Coyote Fugly

August 16: I rose early, needing to slip into Annawan for a fresh supply of water. Just past I-80 I found a convenient store where I filled my bottles and picked up a couple of snacks. I also grabbed some breakfast at the Scrubway located in the store. I should have eaten the lint from the bottom of my sack with all the flavor my sandwich had. No wonder Jared lost all that weight. Once bite was probably about all he could keep down.
I can't figure out why I'm not getting any corporate sponsors. Don't they understand the way blackmail works?
I returned to the path, where my morning consisted of a parade of mammals. The squeak of a tiny mouse started the show and the usual deer followed shortly thereafter. I have a new found respect for Bambi and friends, having heard several tales of what their razor-sharp hooves can do when their parental instincts get them into attack mode.
Later I ran into an even more dangerous fellow, a coyote who had not fallen for slick advertising gimmicks and purchased Acme products. He ran along the trail a couple hundred yards ahead of me for a good while before heading into the brush. I have heard their calls on many a lonely night, but this was the first live one I had spotted. I have heard numerous complaints about the beasts since West Virginia due to their propensity for killing farm animals. I think they are just misunderstood and plan to give one a hug as soon as he or she gets in range of my shotgun.
As the sun switched to the other side of the sky I began to slow down physically. I dragged myself along in a listless malaise, resting often. Fortunately I had only fourteen miles to tonight's campground so there was no need to rush. With only a short way to go I refilled my water at one of the recreation areas located intermittently on the towpath and laid down on a picnic table to sleep a bit. I rose to complete the last few hundred yards at six. Thursday's coming milestone is still too far off to create much excitement yet.

14 miles/1300 total miles