Date: 2018-09-19
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 15.2

My knee bothered me greatly overnight. I didn't get much sleep because I have to keep shifting my legs. Plus the new Merrells I got back in Warwick, NY are not the wide width I requested so the foot corn flared up the last few days and that is painful too. At 4:16 a.m. I was wide awake so I decided to head out. Though dark out it was a beautiful morning. The stars were out as I walked through the wet grass to the road. Going up the road I could see lightning bugs in the wet grass on both sides of the road. Some a steady glow and some a slow blink. Turning on my headlamp after the last house I found the trail and the time was right on 5 a.m. As I started the climb I ate the single packet of Spam. Now all that is left is the Endurance gels. I knew the trail was mostly a road for miles up to the Pinnacle so I wasn't too concerned about hiking in the dark. At one point the road split and I had to drop my gear to walk ahead to investigate. I found a white blaze up the road to the right out of sight. After I walked back to my gear I continued up the correct route. Though I couldn't see a lot I could hear multiple streams coming down the mountainsides in various directions. At about 6:15 I turned off the headlamp. The morning was wide awake and getting brighter by the minute. A Honeycomb day. Somewhere in Windsor Furnace I followed a Reservoir Road south. Though I ate the gels I was hungry and very tired. Today I'm not going to be a white blaze purist (someone who hikes every inch of the trail). I'm making a detour and it's longer than the regular route. It wasn't long before I was in farmland paralleling the AT and I-78. I was between them somewhere. I had to use Google maps to navigate. I saw an exit on the map but it was one mile before the exit I wanted at Pa 61. When I got near it the exit didn't connect to any roads on the north side. I decided to walk down a dead end street. As I was climbing over the highway fence I saw a woman nearby who just drove out of her garage and was watching me. Was she calling the police I wondered. I got over the fence and down to the bridge over I-78. I thought this would be a quick way to the store and back to the trail. All I want is some processed fast food. No cops yet. After a few blocks there was the Hamburg Market. I went in to get four days of food but they really were short on food. They didn't even sell bread. But I did get four days worth, a coffee and a microwaveable hamburger. If in Hamburg eat a Hamburger. I went outside to eat and drink my coffee. The Hamburg hamburger was I think actually Hamburg BBQ but we'll accept the minor discrepancy. I called Heartrock and put my food in the food bag then headed north up Port Clinton Drive. I figured it had to go to Port Clinton. It was a couple of miles up the road. Finally I came back to the Appalachian Trail. I followed it as it headed along the Schuylkill River and into Port Clinton. The river was running bank full from the recent rains. I was heading to the town's pavilion that hikers are allowed to stay at. I intended to leave my gear there and walk to 3C's restaurant but at the last minute I decided to continue to the restaurant. I was happy to find they serve breakfast all day. I ordered the Meatlover's Farmer's Omelet. It was full of meat and potatoes. It was delivered round and cut like a pizza. After I made that disappear I asked for ice cream but they had none. Freezer burn she told me. I did settle on a chocolate chocolate cake with chocolate icing...so chocolaty good. I returned to the pavilion but was indecisive on what to do. I could go on a few miles or I could stay. It was the middle of the afternoon. My feet had sore areas from the new shoes and needed attention. I had wet shoes for two days now and that may have caused the sore areas. Back at the Hamburg store there were no Band-aids but here at the hiker box there were. After a call to Nurse Heartrock she said I should stop and relax, take care of my feet and the ugly corn (she really is a nurse). So I stayed. First, I walked back to town with three jugs of water for the pavilion. Before I got to the house where the trail angels let us use their spigot a woman told me to use hers. I thanked her not only for the water but it saved me a block or two walk. Back at the pavilion I fixed my feet the best as I could. I saw a pair of Merrells size 11 left at the hiker box. They were in good shape and I was hoping to annex them. But though they were a half size bigger they were just too tight in the nose. Though I could use them in the future carrying them 70 miles was weight prohibitive. Signs indicate hikers are to keep this place in shape. So, besides getting water I swept some and went through the trash to put what can be recycled in the correct bin. I put up my tent on the north side of the pavilion. On the south side of the pavilion are two dead ash trees killed by the Emerald Ash borer. One dead ash in front by the entrance pillars dropped a branch while I was sitting here. That tree won't hit the pavilion. So, I think I'm safe from tree damage. Rt 61 is just up a steep bank and the traffic is constant. But I suspect traffic will subside as the evening rolls on. I heated up two cans of tomato soup that were left here and even shaved. Now it's 6 p.m. and I so want to go to sleep. The plan for the next four days is to reach Duncannon. Once there I will go home to winterize my house. I will also visit my ailing friend Sally whose trail name is Mourning Dove. Then I will drive with Heartrock to Florida for her annual migration to work for eight months in the hot Florida urban jungle called Fort Myers. On October 4th I will fly to Harrisburg, walk to the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, and continue my hike south to Georgia. Ah, bedtime.