Type 2 Diabetic. Cyclist Flâneur.   Coffeeneur.    Errandoneur
A bike / map geek with a gadget obsession and a high-viz fetish.

Friday, August 29, 2014

My Missing Gear and the North Pond Hermit

8/29/2013 29m
Started in McDonald PA and rode over to Starbucks with RC.

The nearest Starbucks, near as I could tell, was via the Montour Trail to Robinson and up the hill into the mall-sprawl. The trail conditions were excellent and the hill into the shopping complex was noteworthy.

We had a nice discussion of many things, including the bits of gear that seem to pass away from existence on our various trips. A folding cup here, a chair or a water bottle there; equipment disappears into some fractional-dimensional void, necessitating a trip to REI or the web to replace them which makes me think - hey, somebody is profitting from this maybe there's something going on here.

Which brings me to the story of Chris Knight, the North Pond Hermit who lived in the New Hampshire woods from 1986 (Chernobyl) until his arrest for theft in 2014, 28 years of living in the woods by stealing food, clothing, and camping gear from local houses and camp sites.

When they finally arrested him (he's been doing about 40 robberies a year) he had new boots, new clothing, and fresh servicable equipment. Never used a cellphone, never heard of the internet, didn't know about 9-11.

Now I know where my missing gear is disappearing to. Not to New Hampshire, of course. But there can't be just one of these guys.

No comments:

Post a Comment