Day 26 (Sept 8)

We're not carrying any cooking equipment on this trip, but for our breakfasts Deb has developed a very satisfying powdered coffee concoction that, when shaken vigorously in a water bottle, froths up into something like a cold cappuccino. Even in chilly weather, it's actually much more pleasant than the hot instant coffee ever was. We brought a big ziplock full from Brooklyn and we've been carrying it since Toronto, and with today's breakfast that ziplock's empty -- the very last of our original supplies gone. Good thing the trail's heading into town, skirting the north edge of the small city of Hornell, down in the foggy valley below:

We wind downward on roads and trails, through a Christmas tree farm, along corn fields and an old railroad, and suddenly emerge at the Hornell Days Inn. The Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo was kind enough to mail my forgotten rain jacket here, and the Days Inn was kind enough to hold it for me, so we feel like we kinda have to stay here. Had been considering a "zero day" here in North Hornell, just spending a day doing laundry, shopping, and relaxing, but the environment's a little underwhelming... the hotel's a dump, there's no laundromat, and the nearby commerce strip is mostly vacant and doesn't warrant a whole day's dallying.

We are lucky enough to have an Aldi, the mysterious discount German grocer, within walking distance. It's a good place to find knock-offs of various General Mills granola bars, and they even have an instant cappuccino mix to replenish our coffee supply! Also nearby is a Dollar General -- I've got to say that these "dollar" stores are more impressive than I remember, or maybe that's just the trail madness? Lots of easy-prep and ready-to-eat foods, toiletries, medical supplies, batteries, clothing. This one has a particularly impressive selection of cell phone cables. Hopefully I picked a sturdy one this time.

Speaking of trail madness, it's bafflingly hard to make good eating decisions when your brain's been in the woods too long. It would be sensible to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables to fill in the nutritional gaps of a granola and jerky diet... but somehow for lunch we end up ordering deep-fried seafood, as always. There's a cute bar/restaurant open for dinner, Club 57... Split a pizza? No, let's each get a pizza! I'll take the macaroni and cheese pizza! (What?)

(Why?) Oh well, at least there's something green on there. Deb's sane enough to get tomatoes on hers. Pizzas dispatched, we teeter back to the Days Inn and do our best to sleep off the cursed excesses of city life.