Day 97 – Productivity at its Finest

I woke up well rested from Eagles Nest Shelter. I was up, blogs were posted, breakfast was consumed and we were out on the trail. That morning, I hiked with Radaghast for a few hours and we had a good chat.

“Rad” is from Tennessee and works in computer programming when he’s not hiking over 2200 miles. We talked about a full spectrum of topics and I enjoyed his company.

I fell a little behind the rest of the group and got into Port Clinton just after 1PM. Just before getting into town, I came across an empty cooler of “trail magic.” It was a buzz kill to say the least. My arrival in town coincided with open hours to the post office but I missed the free shuttle into Hamburg.

A shuttle driver named Brian with a pretty sweet Taxi gave me a ride to meet my crew. I met the rest of the group at Cabella’s and got myself a bug net for my face and new shirt. The shirt is a fishing shirt that breathes pretty well, is lighter in color than my current shirt, and has buttons down the front I can open for more airflow. I’m loving it so far.

After Cabellas we walked next door to Red Robin for burgers. On the way we picked flowers and donned them as boutonnières. After eating our fill of bottomless fries and lemonade we made our way to Walmart for a resupply. I’m going to be trying out chia seeds with mio and water as a fiber source. I also got trail mix, oatmeal, breakfast essentials, pop tarts (funfetti flavor) and tang drink mix. Oh and I got an apple and packed out a monster (as is the tradition).

We packed our bags to the brim with our new bounty and loaded our much heavier bags into a shuttle for the ride back. Having successfully avoided the heat of the day running errands, we were back on the trail for 6 more miles. It was a steep incline out of Port Clinton, but we made quick work of the hills. It was one of the steeper hills we’ve had in a while and it tested our trail legs (still there).

We arrived at Windsor Furnace Shelter just before dark. The idea of night hiking was tossed around. The intended destination was 9 more miles to the next shelter but we probably would not have arrived until after 1AM. A prospect we were not too keen on, so we decided to camp instead.

Dinner was trail mix and beef jerky (some of the heavier items in my pack). I also tried the chia and mio mix, it was pretty solid and I anticipate it being a new staple. I hadn’t taken out my tent since the rain storm a few days prior and it smelled something awful. Like mildew and wet dog if we’re being honest. With no rain in the forecast tonight my fingers are crossed it dries out.

Looking forward to moving on to the next state soon, but rocks await us.

Stow away in my pack for day 98 of the Appalachian Trail.