an awesome week ladies! Show those bobcats who’s boss!
May 31st, 2007 at 9:53 am
Thanks for the wishes Mark. Jenny has insisted we go into town at least once next week to check on things (I think what she really wants is a shower), so you may be hearing from us after all! I hope you have a great week as well.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Some description of me E…reading it made me think you were channeling a combination of me and a little bit of a character in a Jackie Collins novel. If so, let me be someone cool like Lucky but her description might read more like – “I’m not trying to say she’s high maintenance, she’s not – she’s a just a woman who knows what she wants and gets it…” Or something like that – hah, hah.
Thanks Mark.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Go Jenny and Erin! What a fantastic endevour you have embarked upon.
You are living a summer you will never forget and the rest of us only dream of achieving. Jen, your dad would love to be on those trails with you.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:19 pm
You GO girls!!! I’m excited for you and the stories you will come back with. I hope the weather cooperates with you and you don’t have too many hills to climb. May the wind be at your backs. Technical question: Do you drive 2 cars up and have one parked at the end of the trail? Do you have a runner who picks you up at the end? Just curious.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Hey Shannon and Jo! Thank you both for your well wishes. Things are going well. Jenny and I just got drenched by a sudden rain storm and are now hunkered down at a library dripping and catching up on some work.
To answer your question Shannon, we drive 2 vehicles and park one at either end of the trail. Sometimes this requires us to be a little “creative” with our parking spots because there aren’t always lots. An adventure at every turn!