31 Aug: Ron needs to tell Walt and Jim when to expect us. I guess if the new bike arrives in Jessup, MD, we will go there to see what Bob's BMW actually offers to us for a trade in when they can see our bike in person. And Ron will just have to change the descriptions of the Bankstons to take into account the puzzling new thoughts about the information in Anson County. Cynthia is ready to hike, and Ron is still on his computer after checking the weather and marshalling his thoughts. And we did hike to the sinkholes without stress or distress. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe}
30 Aug: Exercised, oatmealed, and Cynthia is off to get a manicure, and girlicure! Ron went for a hike at 3:22 and arrived at the sinkholes at 3:58, but the rumbles of thunder convinced hiw to return instead of hiking to Jungle Junction. Calls to the BMW dealer were disappointing. The new bike is not yet arrived in the States, and the dealer is likely to offer only $4,000 to $5,000 for our present, 6-year-old bike for which we paid in excess of $25,000. Ron is thinking that since our bike (the BMW K1600GTL) is still perfectly good and well maintained, we might as well continue using it instead of spending so much for a new bike. Ron also is in a quandry about the various George Leas in Caswell County and elsewhere. And that spills over into new thoughts about the Bankstons in Anson County, NC.
29 Aug: We hiked to the sink holes once again… 3 miles, while Ron worked with a hoe. Icing the feet with real ice this time finally paid off with a good nights sleep.
28 Aug, Sunday: How did Saturday disappear? We hiked to the sink holes again today. Cynthia got up there much more quickly than on previous days (at least Ron didn't catch up as fast as usual). Today when we arrived at the sink holes, Cynthia felt that she could easily make it to the ski run but decided to be happy with todays hike. Upon return to the Inn we ate salads, and Cynthia iced her back and feet (with frozen pineapple and frozen mango). It was fun to meet a couple from Big Pine Key, FL. {GMC: 1 hour w/ hoe}
27 Aug: I guess DNA sucked up the entire day without Ron noticing the blog at all. We did hike to the sink holes again, but Cynthia’s sleep last night and tonight was disturbed. {GMC: 1 hour w/ bucket & trowel}
26 Aug: Again we awakened, exercised, ate, and are now set to hike uphill again. Cynthia delayed icing her feet yesterday and had a disrupted sleep. Ron ain't too well rested either but we are more energetic than last week. Ron is again distracted by DNA, so James Lea may have to wait until tomorrow. {GMC: 1 hour w/ trowel setting rocks as steps}
25 Aug: And today the rains finally came. Fortunately Cynthia and I were only about a quarter of a rocky mile from the Inn and our el cheapo plastic ponchos kept us reasonably dry. We then spent the day on our computers, quite happy that the Wi-Fi has been fixed after last night's failure. {GMC: 1 hour with bucket moving dirt}
24 Aug: Another day with a "comfortable" hike to the sinkholes to help Cynthia's bursitis and arthritis in her feet. Trail maintenance continues at a subdued rate since Salt counld not commit to leaving my waterbars alone. Mostly, I now try to bury the waterbars beneath a mound of dirt. Documentation of James Lea continues to be absorbing. Ron realized that we haven't met many hikers this year because he is absorbed in sudokus at every meal. More icing and the feet are feeling better and we are sleeping better. {GMC: 1/2 hour w/ hoe}
23 Aug: It showered ever so lightly overnight and was mostly dry by morning. The forecast is again rain 83% chance at 1 pm, pop up thunderstorms using moisture from the Great Lakes. We hiked uphill for an hour and returned before 1 pm for lunch and to work on James Lea. It stayed dry the rest of the day despite the forecast. Cynthia is beginning to consistantly ice her feet after hiking, especially if Ron reminds her. {GMC: 1/2 hour w/ hoe}
22 Aug: We slept better except for lying awake for an hour or more about 2:30 pm. Fortunately it is cooler and breezy today. We hiked early since there was rain in the forecast, but it didn't show up today. We did our usual trip to the sinkholes without difficulty, but are a bit puzzled that we haven't felt as strong or hiked as far as in previous years. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe}
21 Aug, Sunday: Another day closer to goodbye August. We didn't sleep all that well last night, and it is hot again today, 82 degrees at 11 AM. Cynthia's arthritis in her feet has been a problem despite icing them yesterday afternoon. Now we have new ice and a new bottle of water, so Cynthia is living high. However, as she ices her feet this morning, she decided not to hike, so Ron will go as soon as his body assimilates the energy from a bowl of frozen mango. Waterbar maintenance calls. The newest procedure is to bury the rocks in the waterbars under dirt so that Mr. Salt cannot see them. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe & bucket}
