Yesterday, Diane noted that I might be hiking through a lot of deep mud today en route to the Clover Road Trailhead. She 
and her hubby, Howard, had hiked this area a few days ago, and it wasn’t pleasant. So I packed an extra pair of shoes and socks and headed out, after a shuttle by Howard.
Once again, I enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day that started out cool, but warmed up nicely. There were definitely muddy sections throughout the day (although mostly near Spillway), but the biggest issue were the hills. Now I’m going to sound like a baby, or an incompetent trail researcher. I’m neither, truly. But I was clearly off my A-game in planning for this trail. I’ll blame in on the fact that one of my daughter’s just had our first grandchild (!), while another is getting married in May. I’ve been busy! Anyway, I just wasn’t prepared for the hills.
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Heading for Clover Road Trailhead
The scenery was lovely today, as the trail largely followed the contours of William H. Harsha Lake. But the trail constantly pitched steeply uphill, then steeply downhill. I did enjoy crossing the various streams and tributaries via flat rocks. And 
despite the mud and muck, my feet largely stayed dry.
For anyone coming after me, beware: There are quite a few downed trees that are difficult to get over and/or go around. We’ve just had a stormy spring, and I’m hiking at the start of the season. So I’m sure trail maintainers have barely had a chance to get out there, if at all. Just a heads-up.
I’m bummed that I lost my AirPods on the trail today. No clue how. My “Find My” app says they’re near a boat ramp around East Lake, so I hope I can recover them. Enjoying my campsite for a second night at East Lake.
Snowshoe
NCT Miles Today: 17.7 (28.5 km)
Ohio NCT miles to date: 299.4 (481.8 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 2,252.9 (3,625.7 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 2,347.1 (3,777.3 km)
My favorite pieces of gear today: These hiking gloves and arm sun sleeves. Both do a great job keeping the sun’s harmful rays off your arms and hands, plus warms them in the morning chill. But you do need to apply sunscreen to your wrist, because the tiny slice of skin that can become exposed between the sun sleeves and hiking gloves will definitely get burned. Trust me!
