Appalachian Trail - Maryland Section, Memorial Day

After a couple weeks back in Baltimore, I was anxious to get back out into the wilderness. The Appalachian Trail runs through Maryland for about 41 miles, just over an hour drive west of the city, and I needed to get my fix. It was Memorial Day Weekend, and the weather forecast was as good as it can get.

I parked at the trail head on U.S. 40 near where a chain link covered foot bridge carries the A.T. over I-70. I would do an out and back hike, southward toward Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. I suspected I would run into many northbound thru-hikers, those who started from Georgia in February or early March. I could not show up without "trail magic," so I stopped and picked up three McDoubles to give to the first three thru-hikers I met.

I parked around noon, and stopped about three miles into the hike at the side trail to the original Washington Monument. There, I saw a familiar face. It was "Bear Bag," a fellow thru-hiker from the Class of 2014. Now he looks all official, sporting a uniform of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. He had taken a job as the ridge runner overseeing the Maryland section of the A.T., and it was his second day on the job.

Hanging with Bear Bag (a.k.a. Max)

About that time, three guys came by from the south, thru-hikers. They were pretty happy when I pulled three fairly fresh McDoubles from my pack - Maryland trail magic!

Lucky recipients of Maryland McDoubles

Brian, Graham, and Alex are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are hiking for the Sergeant Sullivan Center, helping to raise awareness for post-deployment illnesses. It was truly an honor to meet these guys and treat them to some burgers. Here is more information about their quest: Hike for Heroes

As I continued southbound, I met a bunch more northbound thru-hikers. I visited with hikers from Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Colorado, and Germany. I stopped for a snack break at the Rocky Run shelter, and there was a college group there setting up for the night. One guy said, "What's that you're eating?" "Just a Slim-Jim, cheese, and donut burrito, with jalapeno sauce," I answered. Some of the creations I lived off of last year, while disgusting-sounding to the average person, are hiker delicacies, and packed full of calories.

"Peter Pan" from Georgia - trying to finish before his 21st birthday in August

"Croc Rocket" from Alabama loves to hike in those Crocs

The trail was quite busy with a large influx of Marylanders and Virginians out for the day or for the holiday weekend. I arrived at the Crampton Gap Shelter and tented near lots of other hikers and campers on a chilly evening. This is a far cry from my hike last month through Tennessee and Kentucky when I went for several days without seeing another person. I've decided that, while peaceful solitude is nice sometimes, I prefer having other hikers around.

After having hiked about 12 miles on Friday, I continued on along South Mountain on Saturday morning. I stopped briefly at Gathland State Park to get some water and use the facilities. It's nice to not have to filter water, and the few springs along this section of the trail are pretty far down the side of the mountain.

A tribute to correspondents who died covering the Civil War

Later, I stopped at the Ed Garvey Shelter for lunch. There I met "Neon Mountains," a young thru-hiker who had just returned to the trail after spending a few days partying at the Trail Days Festival in Damascus, Virginia. Trail Days is a celebration of Appalachian Trail hikers, past, present, and future. He was still trying to recover and was getting a very late start on this day.

I learned that this shelter was the site of a fatality a couple months ago. On a windy March morning, a hiker from Pennsylvania was making one last check to make sure he didn't leave any personal belongings in the shelter. A large dead tree blew over at just that moment, crushing him to death. The tree still lies behind the shelter along with a small rock memorial constructed by fellow hikers. This is a grim reminder of the many hazards that hikers face every day. I found more information about the tragedy here: Hiker who was killed by a falling tree was a friend, a musician and engineer

I continued on toward the Potomac River. Okay, I have a confession to make. Last year, I did not actually hike the entire Appalachian Trail. It's a long story, but, not by my design, I skipped a seven-tenths of a mile stretch of switchbacks from Weverton Road Park-and-Ride up to Weverton Cliff. So when I recognized the spot where my friend Gregg picked me up for my halftime break last June 17th, it occurred to me that this was actually the completion of my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, the entire length from Georgia to Maine. I stopped at the parking area for a break and snack. It was really not too celebratory - just a thing.

I decided to not hike the four additional miles into Harper's Ferry. Last year, I did not really enjoy my visit there so much, and it would add a half day or more to my weekend adventure. So I continued back up the hill, stopping to enjoy the view from the cliffs.

View of the Potomac from Weverton Cliff

I figured it would take a day and a half to get back to my car. I once again stopped at Gathland to water up. I met a half dozen ultra-hikers there who were speed-hiking the entire Maryland section, from north to south, in one day. It was past 6:30 in the evening. They had begun at 5:00 a.m. and still had about 10 miles to make it to the bridge to Harper's Ferry.

I hiked up the hill to Crampton Gap and camped at the exact same spot from the night before. Neon Mountains and some other thru-hikers were nearby and relaxing by a campfire. I had a headache for much of the afternoon; I think I let myself get a bit dehydrated in the warmest part of the day. It was not a good sleep that night, with the headache and sore legs, after about a 14 mile day.

The iconic Old South Mountain Inn

On Sunday, it was warmer, and the headache persisted. I stopped at the spring near Rocky Run Shelter, and again at the Dahlgren Backpacker's Campground for an afternoon nap on a bench. When I arrived at Washington Monument State Park, I caught up to Croc Rocket, who had a night off the trail to visit with a friend. He was with a couple other hikers. I was just three miles to my car, and I unloaded some of the extra food in my pack, donating it to a hiker named "Tate."

All in all, it was a great weekend. There is an opportunity for another long distance hike next month, so I need to decide if I'm up for it, both mentally and physically. More on this next time.

Happy Trails!

Fitty Shrimp