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Recently, I mentioned catching Allen de Hart playing before a packed house at the Raleigh Elks Club. I also mentioned that during his presentation to the Raleigh Ski & Outing Club he mentioned that he had hiked 55,000 during his career. Allen, polite as ever, writes with a clarification of that figure.

Allen de Hart advises Liz King on proper blazing technique during a recent work day on the Falls Lake Trail.

"The 55,000 miles are miles I have measured for guidebooks and stories and news releases, etc. I can only guess of how many miles I have hiked because I did not start measuring trails until I was about 55 years old."

So that's 55,000 miles he has walked pushing his measuring wheel ahead of him.

"If I included all the trail miles I have hiked in more than 15 foreign countries and more than 40 USA states," he continues, "the distance would be over 200,000 miles. Just driving to and from and all around and up and down with my van to hike trails has been 213,33l.8 miles (figure as of today, July 17). And that does not count two other vehicles I sometime use."

I get exhausted just reading that. Time for a nap.