Day 44 (September 17, 2017)

The route of the Finger Lakes Trail south of Cortland has changed since we last hiked (happens a lot with this trail) and now a couple of 2014's miles walked into Cortland no longer "count." Ah well -- a late start after a pretty good hotel breakfast & we grab a taxi to the spot where we left the woods 3 years ago. The driver warns us of alligators spotted in the area. 

At the trailhead, we're greeted by our bullet-ridden silhouettes.

The initial road walk takes us along the Tioughnioga River to a bridge where eight hearty youths are launching kayaks. They refer to us as "normal people."

East of the river the trail heads under the interstate, into the woods and up a hill. That's enough work for us on the first day out, with heavy loads and out-of-shape shapes, so we make camp amid some tall pines. For dinner, veggie chili over yellow rice, with a secret ingredient scavenged from a Turkish Airlines flight -- a packet of olive oil with lemon:

Accented by young dandelion greens, it's deep and complex, like a mole, delicious!