Day 102-How to Make a Happy Two Wheels

June 28-14.7 miles-Eagle’s Nest Shelter to Windsor Furnace Shelter-AT mile 1225.9

Today was a much better day than yesterday. Yes, the rocks are still a big part of our day, but when we only have to do 14.7 miles, it’s much more doable. The heat and humidity was also very present today, but I didn’t seem to be bothered by it that much. 

Some weed whacking would be nice. 

Ah yes, the ever present rocks. Are you tired of seeing rock photos? Well, I’m tired of taking rock photos!

Besides the shorter mileage, what made the day oh so much better, was coming into Port Clinton (well, the coming in part wasn’t so great as it was a very steep downhill).

Trust me, it was steep. 

Here’s where we popped out. 

 We had planned to have lunch at the Firehouse Co. restaurant, but they appeared to not be open. As we were walking down to the hotel (which had food), we passed by a soda machine on the side of the road, in front of someone’s house. 

Yay for random soda machines!

It was .75/can. Such a deal!

We continued down to the hotel (they outdoor seating). We all ordered the Hiker Burger. It was huge! I could only eat half (sorry, forgot to take a photo). We still had 5.7 miles to do (much of it uphill...yeah, that steep hill we came down? We had to go up the other side), and I didn’t want to have to stick out my arms to see if I was walking or rolling, or throw up on the trail. While waiting for, and eating our lunch (after going in and washing my hands and face), I took my shoes off. It’s amazing how doing that reboots my feet! It makes my feet feel like I’m starting the day over!

As I said, the climb was substantial, but I just took it slow. Even stopped to take a flower photo. 


There were a few more ups and steep downs. At one point, I could hear thunder in the distance. There was 1.1 miles to go. Time to pick up the pace! Fortunately, the trail was halfway decent. I made it to the shelter, got my tent up, and managed to get water just before the skies opened up and dumped a deluge of rain. 

Besides the pair we camped with last night, there is another guy (thru-hiker) here, and...Tic Tac and Papa Smurf!!! Pee Bottle is no longer with them. We met them at the shelter just out of Erwin, Tennessee, and haven’t seen them since! They have done a fair amount of slack packing, and yellow blazing to be here tonight. We still didn’t really solve the case of the missing Pee Bottle, except that he got off trail and shuttled to Roan Mtn. He told Tic Tac and Papa Smurf that he couldn’t keep up with Sure Foot (that’s true, but he left ahead of us that day, and we never saw him again). Anyway, it’s great to see Tic Tac and Papa Smurf again! Tic Tac is the same age as me. So, it’s still true that I’ve not met another woman thru-hiking that is older than me. 

Having the break today, and not doing so many miles over the rocks made this a good day. Now I need to look to see how many miles tomorrow. Only two more days until I get rid of my stinky shoes, and get my new ones (and socks too)!




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