Years ago, I worked as a harvester in the California orchards. Early in spring, along with others who wished to enjoy the clean air and delicious fruit, I would head for the cherry orchards. When the cherries had been picked, we would go to the apricot, peach, pear, prune, and apple orchards, then the hop fields, and, finally, the grape vineyards.
In the course of the summer, we would walk well over 200 miles loaded with utensils, blankets, books, and wearing apparel. We found that the straightest, levelest highway between fruit centers was the railroad. But walking the track was difficult. If we walked the ties, which were not evenly spaced, we had to continually break step. We would occasionally step on a piece of crushed rock and be tripped. To walk the top of the rail was ideal, except that it was narrow.