Date: 2014-06-11
From: tent site

To: port clinton, pa
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

My biggest goal over the past few days was to not starve. The next biggest goal was to get to cabellas for a pair of new shoes. My merills are falling apart and have not near enough sole to hike over rocks. My long day yesterday was going to make today much more enjoyable. I would have plenty of time to get to the store and do a small resupply. The day started with a pretty big tree uprooting near the campsite, it made noise. She tipped over about 5:30, i was awake but not moving yet. Then the thunder started, i got moving. The thing is that packing up in the rain is the worst. If youre hiking in it your stuff stays mostly dry but if you pack up wet it stays wet and gets the stink. I started getting my stuff together as it started to rain, real rain, not just sprinkling. I hurried as much as i could but things were getting wet anyway. The clothes i hung last night did not dry a bit so they went in the pack wet too. I got on the trail with 4 pop tarts in the gas tank by 6:30. I dont normally eat pop tarts for breakfast but i was concerned about running out of gas for my stove so i picked some up in duncannon. This morning there was no time to cook so i ate em, it worked out well. By the time i got to the first shelter i was completely soaked. The kind of wet where you cant get wetter. I got a snack and talked with hiker monkey. That poor guy is having all sorts of issues, now he has a nasty looking rash on his feet from being wet too long. I honestly think that if i had all the things go wrong with me that he has, i would have gone home. Hes a tough cookie, i hope he keeps on going. The shelter was half way to port clinton so i could nearly smell new shoes. The trail wasnt horrible, parts were rocky and only short sections were really rocky and slow going due to the slippyness. I could totally see how someone would break something going over some of these pkaces with the rocks wet. A couple miles after the shelter i passed a road to shartlesville. That made the teenager in me laugh, shart-lesville. Would their school mascot be the flying sharts? Sorry bout that. After that it was just trail all the way to port clinton. The drop down into town was the steepest i have gone down in a while. A few times i was just sliding down the hill on my feet like skiing. When i got to the bottom i took off my oack and dug my phone out so i could take a pic of the phone number for a shuttle service in case i needed it. Thats when mobius and hiker monkey caught up to me. Mobius wanted to go to cabellas too. First we intended to check out the peanut shop, so thats where we headed. On our way thru town we passed an old barber shop. We were just passed it when an old dog stuck his head out and said come on over for a cup of coffee! Dont twist my arm i said and we stopped over. This guy makes coffe all day and doesnt let a hiker go by without calling him in. He has a bowl of oreos too, both kinds. I took two whites and a brown to go with my cup of coffee. It was a very eclectic place. He had pics of the ancestors ofpeople that lived in toown who had fought in the civil war, animal mounts, old music posters, and a ton of guitars. Not to mention a couple barber chairs. We talked a bit and told our stories then set off for the peanut shop. Its a must see if you like old timey or candy. I like bith so it was a real treat for mw. Its an old time candy shop with the sweetest little lady working there. She calls everybody hunn. They had tons of candy, anything you could want, pretty neat. Then hiker monkey went on and mobius and i went down to the hiker pavillion where we were going to stay. Its a free place hikers can hang out for a night and it turns out that cabellas will come there and get you and bring you back for free. How cool is that? I called and fifteen minutes later a van shows up. We did our shopping, walked to wal mart and got the fella to give us a lift back. He dropped us off at the port clinton hotel so we could get dinner. I got a phillyvcheese steak that was awesome and huge. It came with fries and i gotta say, i vouldnt finish my meal. Then back to the pavillion. I pitched my tent inside and slept in that. Good thing as there was a pretty good thunderstorm. I didnt get wetter but nothing that was hung up dried either. Sooner or later i will have dry britches to wear. Looks like its going to be later though. Tonight it didnt matter, i had new boots and a belly full of philly cheesesteak. It was all i needed and thats good enough for me.