Date: 2014-07-12
From: Port Clinton Hotel

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a rough day from the start but I'm still proud of at least churning out a twenty plus mile day. I started off late from the hotel and James stayed behind to mail some stuff home. After initially hiking alongside the river and underneath a bridge, I arrived at the first uphill of the day which was pretty steep and it was already hot out at nine in the morning. Midway up the mountain, I hit my knee into a pointy rock and instantly crumbled to the ground, I hit it right in the sweet spot. I was down for a good ten minutes and after cursing at the rock, I apologized, lets be honest that rocks has been there for a long time, I'm the dummy who walked into it. So I got up and laughed it off and about five minutes later some insect must have thought my shoulder looked delicious and took a nice hearty bite. I took a quick break soon after, composed myself and moved on, can't let the little stuff get to you out here, just accept it and move on because if you let that stuff harbor inside of you, it will make you a bitter person and you will be off the trail before you know it.   After visiting the Windsor Furnace Shelter for some water and snack, it was time for another uphill which was all loose slate rock that was a pain to climb up especially in the heat. There was a lot of day hikers there and that was the beginning of the madness of navigating through the hordes of them visiting the mountain. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of anyone who decides to spend time outdoors but getting stuck behind a line of Asian tourists who are casually walking down the trail and don't respond when you ask if you can go by is a bit annoying. I didn't realize I was hiking past the Pinnacles which is a popular rock outcrop with beautiful views but it was busy and I lost the trail for a bit and trying to get past these people while looking for the white blazes was a bit stressful. Thankfully I found it and got away from everyone as quick as possible, the trail was downhill and flat so I put on the jets to try to make up some lost time.   I stopped at the Eckville Shelter which is an interesting one as it's on someones backyard. It has a shower and flushing toilet so it's a pretty nice shelter. I was drained of energy and my feet were starting to tell me to scale back the pace a bit so I stayed there for a bit. I met a section hiker from Pennsylvania who asked me where I'm from and when I said Long Island, he yells "Oh you're from Lawn Guyland!' I just stood there staring at him with a blank expression and he took he hint that I've heard that joke about hundred times on the trail and it wasn't funny the first time, it was an awkward moment. A few other thru hikers stopped by as well for a break but the trail has been real quiet the last few days, it's a bit eerie sometimes.   The sky was clouding up so I wanted to get to the shelter as quickly as possible. In the way was a steep uphill which i trudged up without stopping once, it's amazing how strong my legs have become, I love it. The six miles to the shelter was so rocky and any momentum I got started was knocked down by the next series of rocks that made me trip and stumble. I tried to keep a positive attitude but once I got to the shelter I called it quits. I wanted to keep going but my body and mind were saying no, so I reluctantly went down the hill and salvaged some water for dinner, the water sources in this area are getting worse by the day so you have to take what you can get. Going to relax for a bit and hope for a big day tomorrow,if my body allows me to.