In an ongoing effort to lighten his load, Dream sat down one morning and ate all four cups of pudding I had shipped to him. That man will make any excuse to get more butterscotch pudding.

As webmaster Mike mentioned in his transmittal post, I've spent the last several days in North and South Dakota at a family reunion. Over 150 people came from all four corners of the United States. Ages ranged from a few weeks to mid-90s. As a whole, the experience was educational, entertaining, and encouraging. I was particularly pleased to see that one of my ancestors owned a camera shop, though I must have missed those genes. While in the Dakotas, I bought a disposable camera to replace my regular heavy camera. I'd like to think I had captured the essence of my German/Dutch ancestors from the rugged wilderness of the prairie, the inscriptions on their gravemarkers, and the faces of the newborn generation. But, alas, somewhere along the way, I lost the camera.

Fortunately, Dream has had much better luck with disposable cameras. Here's a picture of trail angels Dan and Judy Williams cooking beef stew at Little Irish Creek, and a spectacular shot of Dream standing on the tip of McAfee Knob. I got chills when I first saw this picture. There's also see a photo (on the site soon) of the Five Mountain Marching Mommas. He met them in a shelter where they'd gone to escape the rain. They were soaking wet, but thrilled to be there. After hearing their tale, I can understand why. Back in 1978, these women decided to hike a section of the AT every year until they completed it. In 21 years, they hiked 27 sections, at an average of 80 miles a section. Sometimes they would hike north to south, sometimes south to north. On June 26 they planned to reach Harper's Ferry and complete the final section of the trail. The women have been the subjects of numerous newspaper articles and television interviews. Their names are Hoosier Momma (Mary Phenning), Gypsy (Charme Burns), Orange Blossom (Sylvia Crump), Momma Kazoo (Ellen Kilpatrick), and Mother Superior (Lenore Bunny Schneider). If you'd like to send a congratulations note to them, you can send it to: The Mountain Marching Mommas, 511 49th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209. The idea of hiking with friends has definite appeal. One of Rick's friends, Brian, drove from Pittsburgh to hike with him for four days in the Shenandoah. Brian brought along two of his friends, Bill from Michigan, and Josh from Wisconsin. Along with Dream, those are the five exhausted and happy men you'll see in one of the mountain-top pictures. Dream said he was so happy to be out of Virginia; it represents such a long segment of the journey. He told me about two "power hikers", Grizzly and No Moss, who clocked four states in one day: the final section of Virginia, the 2 mile of the trail that runs through West Virginia, the 30 miles of trail in Maryland, and just enough to cross the border into Pennsylvania. They accomplished the feat by "slack packing", a term used to describe a situation in which someone drives a hiker's pack to a predetermined destination a certain number of miles farther along the trail. The hiker is then free to hike without having the burden of carrying a heavy pack. Dream and RickRock have slack-packed once so far.

Finally, a hiking tip to share with those of you planning to head for the trail. Dream's boots, Vasque Sundowners, are still in great condition. Based on comparisons he has made with other hikers' boots, he is convinced that he has extended the longevity of his boots by wearing gaiters every day. Even the short gaiters keep water and debris out of his boots-not unlike wearing rubber boots to protect your shoes. If Dream's mom were alive today, she'd be shaking her finger at him, smiling, and saying, "I told you so."