Date: 2008-05-18
From: Eagles Nest Shelter PA

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter PA
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Day 91 ¢ Sunday May 18 ¢ Windsor Furnace Shelter PA ¢ Miles Today: 14.7 Total Miles: 1211.4Today we had, what else, but another rainy day. It rained most of the evening on and off. When we woke at midnight it was raining, but by morning we had clear, bright blue sky.   We thought we were going to have a delightful, beautiful sunny day. Luckily last night when we went to bed we thought the forecast was for sunshine so we were in good spirits. But by 10:30 our full rain gear was out and we hiked in rain from 10:30 until just before we got to the shelter at 3:30.The miles went pretty quickly today. We walked through Port Clinton - not much to say about it. We were in the rain so we weren't looking around too much to do any touristy things. The rocks continued to be patchy today - some good stretches, some not so good stretches. All in all, it was a good day, though a wet day. It wasn't extremely windy and it was a few degrees warmer than the bone chilly day a couple days ago so it made it a much more bearable wet day. Plus we got what we call the ¢dry cycle¢ before arriving at camp, which made it easier to set up the tent and get all our gear in, as it wasn't sopping wet. However, with all the wet weather we're having Brakeman's socks have taken on a new delightful (sarcasm) odor. Boy, are they lethal! There is poison ivy everywhere! We pitched our tent on a little dirt spot with just a few green sprigs of vegetation around the doorway. Guess what those green sprigs are ¢ yep, poison ivy! We had to place some rocks on top of the poison ivy to cover it so we could get in and out of the tent safely! So far, we're still clear of it. I don't know how because the whole Pennsylvania trail seems to be poison ivy. We arrived at the shelter to find an 80-year-old man and his black lab already there. He said he comes out one night every three weeks with his dog. When we asked him about the weather forecast, he said it was to clear up the first of the week. We remarked that was great news as tomorrow is Monday! After rethinking the forecast, he said well maybe it was to clear up on Tuesday not Monday. So we're really not quite sure what the forecast is, but I guess it is what it is. Hopefully we'll get a dry cycle here soon! The dog brought us a few challenges. If he wasn¢t trying to get into our food sitting around camp, he was walking through the poison ivy and then coming over to us requesting pats. Ah, I don¢t think so, Mr. Dog. We do not want poison ivy!A group of college kids arrived to camp after us. We had passed them as they were getting out of their car in Port Clinton to start their hike. It¢s amazing to look at their gear. Paul Revere pans. Big backpacks. A garbage bag laid just on the top of their backpacks for rain protection. A clothesline hung with their wet clothes. Ah, but I bet they are having fun.We¢ve looked at the schedule again tonight. We're experiencing the same issue that Chris has been experiencing. He seems to go for numerous high miles days, then gets burned out and drops to several low miles before getting bored with that and jumping back to the high mileage days. We're having the same sort of problem. The last couple of days have been low mileage days - basically 15-mile days and our bodies and minds are itching for longer days. It's really hard with the shelter spacing to get the proper mix of miles each day. We're going to look at the revised schedule and add in a couple high mileage days occasionally. The original schedule with some 25-mile days just is not going happen, but the revised schedule with too many low mileage days is not right either. It is hard to always find that perfect balance of miles that we want to do each day. We either end up doing too many pokey days in a row which leaves us in camp for too long or we end up doing too many high mile days in a row which leaves us too tired. We¢re struggling with it just as much as Chris is struggling with it. The terrain plays into all this too. It's not quite 7:00 and about 65 degrees, though because of the dampness, it is not a toasty warm 65. We've reviewed the schedule, dinner is done, food bag hung and well, I guess we'll just have to go to bed! Goodnight from two hikers who have been in camp for too long!!