Date: 2006-05-31
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: AllenTown Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 86 Wednesday Today I'm walking for Cammie. Brother Ewing picked me up on schedule last night at the Harrisburg airport and delivered me to the Pavilion in Port Clinton. Already there were Riverside and Fantasy Feet. FF remembered me-Piece of Work and I were walking together and stopped at Matt's Creek for some rumored Trail Magic-FF was there, too. His memory is better than mine. Riverside is a young guy from VT who started at Springer on April 1. When I was spreading out my groundcloth and thermarest he asked if I snored and suggested that if I did I should move to the other side of the pavilion. I didn't move, but I did think his attitude was kind of cheeky, especially since we were just a few yards from a 4 lane state highway with lots of trucks. He left before me this morning, so maybe he won't be bothered by me anymore. I started out this morning with a mix of eagerness and trepidation-about gear, physical condition, and other hikers. My outfitter in Johnson City, Mahoney's, had ordered me a replacement hip belt, which unfortunately turned out to be sewn wrong. So John, the main gear and boot guy, went to the warehouse to look through a stash of Kelty pack parts and found one for me. I was eager to see how it would feel; I'm still adjusting and tweaking it and where it rides on my hips, so no verdict yet. I also wondered if the 6 days off has produced a decline in my trail conditioning, but the first good climb and rock ridge encouraged me-no apparent degradation in legs or lungs. I may feel different later today. I was also curious about who was now ahead of me, who was behind, and by how much. Of the people who I have hiked with, only Red Dog and 365 are ahead. All the others-Piece of Work, Doogie, Jebus, Grizzly, Trooper & Tines,etc.-apparently are one or more days behind, even though I took 6 days off. I walked fine most of the day, until Ecksville Shelter, where I cooked dinner, refilled water bottles, and rested. I decided to go on to the next shelter, only 7.4 miles away. I thought I could do it in less than 3 hours and get a jump on tomorrow's mileage. Unfortunately, 6 of those 7.4 miles were rated 7,8,9, or 10 . Without a doubt, it was the worst uninterrupted hiking of the whole trip. There was no relief from the stumbling and twisting and rock hopping-until I took a hard fall on my shins, elbows, and face. I was alone and was afraid I'd broken something. Fortunately, I only have scratches and knots on both shins. Those 7.4 miles took me more than 3 1/2 hours, so it was almost dark when I finally got here. The spring is a long way down the hill, the others say, so I will wait until tomorrow morning to get water. Here are Mr. Rogers & Tree Girl (hiked with them some in Shenandoah), Two Shoes (hadn't seen him since Sam's Gap), Helium ( who I'd met briefly in the Shenandoah-he's from Knoxville), and Fantasy Feet. Also 2 section hikers are tenting here. Saw 2 scarlet tanagers and one large black bear today. The bear was on the Trail about 100 feet ahead of me and wandered off into the woods when he heard me. I kept making noise as I went by, trusting that he was trying to avoid me. Didn't see or hear him again. I'm tired, sweaty, sore, and thirsty. They say tomorrow the rocks will be bad. Oh, good- another challenge to be overcome.