Double Dew-ty.

Day 70 - 6/25/10
Went further today then I had planned on, even after hitting a couple
snags. I think the double dose of trail magic I got today is what did
it. But I'll get to that later.

Slept decent, not as well as I had hoped. But I was up and gone by 8,
not too bad. I was the last one to leave though, which doesn't happen
that often. The hiking started off rocky and it stayed that way for
much of the day. I did a few miles, then came to this enormous boulder
field. It was really cool, just a massive spillage of giant rock down
the hillside, and it seemed as though the trail went right up over it.
When I started climbing/hopping along, that's when it went from cool
to frustrating. After making it a third of the way up I still hadn't
seen any blaze, so I started getting concerned. I dropped my pack,
retraced my steps to where I'd started, and saw that the trail did not
actually go over the boulders. I missed a double blaze, which are used
to signify a sudden turn. So I had to go back up, get my pack, then go
back down again. I was a bit peeved about all that. After a few
minutes I was over it, and so continued onward.

The trail became very flat and boring after that. Still rocky, just
very dull. Pennsylvania is my least favorite state thus far. No
sights, rocky, poison ivy, boring, etc. It gets the lowest ranking on
my list. Anyway, I hiked for a while until I came to 183 (a road)
where there was a cooler with a bunch of sodas. I grabbed a Dew,
mountain that is, crossed the road, and enjoyed it in the shade. Nice
little caffeine buzz.

Then it was back in the flat, rocky woods. I hiked for a few more
hours, stopping when I came to a sign that said "Trail Magic" and was
pointing down a blue-blazed trail. I saw a couple other hikers heading
down there, so I followed, and in 200 yds. came to a treasure trove of
sodas in a stream. I'm talking at least 50 cans of soda, and all
different kinds. I had to take pictures there were so many. I grabbed
another Dew, and did that one. Get it? It sure was a nice surprise
getting two of those in one day.

After that I soon passed the first shelter of the day, Eagle's Nest. I
think it's a little absurd that the first shelter you come across
after leaving the 501 is over 15 miles away. And Pennsylvania has
measly camping, so it's a little rediculous to have them that far from
one another. Anyway (enough of my ranting) it was only about 3:30 when
I passed there, and since Port Clinton was only another 8, I started
considering doing a few extra miles more than I had planned to make it
in.

At around 6 I stopped at a small campsite for a short break. I was
still on the fence about going into town, so I was sort of scoping the
site for camping possibilities. While there a hiker passed, saw me,
and so stopped in. His name was Boo Boo, and we talked for a while,
and because of him I decided to go into town. He said there was a
bunch of leftover food at the Pavillion (a place you can tent out for
free in town) where there had been a hiker feed earlier that day.
Sounded good to me. We hiked together the whole way in, talking a lot
about trail stuff since we had never met before. It's cool to hear
about someone else's experiences along the way, especially at this
point, being so far along and all.

We made it to the pavillion around 8, and all his buddies were there.
At least 6 other hikers. I met a few of them, then got to making
dinner. I had Alfredo with chicken and bacon, pretty good. Add on to
that all the leftover snacks I ate, chips, cookies, celery, dried
apples, and I'd say I ate rather well tonight. A lot of the other guys
here left to go to some pool party, so I just did my thing, eating and
setting up my tent for bed and all that. It's almost ten, and my feet
and body are tired after doing such big miles on all the rocks. It
takes a toll on your feet, but you don't really notice until the end
of the day when they're super sore. Going to do a shorter day
tomorrow. Now it's time for bed.

P.S. Hanna, I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now
and I wanted to write it on you're blog, but haven't had a chance yet
to sit at a real computer to do it. Anyway, just wanted to let you
know I'm trying to follow yours as well, and you can rest assured that
when I get home I will be feverishly reading to catch up on any and
all of your adventures that I've missed. I love reading your stories,
and I didn't want you to think I wasn't interested. Hope you're having
fun out there wherever you are!

Total miles: 1208.1