START LOCATION: Pine Knob Shelter
FINISH LOCATION: Campsite near Pen-Mar Road
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 18.1
TRIP MILEAGE: 1,055.1
MILES TO GO: 1,124.0
I awoke with a headache today... Not too bad, but it kept me
horizontal til 8AM. There was a bunch of us at the shelter chatting
until about 9:45AM when we all broke camp. No one was really that
motivated today.
Smoke and I made a 5 mile morning push to a vista where we ate lunch.
We made it quick though. We were trying to outrun a certain hiker that
drives us crazy. We pushed another 3 to Ensign Cowall shelter where i
needed water. I was absolutely exhausted here. We were trying to push
at least 18 to the Mason-Dixon line. I didn't feel the energy to bang
out another 10. But, I snacked and refilled the H2O and felt better.
We cranked out 5 more to the Devils Racecourse Shelter where we filled
water again. It was at the bottom of a .3 mile downhill that was just
brutal and the shelter was a dump. When I got here I just laid my head
down on the picnic table and passed out for 10 minutes. We chatted
with some sectioners, I snacked and pounded more water... I finally
felt like I could finish out the last 5 miles and the state of Maryland.
The last two days have been easy slope, but rocky underfoot. The last
5 miles today was no different. We pushed hard to Pen-Mar Park but
rocks made it slow going. Getting there was a huge reward however. Pen-
Mar Park is a picnic park with music pavilions, picnic canopies, a
concession stand and a beautiful sunset overlook along the
Pennsylvania/Maryland line... hence the Pen-Mar name. There, a
friendly ranger gave us a menu to a pizza/sub shop that would deliver
to the park. I had another cheesesteak, chili-cheese fries and what
else... a 2L Cherry Coke. It was to die for. I felt a little bad
eating that great food in front of Mimi, but she decided against
eating out. Smoke had a bacon cheeseburger and gravy fries. He had
leftover gravy at the end so I slathered my remaining fries with it. I
love eating on the AT, if this blog hasn't made that abundantly clear.
We crossed out of the Confederacy and pitched our tents by a creek.
Smoke made a good campfire. Mimi supplied the tunes. I kept the laughs
coming. A nice night capping off an exhausting day.
Final thougts on Maryland... It was nice to bang out miles, but rather
forgettable otherwise. But, I did appreciate some nice shelters and
met some very nice locals there, so I take that with me. I never plan
on coming back to see anything again on the Maryland AT, but if I do,
the Pen-Mar park overlook was beautiful... Definitely my favorite
part, and just 1/4 mile before you exit the state. It's a shame SoBo's
will get it first.
Very excited for our Pennsylvania push... It's a tough state for
rockiness. There's not lots of slope, so we should push through
relatively quickly, especially before Duncannon.
-natedog
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