KEEP OUT!

First day in Kentucky.

Another 100 miles down.

The first day has been very interesting as the trail winds through the deep Appalachian hill-country of eastern Kentucky. I've noticed one curious fact in particular: the poorer a person/family is, the more covetously he guards his property. Or in most cases, his lack of property.

First of all, this area of Kentucky is characterized by abject poverty and miserable living conditions. The roads are just lined with crumbling trailer homes and tin shacks. With the exception of the forest and hills, it looks just like an African refugee camp. All along the hills and up in the trees, sometimes in places that I still don't understand how one is expected to get, trailers and junk cars fill the space between the trees.

It still eludes my comprehension what exactly these people are so adamantly protective of. As far as I can tell, there is no conceivable reason why anyone would ever want to trespass on these properties, but just like I always see in the poor areas of Philadelphia, people preemptively defend their territory before a threat even exists. The nice houses have no signs at all.

Anyway, my overall impression if Kentucky so far has been slightly balanced toward the negative. Although there have been a few great people, most have been very unwelcoming. Examples include guys sitting on porches with guns, releasing dogs, calling out names, driving by dangerously close, and just giving dirty looks. Also, after seven straight days of uninterrupted sun and record high temperatures, it finally rained. I was halfway up the third and final big climb of the day and it just opened up. I was certain that I was going to die. Between the lightning, cars speeding by, loss of traction, cliffs with no guard rails and trees and rocks falling onto the roadway, I believed in my heart of hearts that I would die. There was absolutely nowhere to stop for shelter as both sides of the road were cliffs, one up and one down. I even started thinking about how I would endure a lightning strike.

Needless to say, I did not die. I made it to Hindman and completed my second 100 mile day. Today was definitely hard, but I'm glad to be putting miles in the bank. Tomorrow might be short because my options are one town 63 miles away and the next being 122. I don't thunk I'm up for that distance yet!

Almost bed time. Found a GREAT cyclist B&B for the night. Thus guy has 13 kittens running around the terraced back yard, a beautiful patio and a nice warm shower. He made food, did my laundry, makes breakfast, met me at the gate with a glass of iced tea and played rennaissance music on the radio as we ate dinner. This rough day couldn't have ended better!

Location:Hindman, Ky