7/11/12 – 1211 miles
I’m taking a zero day here in Port Clinton, PA. The rocks in northern PA. are very numerous and stick up at odd angles, giving the knees and ankles a workout. These mid-atlantic states are where we can make good mileage – building up a head-start into the mountains of New England where the terrain will cut our progress down to a crawl – but I felt I needed a day off so I took it.
A few nights ago, I was camped with a German guy named Sonic. At about 10 pm he asked me if I was awake. I said I was. He had left his new camp shoes at the shelter 8 miles back and had to return to get them. I let him borrow my headlamp because his wasn’t very bright, and he hiked back through the night – along an extremely rocky section – to retrieve his camp shoes. I hope I never have to do that.
The shelter I’m using is a one-person, free-standing, two-piece tent made by Big Agnes. I started out with a one-piece tarp tent that was very light but had a couple flaws. For one thing, every time it rained you would get a mist from the condensation as the drops hit the nylon. I never could get used to that. And my tarp tent took up more room to set up. Good tent sites are something of a premium out here and the one-person tent fits where my other tent didn’t.
I can usually get everything inside my tent at night. I usually hang my food from a tree in a bear bag, and my extra clothes make a pillow for my head. The tent has a small vestibule but big enough to cover my pack.
Good idea–resting a day. The “Book” said that the rocks in PA were the worst of any place. Has the heat wave passed? It must be lots harder hiking with the pack when it;s so hot. Eat some veggies when you are in town.
A midnight hike to retrieve forgotten gear? That doesn’t sound like very much fun, or very smart. It must have taken him most of the night to get there and back in the dark. Why not wait until the next day and make a day hike out of it? Did you get your headlamp back from him?
Did he get you a new battery?