Day 22-The Pennsylvania Wilds Region-full of caterpillars!

Day 22 Sunday May 30, 2010 Distance 94.87 km. Time 5 hr. 27 min. Total so far 1509.98 km. Elevation climb today 7335 ft. Gary and Sue were going to treat us to breakfast at a restaurant 4 miles down the road so we got going at 7 am and they went there ahead of us but found that it didn't open until later so they drove back and told us. Since it was cool and early, we said our thank you, and good byes. On our right we passed the Susqhehannock State forest, a beautiful outdoor area in this region of the state and a small pretty place called Sweden Valley. Then we headed toward the dreaded Denton hill. It was a long slow climb but we both didn't need to use gear 1. On these long slow uphills, I pass Dave and go ahead. We stopped at the summit and had our breakfast, and I shed some clothes and put on suntan lotion as it promised to be another scorcher. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The only problem is that when you are blasting downhill or when you are laboring uphill, it is most inconvenient to stop for photos. In Galeton, we had a snack and filled up with water. So far every town's water has agreed with our systems. Soon after Galeton we passed mile 200 of Hwy. 6 . The area past here has the Pine Creek trail system for biking and horseback riding and the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Here we took our hourly break and met Larry, a cyclist just getting back in the saddle after a shoulder injury suffered by being cut off during a criterium. The cars and motorcycles and tourists were everywhere. At lunchtime in the park of Wellsboro, the trees were just infested with caterpillars and the big flies in this area are everywhere. Apparently this is the second year of this and you can see the damage visibly as you look up at the hills. It was only noon and we had done 4 hrs. so we decided to do the next 12 miles to Mansfield. Well, that took and hour and a half as there were several hills. We were planning to go to the campground but the downhill into town was 6% grade for two miles and we flew right past it without noticing. No way were we going to climb up again as it was now about 94 degrees so we crossed the Tioga River and are at the Mansfield Inn. I for one am not complaining. Tomorrow we head into the third part of the north of Pennsylvania called Northeast Pennsylvania Mountains. Ouch!