~10.2 mi @ ~13.4 min/mi

"Like the double-T in 'kitten' versus 'butter' — a glottal stop, not an alveolar flap!" Keymaster attempts to teach consonantal articulation to Roadkill, whose head spins as he strives to sense subtle sounds. Butterflies and dragonflies flit through sunbeams as Dawn Patrol makes a morning metalinguistic meander along the C&O Canal towpath. Geese gather to dabble in the stagnant waters, then splash away. Packs of fleet-footed young runners zoom past. At Bear Island we divert to inspect the Great Falls of the Potomac; further upstream we cross the canal and climb through the woods along the Gold Mine Trail. Cobwebs span the path.

"Surprise!" Tassie and her friend Shannon greet us unexpectedly on Berma Road, where they're out for a Sunday hike. K2 pushes Roadkill along as his batteries run down during the final miles. Dehydration on a humid-warm summer morning?

(trackfile) - ^z - 2019-07-20