Date: 2023-05-31
From: Campsite beyond Phillips Canyon Spring 

To: Campsite beyond Dan's Spring
Miles today: 23.2

I started hiking at 7:30. The high was forecasted to be 4F warmer today. The rocks welcomed me back to the trail as I hobbled my way to Port Clinton. The rocks don't hurt, but it's frustrating to go so slowly. Not 20 minutes into the hike, I saw Seeker set up. He greeted me - very friendly guy. After some rock hopping and gentle downhill, there was a very steep descent into town over 0.3 miles that I made me groan.Port Clinton is a small town, but full of charm. You can access everything within a block of Penn Street, which is parallel to the highway and has virtually no traffic. I stopped by the barbershop first, around 9:15, where I heard hikers were welcome. And they were! They welcomed us in, even though we weren't getting haircuts.. except for one guy. They had donuts, cookies, and other pastries ready for us. There was also cold, filtered water for us to refill, plus hot coffee and Gatorade mix. We could also sit in one of several rocking chairs and recharge our phones. The couple who own it and do the haircuts wanted to hear stories, and sign their log. They also had antiques, guitars, and lots of cool posters everywhere, plus an old coin and bill collection. I enjoyed some relaxation time as I listened to 70s classic rock and general conversation. I met a few other friendly hikers there, who started on May 6 from Front Royal.I saw that the 3Cs restaurant was open today, and my AWOL AT guide stated they had the best breakfast. I headed over there at 10:45, which was about a ten minute walk from the shop. I was seated next to a place to recharge, and they have free Wi-Fi. Their menu has a lot of breakfast items - they even have several subcategories! I took a picture of the breakfast options in the menu. I had water, OJ, and a soda water. I got a side tossed salad, fruit cup, omelette with chicken, spinach, cherry tomatoes, and cheese with wheat toast and a pancake. I wasn't quite full, so I got one more pancake filled with peanut butter chips for dessert. Awesome breakfast and definitely one of the now three favorites, along with the ones at Skyland and Goodie's. I signed their log, and leafed through old entries too. They have entries dating back to the 90s!On my way back to the AT, I made a short stop at The Peanut Shop, which had opened while I was lounging at the barbershop. While I had enough food to get to Delaware Water Gap, I figured a few treats over the next few days would be nice. The shop has all kinds of trail mixes -- with and without peanuts -- plus lots of different types of small assorted candies that you could mix and match. They also had plenty of dried fruit, some crystallized and some not. And of course, homemade fudge! Plus cold beverages. I grabbed a Gatorade Zero for the trail, a couple dark chocolate fudge dipped Oreos, a few scoops of different spicy trail mixes, plus a fruit and nut one, and various hard, chewy, and chocolate candies.It was now a bit past 12:30. I began the long climb back up to the plateau. The rocks weren't that bad, at least, but it was hot, and the high was forecasted to warm from 86 to 90 over these few days through Friday or Saturday. I descended to Reservoir Road around 2:30, and got some water. There was another climb up to Pulpit Rock, which was not too bad. It had big rocks further up, but those were fun to walk through. I passed by an observatory on the way, then, around 3:30, enjoyed a break there. To my pleasant surprise, I saw Plunger and Skippy there! They had camped at Black Swatara Spring, a few miles behind me, and opted not to have the grand town tour that I did.I wanted to stay at Eckville Shelter, and so did they. We hiked together for the next 7 miles or so. The trail got so easy that we were walking on a road with a gentle downhill slope, and making good time. I learned more about their adventures. They have seen a lot more wildlife on the AT than I have. They saw a black bear, a fox, and when they were sitting on a rock, they learned that there were a bunch of rattlesnakes plus one copperhead under it. I was not jealous of that latter experience.I learned that the island that Plunger had kayaker to with the greatest density of brown bears is called Admiralty Island, and has an old gold mine there too. Visiting there could make for an adventurous weekend, as long as you survive.I learned that Skippy thru hiked the Te Araroa, a 3000km hiking trail in New Zealand that includes Clearwater, an area used in Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy. She also visited the north island, where the village with all the homes for Hobbiton is located in that series. She said the trek is far more interesting than the AT. I would love to hike it! She also recommended visiting the southern island to see kiwi birds, the only place in the world where they inhabit.Eventually, I was in front, and ended up losing them. It was close to 7, and I was expecting to see a turnoff for the shelter soon, which has water spigots - fancy. I kept going past a parking lot and passed a couple slow flowing streams, then climbed a little. I thought it was rolling terrain, but after several minutes, it was clear I had passed the turnoff for the shelter and was making the bug climb up the plateau again! I had enough water for dinner and the morning, and didn't want to have to repeat the climb, so I kept going.I got to the junction for the trail to Hawk Mountain, where the steep climbing ends, around 7:30. I was so glad I had that Gatorade Zero. I finished that plus a few snacks, and looked at my guide: 5.5 miles to the next reliable water source. It hasnt rained for days, and nearly all the seasonal sources have dried up. I decided to keep going while temperatures were cool, and get closer to the water source.I got to the trail to Dan's Spring around 8:30. It would be nice to get some extra water. I went down the steep trail - there was no water. I returned and it was basically dark, with what looked like a close to full moon. I continued walking, and about 0.8 miles past the spring trail was a dry campsite, where I arrived around 9:10. I made camp, had some ramen with extra brown rice, some instant mashed potatoes, a pack of salmon, and a candy bar - north of 600 calories. On weekend trips, that would be plenty. However, after close to two months, I've lost about 20 pounds while hiking, and I need a good 1000 calories per dinner at least. I now normally ingest hundreds of calories on my breakfast, lunch, and snack breaks. I had a granola bar, a packet of some chocolate peanut butter, and most of a bag of yogurt coated pretzels. I was full then, and fell asleep.