Day 114

Weather:
Sunny. High in the upper 70's/lower 80's.

Today's Hike:
Port Clinton to Stream & Campsite - 15.8 miles

Our amazing night in town was followed up with an amazing and beautiful day on the trail. We got started a little after 10am this morning. After the third big climb of the day we reached the Pulpit, an amazing rocky outcrop with great views of the valley below. It was the best view since McAffe's Knob in Central Virginia. Rolling farmlands and far off vistas along with a few white puffy clouds floating above. Beautiful. After breaking there for 30-45 minutes we made the 2 mile rocky hike to the Pinnacle; another rocky outcrop with view of the valley. From here we could also barely catch site of where we had started that morning approximately 10 miles back. It always looks so far, like it would have taken days to walk it :) After another 30-minute break I was starving and was soley focused on getting the next 5.5 miles done so I could eat dinner.

After about 4.5 miles of hiking, myself and the Diva's pulled ahead when Muster made a pit stop. We met back up with her at camp that night. Apparently her pit stop was a rather eventful one. After finding a tent steak she also had an encounter with a rather large bear. It was just standing by the side of the trail, and didn't seem to care about her. So, she started singing (screaming?) the words of the first sing that came into her head.......Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer. Great choice right? Apparently the bear didn't care and stood there looking dumbly at her. Who could blame it? How would you react to someone screaming a Christmas song at you in the middle of the woods in June? So, she continued screaming and banged her trekking poles together. It worked and the bear ran off.

We accidentally passed the shelter, and instead are camping by a creek about a mile further north. Less that we'll have to do tomorrow :)