Location	Begin	End	Elevation Gain	* Dead Animal Count	Distance	Energy Miles	Time
Boone to Doughton Park	Mile Post 287	to MP 240	5,675 ft	9 snakes, 4 mice, 2 moles, 1 skunk, 2 t-shirts	47 Miles	64 E-Miles	6 hrs
Average Speed (includes lounging breaks)	8.5 mph

Spirits were high today. The terrain was not as tough as it was Sunday or Monday and we were able to maintain a much higher average speed. Actual riding speed is about 14 mph.

We were also able to take showers tonight (a privilege on the parkway) and do a bit of laundry. It was Happy Birthday for Jody today. (Photos will have to come later). Turning 16 on a cross country bike trip has racked Jody's sense of priorities. He isn't too concerned about his license yet.

We noticed that there was what looked like a massive kill of trees in the high country along the Balsam Mountains. The balsam woolly adelgid is a small bug that is killing the Balsams (Christmas trees, aka Frazier Fir) that are already weakened by acid rain. It seems that these elevations get far more moisture in the form of clouds than lower elevations. Many pollutants are carried in the clouds. The Frazier fir, because it is an evergreen is constantly exposed to and bombarded by these elements. There is some hope. Some of the younger trees are showing a bit of a resistance to the balsam woolly adelgid. The acid rain however, only we can fix.

*The dead animal count is not a scientific experiment...see previous explanation.