Day 343
7 hrs, 10 kms

Actual date: April 9, 2015

So my forest adventure begins . There are lots of crisscrossing paths, but it's easy to keep my bearings, as there are electric wires to follow--and the river gorge to my left. fter days of road walking, I'm enjoying the tranquility of the forest... Several small herds of whitetail deer leap gracefully past--and I see my first wild turkey in several decades.

It makes me appreciate the fact how in general people here follow the rules when it comes to hunting and fishing. Because they're afraid of getting caught, it's true... but also because they care about the long term well being of their community. They know that if they get greedy and shoot too many deer, pretty soon there won't be any, and everybody loses.

This sense of collective conscientiousness and concern about the long term is sorely lacking in many places I've traveled through...

I reach a cluster of giant boulders perched on a steep hilltop overlooking the misty forest, river and reservoir below. And this boulder is easy enough to get to that I can set the 10 second timer and take a picture of myself...

I blaze my own trail down the hillside and struggle through a bit of brush... Finally I spot a paved road below. I guess I am glad to be back on a road...

In another 2 miles or so I reach Petersburg. It has an isolated, off the beaten track feel--but at the same time, there are 3 storey houses packed tightly together on a short Main Street--giving it almost an urban feel.

Some of the houses are pretty run down. I later learn that there use to be two big factories near Petersburg, but not any more...