Date: 2016-06-22
From: Hertline Campsite

To: Pavilion at Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

Jun 22, 2016 - Another early morning had us hiking before 7 - we had a ton of fun stuff to fit into the day. Another easy, yet annoying 18.5 miles along a flat, rocky ridge line brought us to Port Clinton, PA. The descent into the town of Port Clinton was so steep that I needed to walk sideways to avoid sliding down the mountain. I saw two section hikers at the bottom and simply wished them good luck because that ascent must be hell. Port Clinton, PA is an incredibly small town with an unusual assortment of shops. For instance, they had an old school barber shop, a post office, a hotel / bar, a fire house, two car dealerships, and a candy store. That's it. Hikers hang out at the barber shop where Frank and Rocco provide cookies, coffee and somewhere to sit. When I say old school, I mean this barber shop is straight out of the 1920s. There was an old man playing live music when I first walked in. A simple men's haircut took nearly 45 minutes because the barbers talked so much. It was a very unique place. I checked out the candy shop, but quickly realized I needed to leave before I spent $100 on the goodies in there. I just couldn't handle the amount of amazing, homemade candy and I wanted everything. Peach, Napster, Michael and myself got a ride from one of the barber shop's customers to nearby Hamburg, PA for food, a visit to the largest Cabelas in the world and a resupply. The Cabelas, which I've been to before, is extravagance personified. This place has an entire taxonomist display of animals, an aquarium, a restaurant, and a fudge shop where I purchased three blocks of delicious fudge. Dinner was a Chinese buffet, which should speak for itself. After a quick resupply, a stranger gave us some Hot Pockets. Then, Peach and I caught a ride from Rebel Yell, who actually thru hiked the trail last year, to Peace Rock. Peace Rock is a 40 foot cliff jump near Port Clinton. It was right up there with the James River footbridge as far as cliff jumps go, but much more crowded. When Peach jumped, Scoober flipped out - his face so clearly said, "What the hell just happened?" Then, he sniffed around looking for him until he just sat down and started whimpering. Our original plan was to camp near Peace Rock, but since it was so crowded and the area was very dirty (as are most of these types of places, unfortunately), we walked back to town along the train tracks. We were sidetracked at the bar where we shared a beer with Journeyman. Journeyman is 63 years old and will be spending some time off trail with his wife so this would be the last we'd see of him. After an already overloaded, enjoyable day, Peach and I finally made it to the Pavilion at the north end of town. This was simply a pavilion situated next to the river that hikers were allowed to use as a shelter. Somebody had left a box full of Trail Magic there for us to enjoy and I splurged on the Double Stuf Oreos. Joining us at the Pavilion was Training Wheels, who I hadn't seen since Hot Springs, Jingle, Sweets, Great P, Boyardee, Splinter, and Even Keel. Everybody caught up for a while over a few six packs and slowly made their way to the Pavilion for bed.