Trail of the Susquehanna: A Typical Day

Note: Go to March Archives for the original news release.

Some of you have asked how our day goes so here is a ‘typical’ day. This varies according to the weather and terrain.
.We normally get up around 7
.We breakfast and pack the car. In many places we have stayed so far breakfast has been provided and we find it interesting to meet others on the road. Ron gets lots of comments if he is wearing his ‘Walking to Canada’ shirt. Inevitably someone has a hiking story.
.We aim to be at our start point between 8:30 and 9. As time goes by we’re finding it easier if we start our day early.
.We make sure that we have our telephones with us and our walkie talkies turned on. Initially we walked with water bottles too but we find it better to walk without. A drink is something to look forward to at the end of one leg of walking. We take a hot drink with us just now because it has been quite cool.
.Ron starts walking while Margaret drives 1 mile or 2 ahead depending on the conditions and weather. Margaret walks back to the point where she and Ron meet and then turns around and walks back to the car with him. We don’t have a set time limit for the distance. We just use a comfortable speed.
.We have a break whenever we reach the car - the length depends on how hard the walk was.
Snack at the end of the second mile, usually consisting of some fruit and yogurt in the morning and Ron loves his peanut butter and crackers in the afternoon.
.Back to walking one/two more miles.
.Then mid day lunch and a big rest (an hour nap or rest for Ron on the bed in the car while Margaret reads.)
.Another round of walking and snacking and breaks happens in the afternoon. Our goal is to walk a total of eight miles per day.
.We usually try to end ‘the trek’ between three and four.
.Then it’s off to our hotel to rest, do laundry, shop for food.
.About every three or four days we go to a park and I use the stove to cook enough healthy food to last for three or four days. I am very lucky. Ron’s favourite food is leftovers!
.In the evening we do e-mails if the internet is available and write the blog. We are usually ready to head toward bed between 9:30 and 10. Sometimes there is something interesting that takes us into the town we are staying in - in Harrisburg, for example, we went the their Art Museum to see an exhibition of modern art (a bit slim but they did have two Lichtensteins).
Anyway by tomorrow we may well have walked in all kinds of weather - snow is predicted! Tonight we are in Shamokin Dam where we will stay for three days while we walk the area.