Date: 2005-07-01
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton pavillion
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: few clouds

Question of the day: What would you say is worse? Never-ending obnoxious rocks or gnats continuously buzzing in your ears and flying in front of your eyes? Hard to say isn't it? Well....imagine a horrendous combination of the two and that should give you a good picture of what today's hike was like.We left the shelter early and got on our way. As we hiked we passed MacGyver and Just Passin' Thru as they were heading southbound. I, Ms. Priss asked if Port Clinton was a nice town and they pretty much replied that it was a rundown hole in the wall and that the hotel was closed for the weekend. I wasn't too discouraged at this since we were planning to stay in the town pavillion anyway. It was a steep but quick down into town and had a nice area right near the railroad (I believe because it is a wildlife sanctuary). The guys were right about there not being much to the town and the hotel is closed through 4th of July. As we walked into town, Bug and I saw Train and Raindrop as they were heading back out onto the trail. It seems Train has been really ill, and will be headed to the doctor upon meeting with friends in a couple of days. Next we saw Redwing and Hopeful as well as Patch, Guidless, Spitfire, and Leviathan. It seems everyone took some time in Port Clinton. They were all headed out, but they stayed to visit for a bit. Bug and I got our maildrop and began to sort things out before heading to the pavillion. During the process of sorting, we discovered some yummy homemade brownies (Thanks Mom and Dad)! In the meantime Mudpumpkin and Stats arrived and we swapped some goodies. We shared brownies and they shared cake and cookies.Finally, we started walking to the pavillion. A local stopped to offer us a ride, but we declined since we were planning to stop at the outfitter. The outfitter didn't have much at all and we left, only buying two cold drinks.At the pavillion, we ran across Buttah and High Noon who were preparing to leave. We talked with them for a bit and then they headed out. Bug and I sat awhile to rest our feet and set up a place for the night. There was rumor that there was a Peanut/Candy Shoppe up the road so we made our way there. As we headed up that way, Buttah and High Noon were walking towards us; they said their plans had changed after hearing about the torrential rains that were headed our way. We stocked up at the candy store and were thoroughly enjoying our cach© when we met a local gentleman by the name of Dave.Dave was great and offered us a ride to Cabela's Sporting Goods in nearby Hamburg, PA. We had a great afternoon talking with and getting to know he and his wife, Oana. He and his son will be doing a large section of trail next summer. At Cabela's we re-geared our shoes before hitting the bad rocks. We both bought Merrell Ventilators. Bug bought the low-tops and I, the hightops. They seem really comfy....hope they work. We are back at the pavillion and Bag o' Tricks is here telling all kinds of trail tales. He was nice enough to bring in a cooler of drinks and hang a lantern so that we could see. Things are starting to wind down, so we will wind down too. Goodnight!