Date: 2016-06-25
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton Hotel
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

So much for getting out of camp early!By the time I filtered water from the trickling spring it was 9:45.Started out feeling great with some nice stretches of trail. Did 2.5 miles in the first hour! (BTW, that's a pretty decent pace.) After a 30 minute lunch break, the trail got rockier. And rockier. And ROCKIER!! I'm sure y'all are tired of reading my whining about the rocks, but man! Ouch!!I just kept my head down and plugged away at it. Those nice stretches early on where awesome! It was nice to be able to look up rather than staring at the rocks under my feet all day, but this afternoon that's all I could muster. Had one really steep climb. It was only about 250 ft gain, but steep! I spent most of the afternoon dreading the drop into town. As I have said before I don't really dread the climbs or descents, usually. But I knew this one would be a beast! Dropping 1000ft in about .75 miles. The elevation profile practically looked vertical! Drops like that really tend to hurt. They go quicker than climbs, but they are hard on the body and are exhausting because I'm totally tense fighting gravity's pull. It was just as bad as expected! And the rocks the second half of the day really neat up my feet before I even got to the drop! But I made it down and into town. The barber shop here is supposed to be super hiker friendly, even for just hanging out, so That's where I planned to head. Unfortunately they were closed for the day! There is a pavilion .2 miles from the trail (which goes through town) where they allow hikers to camp. I had planned to stay there tonight, but it was hot and I was beat, so I headed to the Port Clinton Hotel.I got a room, took a shower, and headed down to get some food. While waiting for my burger and fries I started talking to and joined Shadow Fox, Yukon, Little Red, and Tumbleweed. The trail is such an amazing community. It's very social, and you basically have instant friends whenever another hiker is around. Turns out this gang was at the shelter last night, but they showed up after I had tucked away for the night.Eventually we decided to head to the Fire Company, a hiker friendly, members only club. A couple of the members that were there signed us in. We enjoyed our time hanging with the locals, playing pool and darts, and drinking $1.25 drafts. Around 10 we left and parted ways when I headed for the hotel and they headed to the pavilion. I really should have stayed at the pavilion, though the shower was nice. The hotel is decent, but more of a private room hostel than what one would expect a hotel to be, and way to expensive for what it is. Ah well, I'll get a good night's sleep. If I stay in town another night, which I might because I really need to hit the post office to ship some stuff home, I will stay at the pavilion.A side note about PA... I am a member of an Appalachian Trail women's group on Facebook. The other day someone posted about their thru hike that started in Harper's Ferry and ended 200 miles later here in Port Clinton. She wasn't having fun and was miserable on the trail. It's a very supportive group and everyone had really positive things to say. I mean, 200 miles is no little thing. I found a lot of the comments interesting... Many of them basically said hat this is the most hated part of the trail for most thru hikers. PA is tough. I've even heard people comment on how they feel sorry for flip floppers because they have to start with this. That was all very reassuring! There are times that really suck for sure! These days there are even times I am cursing this state as I trek along (usually very slowly). But I'm still not ready to give up the trail life! Still being able to enjoy myself despite how much most people hate this section (I don't have much to compare it to) makes me happy! I can't wait for New Jersey! I'll keep taking it easy over the rocks as needed. If long miles make me miserable, then I'll hike shorter miles for as long as I want to. Though I am hopeful that things will speed up after the rocks. 78 miles to get out of PA! But I have enjoyed this state. The people are great, the few views are nice, and it's best to experience a new state on the trail!