Day totals: 13 hrs, 27.4 kms


Supposedly I parkbenched St Thomas back in 2007 ... but I really bent the rules on this one. I was in a hurry, and I just wanted to cram it in, so I pretty much just parked my car, took a quick video clip, sat by a pond a played 5 very short songs... hopped in my car and drove off. Number of kilometers hiked: 0.

That, of course, is an absolute no-no by my new rules, so obviously I have to go back and explore it properly. A 12 kilometer hike from Chambersburg to St Thomas will definitely make up for that!

So I set my sails for west, and down the Lincoln Highway I go.

I barely reach the edge of Chambersburg when I have my "interesting encounter" of the day: a real, live hunter-gatherer.

No, he's not a member of some undiscovered aboriginal tribe, hiding in the Pennsylvania woodlands. He's a camoflauge wearing, tobacco chewing fellow selling hunting equipment at at parking lot flea market . I get a 2 dollar pair of binoculars for my daughter, and he strikes up an conversation.

He asks where I'm from, I tell him I moved here recently and previously lived in North Africa (I know that saying "Morocco" will just draw a blank). His eyes light up as he talks about the big game there is to hunt over there... I explain that that's in East Africa....

We get to talking about hunting--it's not my hobby, but I can carry on an intelligent conversation about it.

"Guys pay 7,000 dollars to hunt a 160 point buck... I just get a 20 dollar hunting license--I know where to go, and by 8 in the morning I have a 160 point buck..."

He goes on "then in April and May I go mushroom huntin'... There are these mushrooms that tastes just like steak--they're very hard to find... and expensive. I know just where to look for them up in the mountains"

"So you're a hunter-gatherer ... in the 21st century!" I observe...

Yep... I guess it's good that there are a few people around with well honed basic survival skills that hopefully they can re-teach to the rest of us if/when modern civilization falls apart...

I continue on up the road... taking a detour through the village of Pleasant View past the house my parents lived in for a year. I didn't live with them at that time, but I do have memories of visiting this place... Then on through the backroads until I reach Lincoln Highway again, past the mix of social classes you find here... middle class folks in new developments... a beautiful mansion with a lake in front--right close to shabby trailer parks and one place that has so much random junk in the front it actually looks like a work of art!

One heartwarming glimpse into the culture here is a wagon with tied up bunches of firewood in it and a sign "Firewood 3 dollars, Put money here" with a lockbox next to it .
This is something I've seen several times along the highway. In West Virginia there was a glass case with jars of honey inside--and a litte box for you to put money and help yourself to a jar of honey.
I wonder, so what is it that keeps people from, well, just taking stuff? Some would argue "religion", but I beg to differ. I've been to very religious places where people are very untrustworthy--and very un-religious places where people are very trustworthy. I think it's the way kids are raised. If kids are raised with the idea that if you take something that somebody worked hard to make--even if you won't get caught--you're not going to feel good about yourself. If you want to enjoy something, you should work for it.
It seems most people around here are getting these sort of positive values instilled in them. Of course, reading the police log, there are clearly people who don't--so it's still mysterious how these sorts of "honor based" selling are able to work. 
I like it.

A billboard sign reads "Are You Going to Heaven or Hell?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to St Thomas" I respond .

That makes me think: we humans have the capacity of turning our experience here on earth into heaven... or into hell if we so choose. Not only that, but the same experience might be heaven for one person, and hell for another.

Like walking along a busy highway in the hot sun. For one person, that might be the ultimate torturous experience... for another, it might be part of a grand, exciting life adventure.

And for me?

This is heaven. Because that's what I choose for it to be.

Finally I reach St Thomas proper, which consists of a rather shabby row of houses along the highway, and one or two back alleys. It does have a large fire station/library, a park where I pause to strum a few songs--and a tiny little war memorial... so, yeah, it does have a tiny bit of "soul" to it.

