Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Sprout Day 38 (Wednesday, May 4th, 2016)


Today we arrived in Port Clinton.  We were excited to get in town because we had a good box waiting for us at the post office and we were going to be able to eat town food!  

I didn't know what to expect when I walked into town, but word on the trail was to go check out the barber shop.  As I was walking an older man with a Jersey accent yelled my way and asked if I was hungry.  Of course I was!  He asked if I was thru hiking and I told him yes .  He said, “Come on in, we love the hikers around here.”

I walked in one of the coolest, most unique, places I’ve ever been to, and it was a barber shop!   When I entered I had to introduce myself, with my real name, my trail name, my profession, and then I had to sign the hikers log book.  As I was completing these tasks the man who asked me to come in was making me a big bowl of spaghetti.  He brought it over with two thick slices of bread and butter.  They also told me about the coffee and cookies in the corner so I helped myself to those!  The spaghetti was so good and I had no trouble finishing the whole bowl.
It was funny because the jersey guy looked over, and in his Jersey accent, said, “Oh my, you ate all of that already? Let me get you some more, I can't believe you ate all of that.”  I told him not so much this time but he filled my bowl back up to the top.  I ate all of that too, I think he was impressed!  After he saw me finish the spaghetti he brought me a hard boiled egg his wife packed him for lunch, I ate that, Then, he brought me a banana (haha I could tell I was going to like this spot.)  

I can't fully describe this place it's something you have to experience for yourself.  I can say that I am so happy I went into the Port Clinton barber shop!  They had old Rock and Roll playing, pictures, and old collectibles everywhere.  The people were super friendly and you could easily have a conversation with anyone in there. The entire time I was in the barbershop the barber was cutting his customer’s hair.  It was just a usual day for the locals there.

There is a hotel in Port Clinton similar to the Doyle called the Port Clinton Inn.  It was a good stop to grab a brew but the room prices were triple that of the Doyle and the rooms weren't any better than the Doyle!  We stayed at the hikers pavilion right down the road.  The workers at the Port Clinton Inn weren't friendly either and it didn't seem like they wanted us there.

Tricks met us in town and hung out with us for the night. We met a thru hiker from last year at the bar in the Inn.  He hung out with us for the night too. We stayed at the pavilion in town (hiker friendly) and had a great time with bag of tricks and Remedy.

The pavilion is not owned or maintained by an Appalachian Trail hiking club.  Instead it is supported by St. John’s Church of Port Clinton.  It is a great “shelter”, which is roomy, and it is great to have a dry place to sleep.

The trail today
Marshall's Path is a blue blaze trail
More of the trail today
A bit of an overlook today
Finally, less rocks!
The steep downhill thrill into Port Clinton
Port Clinton History
The trains have a 10mph speed limit through this area
Port Clinton
My delicious spaghetti

Day:  38
Miles hiked:  9
Total Miles hiked on the trail:  355.9
Bears:   0
Butterfly:  8
Chipmunk:  3
Cows:  24
Crawfish:  1
Deer:  20
Horses:  12
Inchworm:  1
Really Big Dog:  1
Mouse:  2
Nest of bugs:  1
Newt:  1
Rabbit:  1
Skunk:  1
Snail:  1
Snake:  1
Squirrels:  11
Toad:  1
Trout:  2
Turkeys:  4
Turtles:  107
Vulture:  6
Woodpecker:  1

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