The Buzzard Vulture Paradox

“0” Day Count = 6

Location : FTC MM 32.3

Weather :

Update …

This’ll be quick.  My phone’s battery is at 8%, the data connection is LTE only, and that data connection quality is pretty poor.

The vultures are back!  I’ll post photos of them sitting on the telephone pole, waiting for me to die.

Wrekreation keeps me straight, fact checking my ghost-written articles for accuracy.  Guessing I flubbed up somewhere recently, leading to this correction …

Vultures usually have red heads and only eat dead things.  Buzzards are usually a single color and are predators. Vultures and buzzards are different animals, but the names are often used interchangeably.

In the United States, “buzzard” is a slang term for vultures. However, in the UK and other places, “buzzard” is a type of hawk.

So, there you have it.  Buzzards are black — and sometimes hawks.  The More You Know 🌠

Update from FTC MM 38.7 …

I’m currently at El Pirata, a nice, airy outdoor sea food truck, recharging my phone and wondering where the hell I stuffed my 2 back-up chargers (Nitecore 10,000 MaH).

The restaurant is perhaps 0.5 miles east of MM 38.7 on the FTC.  Let’s s give ’em a shout out …

The employees are young, perhaps family members, and enthusiastic about the restaurant’s ambiance, cleanliness … everything.  None of the people seem to speak a lick of English, but … they’re adept at pointy talky.  I don’t speak Spanish, but my pidgin Italian worked well enough.

I may push on towards Kendall Bend, FTC MM 44.3, later this evening.  That would make today a ten-mile day.  It’s nearly 1600, meaning I’ll arrive well after sunset.  Decisions, decisions.

The bridge at FTC MM 38.7 was the first location I could conveniently filter water since … at least a couple days.

The problems getting to the water are manifold:

• There are few locations to access water without plunging in to the water.
• The bank is steep, leading to a vertical drop-off into the canal; the few boat landings I’ve encountered were soupy.
• At current water levels, boat ramps end 2-3′ short of the water, meaning getting to clear water requires being ankle or calf deep in mud.

Today’s innovation, filing the Gregory 3L water bag while standing on the bridge and filtering water through the Sawyer Squeeze into … a Smart Water bottle.  Obvi.

In addition to an MSR Windburner, I also carry a Toaks 750ml titanium cup/pot w/ lid.  For this example, I’ll refer to it as cup.  The cup arrived with an orange carrying case and drawstring cord, to reduce vibrations when packed, act as a koozie, etc.

I also have an identical Toaks 750ml — with a bailing handle … creating a very small 🪣.  The cup I have with me doesn’t have a bail handle.

Hmm … how to add one?  

Put that koozie to use! 

Remove the cup’s lid and any contents in the cup.  Place the cup in the koozie and pull the drawstring cord taught.  Next, securely attach a cord to the drawstring.

Holding the cord tightly, toss your newly re-purposed bucket into the river.  Allow the bucket to sink, retrieve (pull up) the bucket, and finally, pour the water into your reservoir.  Repeat ’til full.

Today’s highlight, I met Ron from Canada on the trail today.  He’s one of those motivated types. We’re texting back and forth, but I’m almost certain I’ll not see him or Harmonica again.  Sad.

Ok, pausing here.  All this activity, posting, uploading, etc. is slowing the recharging speed to nil.