Lynn began today's hike with me as we headed up Shenandoah Mountain. Madison had to have a stick removed from her leg yesterday and spent the night at the doggie hospital. Lynn will be picking her up later.
Here's an early morning view from Shenandoah Mountain
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Lynn doesn't get the chance to get to many mountain tops, so I was glad she was able to share this one with me.
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Someone had painted a 9-11 memorial on the summit
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Lynn headed back. I continued on, getting a great view of Canopus Lake from this lookout.
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The lake is several miles long. I finally reached the southern end of the lake.
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Crossing Dennytown Road
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I saw Tommy from Atlanta, Georgia for the second and last time time on this trip.
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I've crossed many memorials on the AT, but this one was by far the most recent. The words on the cross indicated that someone's best friend named Rick had passed away on this spot just 8 days earlier.
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View from Canopus Hill
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I thought it was cool how this tree split into a near perfect rectangle.
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Bog bridging
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View from Denning Hill
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I came to a rocky spot where some cairns had been built.
I decided to build one of my own. How did I do?
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As I went over Little Fort Hill, a saw a side trail go off to the left. It looked the trail may lead up to an outlook. I followed the short trail up and saw a figure ahead wearing bright colors. For a quick second I thought it was a person, but it wasn't moving.
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What was this figure of Jesus doing way out in the middle of nowhere?
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It was quite an interesting spot with plenty of seating. There were lots of signs which I think were in Spanish, a bulletin board with lots of pictures, and lots of flowers.
Apparently this spot is used for weddings or some other type of function, but it's in the middle of nowhere! I checked my map. The nearest road was a couple miles away. Huh?
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I went back to the AT and continued down the trail coming into Philipstown.
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I crossed Route 9 and then some bog bridging . . .
before heading back into the woods.
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There wasn't a lot to see over the next 3 miles. I met Lynn at Manitou Road. I was anxious to find out about Madison. The veterinarian successfully removed the stick, inserted a temporary tube for drainage, and stitched her up. Apparently, it hasn't affected her appetite.
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Here's a picture of the stick that was in her. I placed my hand next to it for scale.
This entire stick was under her skin. I'm going to try not to complain when I get my next splinter.
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Some have asked, why did you keep the stick? Answer: Because it cost us $600. That's quite a valuable stick, we couldn't just throw it out. But I'll tell you what. I'm willing to take a loss. If anyone wants to buy the stick I'll sell it to you for half price. Come on now, a $600 stick for $300, what a deal! Anybody. . . . Well, can't blame me for trying.
