START LOCATION: 501 Shelter
FINISH LOCATION: Port Clinton, PA
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 23.7
TRIP MILEAGE: 1,208.0
MILES TO GO: 971.1
The crowd at 501 started stirring around 6AM. I laid there. Finally at
7ish I got up. To my surprise I saw Smoke and Panda walk in at 7:30. I
thought they'd sleep in. We goofed around, had breakfast, chatted it
up with the few hikers that were left and generally got ready without
any urgency. We said our goodbyes around 9:00AM and Panda and Mimi
headed into town. Mimi needed a quick resupply and trail angel
extraordinaire, Panda, helped her out. Get this... Panda even ran to
REI and EMS in New Jersey for me today to check on availability of
some new boots I'm considering. Im planning on boot shopping when I
visit with the Stack clan when I reach Jersey next week. Panda...
Seriously, you're amazing.
Smoke and I cruised at 9AM under perfect, and I mean perfect, hiking
weather... Upper 60's/low 70's no humidity and a strong steady breeze.
It felt like a crisp fall day. It's a good thing... Because the
terrain was rough. The grade was perfect... Very few climbs and
descents. We knew we could make a big push if rocks weren't going to
be a factor. But the rocks thrashed our feet all day.
We had a few decent vistas and a little soda trail magic. Those were
the highlights of the hike today. The lowlights came when Smoke and I
both lost the trail in separate incidents. First, I veered straight at
a sharp left and we ended up on some game lands road. About 3 minutes
of backtracking. Then, Smoke walked right by the Eagles Nest Shelter
later in the day. The blazing was horrible. It's like 4 year olds
painted them. Plus, there were way too many when you didn't need them
and not enough when you did.
Our beat up feet dragged us into Port Clinton around 9PM. There's a
town pavilion for thru-hikers to use for overnight stays. It's like a
big shelter, but in a little town next to a busy highway. We saw Devo
and Fredo and they gave us the lowdown on the area. Smoke and I are
hammocking/tenting in the park across from the pavilion.
We are very excited for a breakfast at a little joint nearby. They
open at 5AM. I'd be astounded if we walk in there before 9. We are
absurdly exhausted tonight. It's almost midnight and I can't keep my
eyes open. So I'm going to give in to it.
-natedog
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