I was convinced my steed knew the way, but soon found out otherwise. We spent quite a bit of time in the settlement of Lexington; we got to see a lot of the town till we finally located the right trail. The things I saw only served to remind me of how life in the settlements can affect a person, to their detriment.
After my long and arduous journey the area of our trek finally came into sight, I MADE IT!
A couple of longhunters had already beaten me there, so together we made plans for our camp, and Longhunter Jon familiarized us with the area.
Speaking of the area, there is probably no better place in Kentucky to hold such a trek. To get to see the actual survey documents of the area, to operate in the same area that 'cousin Daniel' plays and hunts in, was quite an honor.
We made camp, putting up our shelters and gathering firewood. A couple of us made a short exploratory walk to get the 'feel' of the area. Even though various and sundry settlements are in the area, and I expected wildlife to be few and far between, we heard or saw a variety of critters, and the flora here had about a week's head start on it's growing season, than the flora at home.
It would do the reader no justice to assail him with the routines of camp life, as other hunters arrived, we all met and made friends quickly. The camp took on a life of it's own, as is common.
Some highlights of our camp, we did occasionally have some very strangely dressed visitors, and even an old friendly Indian camped with us! A few years ago this would have been unlikely. My prejudice against the savages was quickly overcome by this indians' knowledge of the area, his quick wit and friendly nature. He noticed the scalp hanging from my shelter (an unfortunate result of meeting one of his race on the way to the camp) but made no mention of it. As a matter of fact, this particular Indian gave me a new moniker, that ofPreach, this I shall now go by, it is easier for everyone to pronounce than my given name. I can only guess as to why he thought this name suited me.
Our first meal at camp turned out to be a sumptuous stew. Being longhunters all, we each had the foresight to bring articles of food to add to the pot. The stew was widely acclaimed, and even asserted itself some after everyone was asleep (a fact I would never mention in more civilized circumstances, but did notice due to the proximity of our shelters).
A light rain sent us to our shelters the first evening, but it was but a momentary diversion. We spent the first evening getting to know one another, we found that even though we were a diverse group, that included, among others, a seamstress, a blacksmith, and a nurse, we found that we had quite a bit in common.
There seemed to be some sort of competition between the old Indian and longhunter Jon, as far as I could tell it had to do with their prowess in stalking, apparently they had engaged in some sort of game to see who was the best, I would not care to bet on the outcome.
We spent much of Saturday engrossed in a trek, I cannot do justice in this space to what we saw and did. Part of our travels brought us alongside the mighty Kentucky River, always a sight. I might also mention the fog that assailed us as we awoke, as is common in this season, but more pronounced due to our close proximity to the river.
Our little clan mostly stayed together during this walk, the old Indian slipped away near the end, bringing thoughts to my mind of savage treachery, but it turned out to be good natured fun between he and the longhunter Jon, each trying to best the other. I then put all my fears aside for the duration of the trek, regarding the Indian.
Upon our return to camp, we all had worked up an appetite, so we dipped into our snapsacks and haversacks, and each ate what he had brought, with a community fire.
We spent a while admiring one another's firelocks, and equipage, as each of us had arrived from another part of the frontier. We shared what news we might have, and found again that we had all made mutual acquaintances at one time or another with other persons, we all shared a love for this lifestyle, and hoped progress wouldn't push us further West.
That evening, someone broke out a bottle of wine, and the words began to flow. We had become friends by now, so there was a bit of tomfoolery. All was in good taste; I think no one's ego was permanently damaged! We even had one of the strangely dressed people stay the night with us; his dress and shelter were quite out of the ordinary. The nights were uneventful, although a deer had taken offense to our using his preferred sleeping place, and let us know it both mornings! The dog in our camp that the blacksmith had the foresight to bring, made us all feel safer, and his curiosity quickly made the deer depart.
During our stay we were treated to fog, rain, starry nights, a rainbow, good company, d- - - ned good food, a good excursion all around. I highly recommend that anyone in the area consider taking such a trip, (perhaps without the diversion into the settlements).
I thank longhunter Jon for arranging all this, and personally look forward to the next one. My faithful Pathfinder did know the way home, and I arrived without incident.