Do bears jog?

May 27th--

After a very restful sleep at Centre Mill B&B and a hearty breakfast by my fab host Maria I was ready to hike north. Over the kitchen table Maria and I had some long conversations about her motherland "Germany" and her much beloved husband. He has been gone 19 years now and she is running a full time B&B in a early American 1700 restored home. She and John spent 5 years restoring the property. She also maintains 26 acres of land what a job she does. Maria has a web page if you want to see the home Centre Mill B&B out of Milheim Pa.

As I opened the door to step back into my travels a ground fog swept past the threshold. It would be a cool morning for walking, which is good. Yesterday with the 90 degree heat Maria said she wanted to turn on a fire extingisher on my head when she open the front door and I was standing there. The fog was coming off the fields and covering everything with a spooky look. The road under my feet went through Amish farms and they were beautifully kept. In the distance I could hear the sound of clippity clop and the jingle of metal and leather. Because of the fog I couldn't see the Amish farmer and his horse going along his way, but I could sure hear him. It was magical to say the least. I stood by the side of the road and with in minutes here cames the horses head out of the fog and the rest of the outfit emerged from the cloud. I was in the right place in the right time.

People ask me why I walk around the world--I tell them 'It just lasts like this for a minute, and then there is more to come!' The whole trip has been hiking over mountains and down into valleys and then back over mountains. The last few days have more of the same. The view as I came down into Sugar Valley was more green fields and surrounded by tree covered mountains. The first farm I came to had a small farm house with no electric lines run to it--you know it's Amish.

A young mother was loading her 2 Amish children into a wooden wagon. The children were dressed in their blue and white outfits. The little boy wore the traditional straw hat and the girl had a blue bonnet. I asked if there was enough room for me in the wagon? What I really wanted to do was to take a hundred pictures but the Amish don't like their picture taken so I didn't ask.

At the corner of the family's property, the father was driving a team of 7 horses side by side. He was disking the field and the smooth process to get 7 horses to turn at the same time was a amazing. It was like watching a finely tuned dance troupe in action. I watched for 10 minutes.

On the road to the town of Loganton , a red truck kept driving by with the back end full of what looked like large grass clippings.

The truck would pull into a driveway and drive up to the barn and unload. Than he would do the same all along my road I was walking. He was wondering what I was doing as much as I was wondereing about his actions. He pulled over and said hop in the back of his empty truck and I'll give you a ride for 1/2 mile. As I sat on the open tailgate and we traveled along the highway he told me the Amish were getting into raising tobacco. He was just helping them out by moving the crop from cutter to drier. I wonder about this, when I was at Coybln Lake 2 days ago the Amish father was smoking little cigars he rolled himself.

I continued my journey and went past garden after garden that had Amish women hoeing the rows. At Loganton I stopped at a small corner store and had a smoked turkey sandwich made for me. In the back room was all the dry goods in bulk for the Amish.

I found a shady spot in the front yard of a fella that was sitting on his front porch. A Marine flag was on the flag pole and a bumper sticker of the corp was on his truck. He had just served 2 years but he was a proud soldier. I got to talking to him-big surprise- he worked at a brass manufactory plant making brass rods. A British company came in 2 years ago and closed the whole thing. The plant had a goverment contract to make Army item which is all made in the UK now. It's the same story all over PA but different towns. Lost jobs over seas-down south or China-it's nutty!!

I then headed north on a secondary road called Pine on my map but it is actually called Pine Longthon. My map is older than 9-11 when all the signs were changed for law enforcement to get Al-kida easier. Within minutes a fella came running across his yard with a root beer in his hand. His house sat on 2 acres with 4 horses. His pappy had 100 acres but after the pappy's funeral, he and is 12 sister and brothers broke it all up. Later in the afternoon I was passing a fella on a riding mower. He jumped off the mower and signaled me to the side door of his house. The house had a side porch that this fella had closed in with chip board. A big screen TV was bolted in the corner just opposite a comfy couch.

"Would you like a beer or water?" he asked. As I drank the cold water I noticed a slightly rusted refrigator with a beer tap coming out the front.

"This looks like a man room!" I said.

"Well my wife went for smokes 20 years ago and never came back!" he

said. I think his new wife name might be Frigadar since he spent all his time snuggled up to it. His father had the farm after being adopted and left with 6 acres after his grandparents' death. He worked at a paper making plant at Lock Haven which is closed down and moved away.

After a hour walk the road turned to dirt with lots of forest. I found a small stream and made this my new camp, up from the moving water. I set up tent and watched birds and deer come down to the water to drink. I found a fallen log to sit on and read my book after dinner. From the distance I could hear the sound of a small horse running hard in my direction. The pounding of the ground and the heavy breathing that comes along with it. I stood up and saw a black spot materialize in the woods. The black spot was th size of a loaf of bread, because of the distance and than rather quickly it got to be size of a dog and than it was the size of a full size black bear. The bear was running full tilt right towards me, like I was the target.

Since I do a lot of walking in the woods and have seen hundred of bears I wasn't like looking for sharpened stick but it did get my attention. Until your in the moment you never know how you're going to react. I stood my ground and yelled "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?" The bear put on the brakes, all four feet stopped running and it came to a sliding stop. His chin rested on the log I was sitting just minutes before.

I looked at him and he looked up at me and again I said "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?" Within seconds he turned and ran up a small hill and stood behind a tree with his head behind the tree and his butt sticking out. I yelled up"I CAN STILL SEE YOU!" With this he started to run again in the opposite direction of me. It's one of those things if I hadn't been in the right spot at the right time I would have missed this comedy. I slept like a baby that night, after hanging my food up.

May 27th--

This morning I walked into Lock Haven Pa and will take a 1 day rest ph #570-748-3297 room 402 if anybody wants to call. My motel has breakfast and I was able to chow down when I arrived! So far I have walked 220 miles in 9 days. From here I will follow the Grand Canyon of PA and than over to Clouderport Pa were my loving brother will bring up the kayak for the kayak down the Allegeny River part. The town is very nice and quiet and I had a nice tour of a local home turned musuem.