Date: 2004-07-13
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Eagle's Nest
Miles today: 8.6

I made it out of Port Clinton ¢¦.WooHoo! After 3 free zeros (35, 36, 37). Gordy and I left town at 11:00 am. We are headed South seventy miles to return to Duncannon, from whence I hitched a ride to the Trail Magic. From there, Gordy continue to Harper¢s Ferry. Right now, however, I am chilling to the sound of a guitar with one new friend and two old friends. Today, my body felt the repercussions of trail magic. Tonight I¢m relaxed.This morning I awoke around 7:00 am to the first non-rainy dawn in a few days. I slept like a log! I packed up my wet gear and experienced the joy of donning wet clothes! I roused Gordy, and then I walked to the diner with Big Stick. Our mission? Procure T.P. We felt bad about taking T.P. without making a purchase, so we sat down at the bar. My final six-dollars would go toward a sausage-egg-N-cheese hoagie with hash browns and water. While Big Stick and I sat and talked, both Sunshine and Gordy dropped in ~ the four of us relaxed and dined together. Big Stick and Sunshine are over 70-miles ahead, so we knew this would be the last time we chilled for a while. It was sad as Gordy and I said our good-byes and headed back to the Pavilion to leave. At the Pavilion, I also said good-bye to Ski Bum and Rooster. Who knows if I will see any of them again before Maine? Though it was hard to say good-bye, I was excited to finally start hiking again.Something felt wrong as we began our southbound hike. While ¢my stomach¢ would also have been an acceptable answer, I¢m referring here to our direction. When you walk in the same direction for 1,100 miles, your body actually can detect that something is odd when you turn around. As we started walking south, out of town, I just felt weird. Nonetheless, I was excited and Gordy was, too. We headed up the mountain with me looking like a scary-bearded mountain man and Gordy looking like a dirty flower child.The climb out of Port Clinton was hellish. The eleven o¢clock sun was plenty hot, the rocks many, and the grade steep. I began to sweat from every opening in my body. In sheer frustration, my legs cried out, "Why?" Nonetheless, I pushed through the pain, through the lack of desire, and through the feeling, ¢Why move when you can stay in town?¢ My stomach was squeamish and I squeezed to push through the possibility of sharting myself. (For those of you who don¢t know, ¢shart¢ is a mixed-word, formed from sh*t and fart). While disgusting, I was seriously quite worried about this condition and feared the worst. My heart throbbed, snot dripped from my congested head, and slowly I moved upward. About a half hour later, I had it made; the climb was over. Sweating like a pig, I plopped down next to an equally exhausted Gordy, took off my pack and just laid back. Three zeros had taken their toll on me, but I had hiked one-mile and I was officially back.The terrain for the day was flat, but somewhat rocky. There were few flowers or views, but the woods had a pleasant, eerie feel, as the light green seemed to radiate from the young tree life. For four miles, Gordy and I swapped stories of home. I talked about my two sisters, and Gordy talked about her guy from home, a small ski town in Colorado. The conversation was nice, but both of our bodies were pissed off about the massive amount of greasy trail food we had ingested over a 3-day period. I wasn¢t feeling well and at 4-miles I stopped to ¢brown blaze¢ into the woods. It was rough, so much so that I finally took the Imodium AD that I¢d carried, but not used for the last 1,100 miles. Today was supposed to be a 24-mile day ~ that was not going to happen!During our last 4-miles, we passed a turtle and sang songs. We were done for the day when we reached the shelter after 8.6 miles. We said we¢d push on later if we felt better, but ¢We were done!¢ We arrived about 3:00 pm to find an empty shelter. We threw our stuff down, unpacked and relaxed. Then a horrible thing occurred: I went to the privy only to find an overflowing vestibule of nastiness¢¦yuck!!!But from this point on, the day would improve. I love to sing and Gordy actually packs a small ¢gypsy¢ guitar. She has a light, beautiful, untrained voice. We zoned out and sang together for 2-hours. She taught me new songs and I harmonized with her. I love harmony even more than the singing itself. As the music continued and my stomach fears faded, my tired day became but a memory and a huge smile captured my face. I was in heaven.We shared ¢Oriental Stir Fry¢ and joked that neither of our stomachs exploded, which was a definite plus. Around 6:00 pm, when I thought the day couldn¢t get any better, I looked in the distance and saw a green shirt and a red shirt, walking together. My day just got better ~ ¢T¢ and Rally were coming to join us."T" and Rally had split from me in Duncannon. While I was a bum, they hiked North for 4-days. I love them both and we said our hellos and caught up. We all joked about our hiking and I told Rally I missed her...because when we were hiking together all the bugs would eat her and leave me alone! The truth is, Rally is the only Christian hiking partner I've had, and she is a sweetie. I will miss her for more than her affect on bugs! "T" is a great guy and can carry on a very intelligent conversation. As we talked, our craziness led to a fake "catfight" between Gordy and Rally. I nearly peed myself laughing! I felt at home in the shelter tonight with the four of us together. Rally and "T" are writing by the fire and Gordy and I are going to play some music together. I feel so great. Even my stomach feels better. Before I drift away in song, here's a final little poem:Right now I'm so happy I could danceEarlier I nearly crapped in my pantsI definitely love chilling with my friendsFar more than squeezing my rear-endA smile on my face, happy where we areSinging here with Gordy playing her guitarRally and "T" beside, who could ask for more?I'm glad we hiked 8-miles instead of 24The goal will be 61-miles in 3-days. If it's anything like today it should be fun and interesting.Goodnight to allBeatbox ttt