As those parts of The Trail, that I have not walked, become farther away from both my home and usable mass transit, it has become increasingly difficult to get to a trail head from which I can then get to another trail head no more than fifty miles away. That distance is my "magic" number, in that it's about the maximum I can expect to hike in five days. That time period is the maximum I can plan to be away from responsibilities of mine that I prefer not to neglect. However, last week
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