Date: 2011-06-22
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I managed to get a pretty decent night of sleep because I was wise to use ear plugs from the beginning. When i stirred in the morning I removed an ear plug to hear a foul percussion of skull splitting snoring. I opted to replace the ear plug and wait for a better moment to rise. Wven it I were not trying to sleep it would be a terrible anoyance. My agenda for the next couple of days is strongly dependent on the possibility of meeting up with a good friend and work collegue soon. I do not want to in an inaccessable location to meet up if at all possible. My mileage will be somewhat hindered, but it will be worth it to see a friend. My plan is to get to Port Clinton in a 15 plus a 10 mile day. I may have done a 25 in normal circumstances. I ended up sleeping in a bit. I saw Perigrine and Shutter leave the shelter around 7:45 am. As soon as they shut the door behind them the rain moved in. I immediately jumped out of bed to retrieve my tent I had left out last night to air dry on a make shift washing line outside. I was now up and awake so I had some leftover pizza for breakfast and slowly gathered and packed my belongings. I wasn't in any hurry because I was only planning on doing 15 miles today. I sat at the dining table/inside picnic table and read a few more chapters of the book I'm in at the moment: Into the Wild. Great read. I decided to get up and go at around 10:30 am. Leap was still chillaxing in bed when I left. The scenery was more trees today... fancy that. I had the last of my leftover pizza for lunch on the only overlook/viewpoint of the day. Shortly after my lunch break I passed Ann and Tom and then continued down to a lovely spring. Ann and Tom must have walked past me at this point because I found myself catching up with them again. The rocks keep getting worse. I'm beginning to see why this state is nicknamed "Rocksylvania" by hikers. The rocks haven't drastically slowed my pace, although they do hurt my feet far more than flatter terrain. The clouds looked ominous. I was expecting rain every time a caught a glimpse of the sky. Fortunately it never came. I arrived to camp at 4:30 pm to find Shutter and Perigrine enjoying their afternoon with a cheeky little nap. It was relaxing to get into camp with so much time to spare. I journaled for a bit and organized my food bag a bit better etc. I claimed a middle space in the shelter since Perigrine and Shutter had either end. Leap, Ann and Tom came plodding in later and none of them wanted anything to do with the shelter. The reason they were so detered was due to the excessive mouse activity. These little ass hats were everywhere. They were not afraid of us at all. In fact if you sat fairly still for more than a minute or so, you could easily be mistaken for a climbing frame! We took care to keep food and crumb away from the shelter, but clearly that has not been a priority in he past. I still decided that i would brave the night in the rodent lair. The trick is to keep your food out of reach on a mouse line and keep your head away from any walls so that they don't run over your face while you sleep. Other than that they don't really bother you. It's just getting over the mental state of knowing there are heaps of mice running amuck freely around you. good times.