[pct-l] Beating a dead (and decomposing) horse

[yogihikes at sbcglobal.net (yogi)]

Ron, your story reads like a novel!!  If you didn't spend all your time making lightweight gear, you could be an author.
 
yogi
www.pcthandbook.com
 
 


Ron Moak <rmoak@fallingwater.com> wrote:

>> Speaking of a decomposing horse . . . . .

I saw one on the CDT in 2004. 
It's not a pretty site.

I saw a decomposing moose, too. <<

Got that one beat! 

In '77 while hiking southbound through Maine on our thru-hike one raining
morning, we eventually tire of the endless stream crossing. After miles of
slogging along a wet trail, we stop at one of the many creeks to take a
break. 

Dipping our Sierra cups deep into the brown tannin rich fast flowing creek,
we savor the tea colored brew sprinkled with bits of floating fir nettles.
We thought nothing about it as we drank deeply the tangy but delectable
concoction. 

Refreshed and revived, we mounted or soggy laden packs and trudged onward
into the wilds of Maine. Not 30 yards up the stream that meandered along the
trail, lay the rotted corpse of a Moose in the middle of the stream. 

We looked at the bones still covered with shreds of rotted meat and smelled
the pungent aroma that hung heavy in the air. All was silent, save for the
gentle falling of rain on the vegetation and the rustle of creek flowing
through the bones of that dead Moose.

After a few moments pondering the situation that lay before us, we turned to
look at each other. Neither of us seemed to find words appropriate for the
circumstance, so in silence we turned and kept walking. 

Fallingwater

PS: Never did filter water that year.