Date: 2016-05-22
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Common Ground Farm and Retreat Center, PA
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 3214.8 miles in 9.5 hoursPort Clinton, PA (1217.5) to Eckville Shelter/Common Grounds B&B/Retreat Center (1232.3)Weather: Hot, humid, 90¢sDinner: Chicken Tomato Rice (camping dinner), cheese & wine with hosts and their friendsWildlife: Didn¢t care. Birds, I suppose. Hikers: General Lee passed me within the first hour, met up with Frodo and Turtle, met TunaRoll at the Eckville Shelter before being whisked away by my B&B hostNot gonna sugar coat this one. Today was rough. The heat and humidity immediately zapped my strength and resolve. I was freely borrowing Thomas Jefferson¢s use of the f-bomb (see my previous post on Day 27 for that reference) and it probably didn't help that the hotel offered no coffee as part of the stay. I doubt if I was dragging my sorry ass more than 1 mph up the hill out of Port Clinton. Probably less. The only upside was that the mosquito population hasn't exploded just yet and I didn't have to worry about having repellent drip off of me along with the sweat. Actually, there is a second blessing. The springs are all running this time of year. I cannot imagine THAT torture of having to walk in the heat, over these rocks and carry enough water. As it was, I downed 3.5 liters of water.I seriously contemplated blue blazing a cutoff that would have eliminated almost six miles. Doing that, however, would have meant missing two main overlook destinations: Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle. I trudged on and met a weekend hiker on his way down. He greeted me with the usual ¢how ya doing?¢ And my answer wasn't exactly positive. We talked for a bit and he said the final six miles after the Pinnacle followed a dirt road and not all these hellish rocks. Something to look forward to¢¦Two minutes later I summited Pulpit Rock, where surprise (!) there were a dozen other people eating lunch and enjoying the really spectacular view. One group of enthusiastic older teenagers were out for the weekend and it was pretty entertaining listening to them. They also were climbing some of the rocks that another visitor cautioned were home to copperheads. But alas, no snakes. Feeling a bit more buoyed, I started out for my second half of the day and while yes, the trail was indeed much smoother, I still wanted this day to be over. Picking up my speed aggravated my bruised feeling feet.If it wasn't for the promise of a room (and shower) at a B&B at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have hiked this far. A 20-year-old hiker told me that she's cried at least five times since she's started and I thought to myself, well yeah, you're only 20, but I almost cried when I saw this farm retreat. Even though I had just stayed at the Port Clinton Hotel the night before after camping out for six nights straight, I saw that it was going to be in the 90¢s for at least the next two days. I found this place, Common Grounds. They only had an opening for Friday, but I learned that Saturday¢s guest for the room I¢m booked is also a hiker and there are two beds in the room. If she's willing to share, I'm in. If not, the hosts said they'd work something out. I must look pretty bad! So an unscheduled, but extremely grateful, first real zero for me tomorrow.The only injury I have is a persistent bruising feeling inside my left foot sole, near the inside heel. A lot of people have fallen while hiking in PA, twist their ankles or hurt their knees. In that department, my body has been holding up. I'm hoping a zero helps my foot out too. Musings: Thru-hikers are like salmon spawning. We are heading in the same direction oftentimes exerting effort heading uphill, sometimes passing each other, sometimes falling back, but all with a shared goal to reach an end. Unlike salmon, I hope we all survive.