20 Aug: A screaming two-year-old is making breakfast a challenge. The dad finally removed the screaming boy from the dining room. Whew, thank goodness that removal happened before Ron arrived at the breakfast table. Now we are set to go a-hiking, and we hiked for a good hour almost to the sinkholes before turning back in order to get to Sugar and Spice for a second breakfast on our way into town for bananas, grapes, jellybeans and frozen mango, staples of our diet. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe}
19 Aug: We celebrated Cynthia's better feeling iced feet by hiking to the ski run and back today, 2.4 miles each way for this terrific view (above). Scott, the chef here, continues to outdo himself cooking salmon and potatoes excellently well for us. James Lea continues to progress slowly. The ice bag is getting quite low, but frozen mango is a great alternative. {GMC: 4 hours w/ hoe}
18 Aug: Ron plans to spend the day working on James Lea, but Lo!!, the skies stopped showering by 10:30 AM. Cynthia slept poorly with more back pain and is icing, so Ron may have to hike solo, and he hiked all the way to jungle junction, about 3 miles each way except that he took a left onto the gravel road uphill towards Pico peak. Scenery on the gravel road was outstanding with emerald green ski runs down from the top of Killington peak and a more expansive views of the scene above. {GMC: 1 hour w/ clippers}
17 Aug: We slept the night through! Ron slept 8 hours uninterrupted.!! Thank God for life and everything else (especially Cynthia). 3.4 miles to the sinkholes where we met two charming hikers, YeahYeah and Flip and treated them to lunch. Too amusing that Flip and Anna were classmates at Appalachian State University and completed a semester project together last year. We whiled away the afternoon in the Inn because it rained. Cynthia wants to hike to Jungle Junction tomorrow, but it looks like we will have a rainy day. Cynthia thinks we won't see Salt again, that he has made a statement and wants to avoid us.
16 Aug: Ron's sleep was interrupted for a couple of hours with ruminations about how to motivate Bankston cousins to get their DNA tested and how to convince Salt to leave the water bars alone. No good ideas for either task, but we arose early, ate early and hiked about the usual hour after Ron spent yet more time on the jigsaw this morning and then again this afternoon after our hike to the sinkholes and back. Ron moved into place two big rocks, the last he will do until he has a chance again to talk with Salt to see if we can arrive at an agreement of water bars versus ski run. We did enjoy treating two hikers, James and Anna to lunch w/ desserts. {GMC: 1 hour w/ lever}
15 Aug: The puzzle overtakes all conscious thought! But, we exercised, oatmealed, hiked 2.5 hours to the sinkholes, and returned. Ron is upset and disappointed that Salt is moving rocks from the water bars again. If Salt is determined to destroy the trail, there is no reason to continue trail maintenance. (Salt professes intentions to snowboard down the trail.) Today's hiking and trail maintenance is completed; Cynthia showered and did the laundry with great satisfaction, while Ron puzzled away the afternoon! {GMC: 2.5 hours w/ hoe & lever}
14 Aug, Sunday: We hiked Kent Pond Trail for 4.5 miles while Ron carried clippers attacking branches overhanging the trail. OH NO, Ron is hooked by a puzzle! In his defense, it was initiated by a thru-hiker. {GMC: 3 hours w/ hoe & lever}
13 Aug: Ron was behind in updates; now he needs to sleep. We hiked the Sherburne Pass Trail to the sinkholes, with Ron doing trail maintenance on water bars. There is one huge rock he is trying to move into a better place. {GMC: 2.5 hours w/ hoe}
12 Aug: Good Morning to us! The sun is shining, the high is forecast to be 74 cool degrees. Yay! We hiked a good hike, and Cynthia's aches and pains were quiescent. Ron then returned to the waterbars for another 1.5 hours before dark. It is time for a shower, shirt wash, toothbrushing, and bed. {GMC: 4 hours w/ hoe & bucket}
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| He came, he sawed and he conquered |
11 Aug: Ron awakened at 2:30 am and stayed awake working on James Lea until 5:30 am. It made for a very tired morning until we began hiking. 3.4 miles hiking. Ron cleaned out water bars and retrieved one big rock that Salt threw away. The trail looks good with the hanging tree removed! Ron intended to get to bed early tonight - but no, he never actually does that. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe}
