Date: 2015-06-22
From: Hamburg, PA

To: Kempton, PA
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 8:00am after a decent night of sleep. We all gradually made our way to breakfast at our own paces. Afterwards we discussed the plans for the day and decided, instead of zeroing, we'd continue just under ~15 additional miles for we were invited by Burnsides to stay with his aunt and uncle. Yoohoo would stay behind in order to meet back up with Drugstore, Whisper, and Safari who were planning to your the Yuengling Brewery, the oldest brewery in the country, in nearby Pottsville, PA.Off we headed in the direction of the trail ~2.5 miles away. Normally grabbing a ride wouldn't take too long on a busy road, but Moosehead and I would have to walk the entire way back to the trailhead for there was no space for a vehicle to pull over along the highway. Moosehead continued up the trail as we reached the trailhead while I continued another half mile back into Port Clinton to pick up my new boots from the post office. Unfortunately I discovered after getting there that it didn't open until 12:30pm, still an hour and a half away. With plans to be picked up by Burnsides' aunt and uncle, I decided to head on and return the next day for my boots. One more day with the boots that will have gotten me 1,232.3 miles by the end of the day. Well done, Keen.Back on the trail with Burnsides and his brother Matt, we'd pass the first couple of hours chatting and listening to music as we cruised over terrain mostly void of the rocks encountered so far in Rocksylvania. A scary moment came when, with Matt leading, he almost walked atop a Timber Rattler sitting on the trail. He did exactly what I did when I about walk ontop of my first one, yelling and running back towards us. Standing well over 6'0 and solid muscle, I didn't feel too bad after seeing him react the same way I did. We tossed a few rocks in the direction of the snake causing it to slither away from the trail, allowing us to pass by safely. Soon after we caught up to Moosehead, relaxing in his new hammock, before continuing as a group for the remainder of the day.Other than stopping at Pulpit Rock to enjoy lunch as well as a good view overlooking the gentle rolling hills of the valley below, the afternoon would pass uneventful as we cruised at a good pace, jamming music aloud the entire time. We reached Hawk Mountain Road just before 6:00pm and didn't have to wait long before our hosts arrived in a large van to pick us up. Enter Jonathan and Julia Simons who would gladly be hosting us over the next ~36 hours. Our relaxation would begin in opposite fashion as we found ourselves gripping onto the seats of their large shuttle-like van as Jonathan zipped around curves leading back to their home, ~15 minutes from the trail. It wasn't that he was driving that fast, but rather we have become accustomed to a top speed of only ~3mph over the past few months.Flying up their tight driveway lined with large overgrowth, we pulled up to a nice home tucked away in the woods of a Pennsylvania valley just below the Pinnacle and the Pulpit we hiked over yesterday. Jonathan and Julia grow a lot of their own vegetables, buying local produce otherwise. Julie also uses a lot of homemade remedies for whatever ailment you may have. Their kitchen is lined with shelves of remedies, ingredients, and other interesting knickknacks. The kitchen counters are also covered with wooden spoons and other wooden kitchen utensils, as well as wooden light fixtures and cabinet handles that are obviously homemade and reek of uniqueness. All of these can be attributed to Jonathan who's the founder of Jonathan's Spoons. Having a couple of patents to his name so far, his main claim to fame so far is the Lazy Spoon, a spoon designed specifically to rest atop a pot in order to keep soup, chili, etc. from dripping onto the counter or stovetop. Sound boring? Not according to both Rachel Ray and Oprah who have raved about his products in the past. I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of his unique, high-quality products so feel free to visit his website at: www.woodspoon.comSpoil yourself or spoil a friend. You'll be happy with the finished product and your money couldn't go to 2 nicer people.As we showered, did another round of laundry, and spread out for our time off, Jonathan and Julia prepared a feast for dinner including steak, homemade coleslaw, rice, salad from their garden, and tons of butter. Yes, butter. On everything. When we thought we had enough, Julia insisted we add more. So we did. We followed dinner with ice cream as well. The food was great, the conversation was entertaining, and the keyboard/rap session we had was spot on. Burnsides and Moosehead went back and forth in a rap battle while I held down a sick beat on the keyboard.As the night grew late we eventually retired for the evening. Burnsides and Matt went to sleep just after 10:00pm, but Moosehead and I stayed up later to watch a 1980's flick, Vision Quest.Tomorrow will be a zero as we take care of chores and continue to relax and allow our tired feet to rest. With over ~200 miles since our last zero, it's a much-needed one.Here's to over 1,200 miles completed, butter-drenched steak, and cherry wood creations.