Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 08:50:09 -0400 From: Daniel Eisenbud Subject: Vernon, NJ Hi all, A quick update: I forgot to say last time that amazingly enough, I seem to be exactly on the schedule I calculated way back in Erwin, TN for the remaining maildrops I have (they're listed on my web page, ). It has gotten hot and humid in the last few days, and the mosquitoes have come out in force. However, we got lucky and missed the weather like this in Pennsylvania, and hopefully in a week or so will be north of the worst of it. I saw a medium-sized black bear ahead of me on the trail two days ago. I made some noise, expecting it to run away like the other bears I've seen. Instead, it started walking slowly and calmly towards me. This worried me a good bit, since I'm less confident than my friend Kef that I could survive in hand-to-paw combat with a 140 pound black bear ("I weigh more than it -- I don't see why I couldn't just throw it!" as he is fond of saying when the subject comes up.) I retreated, and it sniffed the spot I'd been standing in for a while. Eventually it decided that I didn't smell like bear food, and slowly wandered away. After a little bit longer it got far enough off the trail that I could pass, singing at the top of my lungs to help convince it that I was bigger than it was. The good thing about this encounter is that I got some pictures -- we'll see if they come out. I'm staying at a very nice hostel in the basement of a church here, which has a shower, laundry, and internet access. What luxury! Now I need to motivate myself to brave the heat and start hiking. With any luck I'll be in New England in three days. -Dan -- Daniel E. Eisenbud eisenbud@cs.swarthmore.edu