July 13 - Catfish Fire Tower (Day 116 – milepoint 1279.0)

Attended the church service this morning to see how Presbyterians do it. A female pastor made it a unique experience, for which I was grateful, but Mother Nature still speaks my language a little more clearly.

Breakfast at the Diner with Puff, Cosmo, Grasshopper, Woolybooger, and Churchmouse. Midday nap, then got my things packed up and headed out late afternoon. Very hot and after 4 miles of climbing I was lucky to come upon the glacially-formed Sunfish Pond, where a swim was unavoidable.

Enjoyed conversation with a bunch of guys from New Jersey (Exit 135) who were curious about the concept of a thru-hike. It almost seemed like they didn’t believe me.

Continued on into the evening. Had a run-in with an angry copperhead and then somehow, got confused in the dark and walked right past the road to the Mohican camping area where I had planned to stay. I’ve ended up at Catfish Fire Tower about 2-3 miles beyond, and found a nice little spot on the fourth tier. Nice breeze and a panoramic view. Looking forward to seeing the sunrise.

Aquaholic