And there's a new Dollar General being built . These are popping up in small towns all over the place. The store is a really ugly design, with sheet metal walls--certainly not something future generations will be raving about--but at least it does sort of bring back a feeling of community to these small towns, sending a message that you don't just sleep in this town... you can also, shop, worship and socialize here as well...

Pondering in The Farmland

Although my general direction is north, from Saint Thomas I choose to head south. Why? Well, I skipped over the town of Greencastle during my south hike--and I realize now that it needs to be included in my Superhike... I need to link at least all the towns of Franklin County.

And so I immediately find myself on a quiet farm road. No suburban sprawl. No industry. No random, sloppily built businesses. Just farms.

I thought that this would be a really boring walk--but it actually gives me some good food for thought . See, over the last couple months I've found myself repeatedly griping about suburbs, commercial and industrial zones eating away at farmland. Now I have the chance to experience a stretch where farming still rules. It's a nice feeling...but then I have another thought.

Could we actually have too much farmland here in America?

I've read that America with 5% of the world's population grows 25% of its food. That's what has allowed many crowded regions of the world (Japan, the Gulf states, etc) to give more priority to industry and other aspects of their economy and simply not worry much about growing fooding--they can always just import it from the US. But there is a downside as well. There are countries in Africa where people could be growing their own food, but the fields lie fallow. Why? Because local farmers can't compete with the cheap, subsidized grain imported from the USA.

Many countries are dangerously dependant on US food imports . They when their currency loses value, food prices spike causing unrest. The food riots in Egypt (which should be a food exporter rather than a food importer) were one of the things that led up to the Arab Spring.

So, yes, I would say it's possibe to grow too much food.

So, if we are growing too much food, what should we do with our excess farmland? Well... I suppose we could just let the population grow and grow... If people conserved more energy and didn't eat so much meat, we could easily support a population of a billion people. Not sure that would be a good idea, though...

We could just let a lot of the land go wild. That would be nice--but it goes against the nature of the modern man... our motto is, "if you have a resource, you have to exploit it for profit!" I just don't know that in a capatalistic society, it's realistic to ask for landowners to leave large amouts of fertile land just sitting there .

It's obviously not my role to decide these things. I'm just an observer, passing through pondering on this Great Experiment. That's all America is, really. Here the best and brightest of the planet are drawn to take part in this grand super-productive machine, where innovation is a must--as in every generation this Experiment must reinvent itself, re-build itself, always needing to stay ahead, coming up with the next "Big Thing" that will make this world a more fun and efficient place. If this constantly build-tear down-rebuild cycle creates enormous waste, Americans don't really care. Here there are enough resources to throw away, so it seems.

Last week I saw a local Pizza Hut that with a sign that said "closed for remodeling" I figured that meant they were going to give it a paint job and maybe some new furniture. No. I was shocked to pass a few days later and see the entire restaurant torn down to its foundation and being rebuilt from scratch . Was this necessary? Of course not. But in America, time is money, and to tear something down and rebuild it is quicker than doing repairs. Nothing is built to last here.

As I continue my walk, I pass a house with a heavyset couple in their pajamas in the front yard. The woman is filming a man pouring a bucket of ice water on himself. Is this an ancient cleasing ritual passed on from generation to generation? No, this is a 2 week fad that started here in America and has spread across the globe (thanks to two other American innovations: and online social networks). In a couple weeks, nobody will be doing this any more, and the innovators will be busy trying to come up with the next "global fad".

Yep. That's American culture. Enjoy it--because tomorrow it will be gone and replaced by something else.

* * *

These are my ponderings as I wander down this quiet country road . I feel neither attraction nor hostility towards this country. It is what it is... and my job is just to walk, observe, ponder, write...

And sing of course. As the road crosses Conococheague Creek (which runs through Chambersburg, I stop for a ritual swim, and to strum a couple songs along the shore, trying to put my feeings into song.

And, a mile out of Greencastle, I reach my car, and call it a day.