Date: 2016-06-03
From: Eagles Nest Shelter Camp

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Ok, it's official now, I am injured. Still not sure what's going on; I just know my left shin is increasingly painful and swollen. Walking is a real chore so I feel good about having made it to town (Port Clinton). When you do long-distance running, you learn the difference between little pains, which will work themselves out, and injuries.Usually the remedy is rest and ice. I think that's the case this time. The question is always, how long? I could be surprised, but I think this one needs several days. So, those of you who know me know what that means: I'm in planning mode. The only challenge is I couldn't get the WiFi to work at the tavern where I had a late lunch ( yes, hiker cheeseburger with French fries and yeungling beer ( we're about 15 miles from the yeungling brewery)). So, at this point I'm tented in a free camping park/pavilion here in town. Tomorrow I'll figure out next steps, but it probably won't be on the AT. At a minimum, tomorrow will be a zero day. It took me awhile, but I'm quite sanguine about the possibility of taking some rest. I know it's a thousand times better than continuing to try to push through this thing, only to wind up with a stress fracture or something while having a terrible time hiking in pain. I'm confident I will heal quickly. The irony is my feet are feeling great, in spite of some pretty rough rocks. So let's talk about rocks. There are many sizes, shapes, and types of rocks. PA seems to specialize in relatively small and medium, sharp rocks. Up in Maine, they have huge rocks and boulders. They have sheets of granite, slippery as can be. But not here.There are boulder fields, which go on for a quarter mile or so, which is a pile of mixed-sizes of rocks across which you navigate rock by rock, often hopping from the top of one to the next. It can be fun; it is exhilarating; but it is also where the most falls seem to happen (I fell again today - no damage done).Next, in PA they have rock fields. Here, very few large boulders exist. It is simply a continuous pile of rocks sized from finger-size to suitcase-size. Most every rock is pitched at a severe angle, almost all with sharp edges and pointy corners. There seem to be very few rounded corners on PA rocks. Rock fields may be the worst for walking. Every step is perilous and any rock which appears to be near horizontal is not to be trusted. I have yet to figure out the intelligent design at work here, but there seems to be a strong prejudice against flat, horizontal surfaces. So, you embrace what you're given; you learn to walk on pointy rocks. Where your foot lands on a pointy rock determines the difference between success and anguish. If you land on the heel, your foot is typically thrown into a rather violent twist which proves the worth of strong ankles. If you land on the forefront, control is good but it doesn't take very many forefoot landings to start feeling quite bruised. A side-foot landing (inside or out) frequently leads to getting your foot wedged between the target rock and it's neighbor, often leading to a painful sudden squeezing of a tender part of your foot between two rock-hard surfaces (rocks). So the goal is to land squarely on the hard-plastic mid-foot sole of the shoe. This provides the best chance for successfully navigating to the next rock. Next are trails full of random rocks, often pitch at precarious angles and obscured from view by leaves or dirt. This is pretty good walking but you must maintain vigilance to avoid a sudden, painful surprise. Hiking poles help a lot here as a quick jab into the ground can avoid shifting weight onto the ill-placed foot before damage is done. There are all variants you can imagine to the above types of features in PA but the common factor is sharp-edged rocks. Oh yeah, sometimes these features are at a severe incline or decline, adding complexity.So, PA is a wonderful place, I suppose, but, if I were to be critical of the trail experience here, these are the things I'd talk about. Noise: it seems we are seldom out of earshot of a highway, train, airplane, or small motor.Road crossings: goes with road noise. Some days you cross five or six roads (many of them heavily travelled).Poison ivy: it's everywhere. Rattlesnakes: lots (at least they rattle to warn you) Gunshots: I'm not sure what the deal is; I don't think it's even hunting season but I hear them every day. Trail maintenance: maybe I'd gotten spoiled, but there are sections where ankle high weeds and head high shrubs and trees are constant. Obviously they don't have the 4X8 sheet of plywood clearance standard here. Farmfield walks: avoid heat of the day. Truckstops advertised as resupply options: c'mon. Rocks: there are a few. But I'm not going to be critical of the trail here because it's a gift and I'm grateful to be here.