bears and stinky socks

I hiked 14 miles to Unionville, NY today after a long three days of 22, 24 and 27 miles. I didn't intend to hike 27 miles yesterday, but the shelter I was going to stop at had a large trail crew, and bedtime would have been too late. I decided to go to a shelter 3 miles up, but some locals were having a beer party there. So three more miles, which made a long day given the heat. The delicious homemade cookies in my mail drop box today are a great treat. The new Teva sandals will also feel good at the end of the day. There has been A LOT of wildlife. Yesterday I saw 8 bears. The first one, about a 300 lb grown bear, was only about 50 feet ahead of me when I noticed it.I slowly backed up as I reached for my camera. There were three bears total at this location, pictures may be fuzzy since the camera was shaking for some reason. I'll upload pics whenever I can, I've not had access to a computer to do so yet. The second set of bears included a mom and 3 cubs. The cubs climbed a tree when they saw me. Really cool things to see. I need to wash socks badly. They have only been hand washed since Duncannon on 6/14 and they are bad stinky and crusty. The NJ trails have been great, with lots of views. Feet have blisters but are not slowing me down, all else is good with the body. I get tired quicker with heat, it has quite a bit hotter lately. I've used the bug net at night since the misquitos are getting bad. My stove got wet, and I had to take it apart and clean it. It worked after my repair, so I feel good about that. I'm still on my first fuel canister, but it is getting low and it may be 100 miles to get another. Probably should have gotten one last chance I had, but I'm sure it will work out. Thanks for reading!