The town of Chavies was too small to have a restaurant, so I stopped at the general store and got some Vienna sausage and hamburger buns for lunch. I poured out the liquid from the can onto the ground on the other side of a chain-link fence, then sat on the porch of the store to eat.

In just a minute, I noticed two small puppies licking the ground where I had poured the liquid. I tossed them tiny bits of bread and sausage. Five minutes later, a third puppy showed up. Ten minutes later, a fourth puppy joined in, wagging its tail eagerly for morsels. After ten more minutes, a fifth puppy came along. They were so cute! I kept tossing them tiny bits of food until everything was gone.

Late that afternoon, I stopped in Pippa Passes. This was the location of one of the few real hostels on the Trail.

The parents of the hostel were not around, but I met Didi and Wendy, two college girls from Texas A&M, on the porch. They were touring in a car. Didi was CE, Wendy was Dairy Science. I suppressed an overwhelming urge to break out laughing when she said “Dairy Science,” knowing that it must actually be a serious discipline in some places.

Hey, I was ignorant; I admit it.

The door of the hostel was unlocked, but no one answered the doorbell. Didi and Wendy decided to drive about 50 more miles to a nearby Y (one can do that when touring in a car), but I continued to wait. In fifteen minutes, Charlotte Madden, the keeper of the hostel, arrived. She was surprised that I hadn’t gone in, yet.