Over the course of 584 miles of trail, you cross many roads. Some are seasonal, dirt or gravel roads in the woods. Many go through towns and villages. There are parts that follow along railroad tracks and there are a few small tunnels. But I think the most unique crossing is on Map 09, at Kanakadea County Park in Hornell. Here, the trail goes UNDER the four lane Interstate Highway 86. Robert and I were hiking from west to east and, after hiking up and then back down a small hill, I see a tunnel made of corrugated steel. It looks like a huge culvert pipe, about 4 foot wide and seven or eight foot tall. (Dave Newman later informed me that the tunnel was installed when I-86 was built in order to maintain public access to the part of the park north of the expressway.)

I watch as Robert disappears into the darkness. There’s shallow water on the floor of the tunnel, which leads me to worry about flash flooding, even though it is a perfectly sunny autumn day. I enter behind him and turn around to snap a photo looking back into the sunlight. Then, walking in deeper, I snap one more photo. It is now op-art: a psychedelic, almost black and white image. I can barely make out Robert’s silhouette way off in the distance, backed by bright white sunlight. I follow him in, trusting that I will not be swallowed up into some rift in the space-time continuum.