10 Aug: Will we cool off as forecasted on Sunday and Monday? Glorious cool day!!!! 3.6 miles hiking to the sinkholes and back. Cynthia's bursa, back and feet are considerably improved. She feels like a new woman - or her normal self. {GMC: 2 hours w/ hoe}
9 Aug: The forecast is for a warm night but a cooler day. It’s a little bit cooler but remains too humid to hike. Ron is still fatigued from yesterday's extreme sauna conditions and hasn't had the energy to go work on water bars. Instead, he is working on James Lea. Cynthia is working on Bankston DNA. We are blessed! Life is good! {GMC: 1 hour w/ hoe}
8 Aug: Forecast is HOT again, highs in the mid-80s. Cynthia has an appointment in Rutland for the afternoon, so we can sneak off to Sugar and Spice for a late lunch at 1:30 if we finish hiking early. And we did finish in two hours and twenty minutes after Ron trekked ahead of Cynthia with the trusty saw and removed the large log blocking the trail (two levers and a counterbalance log helped). The day was miserably humid, and Ron's shirt would have won any wet shirt contest. {GMC: 2:20}
7 Aug, Sunday: Wow !! The whole month of August stretches out before us. Interesting to think that we will soon be asking, "Where did that month go?" For now, today, a-hiking we will go - if the internet ever works well enough to see the forecast. Not bad, bye. Woo-Hoo! We hiked almost to the sinkholes, where Ron finished sawing the huge hanging tree with three branches. We heard it creaking and cracking until it finally gave way and fell with a resounding thud. 9 PM, and it is still stinking HOT. Ron had to wash his clean shirt again already and took a shower for good measure. Thank goodness Wannie found a fan for our bedroom. {GMC: 3 hours sawing}
6 Aug: Ron, being filled with ambition and zeal, mended zippers on his hiking pants. (The only pants he ever wears.) That kept him busy until 1 pm lunchtime (salads). Cynthia worked on improving her Sudoku skills and iced her sore feet! We got to bed "early" after a bedtime sudoku session. {GMC 1.5 hours w/ bucket (for water bars)}
5 Aug: Let's guess, will we hike or will we not? Cynthia has sore feet is the first clue! Well, we did manage five miles to Thundering Falls Road. {GMC: 3 hours w/ clippers}
4 Aug: Another great day looms ahead of us. The plan was to hike Thundering Falls on the AT. After breakfast, we discovered that we were tired, and the temperatures were already crazy hot, so we decided to take our tired bodies to bed and sleep the day away! We finally bestirred ourselves at 4 PM to toddle over to the Inn for dinner. Scott, the chef, is quite talented and used the caramelized juice from baked sweet potatoes to glaze the baked salmon. Mmmm! Now we are relaxed and full and happy. Ron continues to work perfecting Cynthia's James Lea book.
3 Aug: Ron awakened at 4:30 am, perfect for planned departure at about 5:15 am in dawn's early light. It was cool at 58 degrees and often quite foggy, but never bad enough to slow down. The views of the fog over the wetlands when the roadway was clear were wonderfully enchanting. He arrived in Troy, New York, at 7 AM, washed the bike, shopped at Walmart, and was quite amazed to be invited into Max BMW before 8 AM. His notion had been to park the bike for a couple of hours to allow it to cool off before the 84,000-mile servicing. The service manager is Tony Beatty; nice to meet someone with a familiar name. The estimated six-hour service was completed after 5 pm, but Ron was happy to have so much time to work on Cynthia's James Lea book. The sun is shining on Cynthia, the temperature is a pleasant 70 degrees in Killington, and it is boring working on DNA. She was a happy Smooch Smooch when Ron arrived home at 8:15 PM with a whole bag of groceries.
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| This is the photo from 10 years ago. In the black jacket, Bomber carried a rubber chicken on his hike. |
2 Aug: O What fun! We met Bomber again, ten years later, This time, Bomber (Eric) had his lovely bride with him, and we enjoyed a delightful breakfast reminiscing. After breakfast, Cynthia did a FaceTime with granddaughter Ellanore, and the 15% rains started at 11:30. About 3 PM Ron decided to hike since it wasn't raining - but those 15%ers kept getting him wet as he sawed at the two large trees still remaining. Cynthia took another zero day working on DNA projects. {GMC: 3 hours}
1 Aug: Remember how energy-filled we were yesterday? But that was last month when Cynthia was younger; her energy dissipated this month; she slept the morning away! Ron worked on James Lea all morning, then lunched with Cynthia after she awakened before trundling out of the room with a saw in hand. He exhausted himself in the "heat" today, sawing another large limb from the big broken tree near the sinkholes. The innkeepers must think we are weird because we eat so many vegetables. {GMC: 3 hours}
