Day 15 (14.7 mi) Eagle's Nest Shelter, SAT, 11 MAY 2013

Eagle's Nest Shelter, PA

Pink Lady Slipper

Arose early to beat the rain and read some Elias as the final raindrops fell (Be alert, Be transparent, Be useful, and Use your time well).  I thought I made good time to Port Clinton to pick up my package.  Everything went well until I asked, "Where can I get a good meal around here?"  Really, I just should have asked, "Will you please charge my phone?"  Three hours later, and one (lunch) meal later (with Rob, the retired pilot), I am climbing out of Port Clinton (which is a hole in more than one way).  It always happens with trail town.  Maybe I shouldn't even bother?  The walk up to the shelter seemed long and monotonous.  I kept waiting for some sorta view but nothing.  It was nice to meet Middlebury and Sky Watcher, and to be invited to join their section hiking band.  The full ++ shelter was daunting (a family had rendezvoused with their thru-hiking daughter), but I slept well.  Finally the rain was gone ... but the cold was coming.

Day 14 (16.5 mi) Windsor Furnace Shelter, FRI, 10 MAY 2013

Maybe I rely too heavily on weather forecasts and a great disdain for walking in the rain.  I have reordered my schedule so I don't have to tent in the rain (a thought, which turned out to come true the next morning).  Sometimes an over-dependence on technology (Weatherbug on iPhone) seems like a really terrible thing.

This is in someone's backyard- water, electricity, and toilet.

The view in PA are just OK; it seems crazy that one could get excited about being 2200 feet above sea level (for the record, the BOTTOM of Nantahala Gorge is 1700 feet).  However, I am thankful for any view at this point in PA.  There is little reward for the amount of rocks that one walks on in a given day. I wanted to stay at the Eckville "Shelter", someone's converted work building out back.  It has running water, and there is an electrical outlet and such.  It is fairly amazing the extent that some folks will go to help others who hike the AT.  Unfortunately, I had only hiked 5 miles by the time I arrived, and I couldn't take that short of a day.