Oh, I was in a place I've only dreamed of this weekend, ...

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... and I went there with Quinn Fuller, who was recomended to me by a friend. And, she showed me that one can harvest the forest for life.

We walked six miles the first day (four the next), and the whole hike, my poor packing job dug into my shoulders. It stressed me, and by the end of the hike - with me in the lead - I was setting quite a pace until, that is, we turned our trek around to see the Indian mound.

Then she showed me how to cut a maple sapling, and how to skin it, and told me to lash it, and soon I had a pretty pack frame. The next morning (when I awoke at, oh, eight in the mornin'!) I loaded my gear onto frame. When we did hike, I made a quick adjustment: I made a shoulder pad by wrapping leaves in a hand kercheif. How my shoulders thanked me many times! And I also found coltsfoot. And I did collect it and it's drying in my (attic) room with lots of stinging nettle. I'm preparing for a hike, after all, and I must be sure to have nettle to eat.

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