The area near the border with Pennsylvania and Maryland is called Penn-Mar. The border is also considered the Mason-Dixon line. It is one of many historically significant points of interest along the AT. Because I camped only one mile from the Penn-Mar border the previous night I reached it very early in the morning. Thus, my short journey through Maryland began on October 1.
The mornings have been cool and crisp, the autumn weather I so looked forward to since the hot, muggy days I endured in all the states north of Penn-Mar. The cooler weather gives me a greater feeling of strength with less sweat dripping into my eyes as I hike. After passing by Penn-Mar State Park and the amenities there (restrooms, electric outlets, potable water and a viewing platform) I hiked along the pleasant trail that mixed rocky surfaces, very smooth & wide sections and some pastures. The day ended at the Pine Knob Shelter where I met SOBO hiker Torpedo.
October 2 was another very nice day. It was Saturday and as expected I encountered many hikers out for the day or the weekend. Early in the morning I arrived at the Washington Monument State Park, a place I visited in 2013 during a business trip to Pennsylvania. During a break from the return drive to Baltimore I day-hiked the AT for a few hours to the monument. It was very cool to see it again as a thru-hiker!
The rest of the day was so nice I continued for a total of 21.4 miles to a hostel near the C&O Towpath. On October 3 I needed to hike only two miles to the historic city of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and another border crossing. I resupplied with food for the next four days, but I spent the day waiting for the post office to open on Monday where I have supplies and perhaps some surprises waiting for me. The best part of the near-zero-day was spending the day with Dave Roberts (Elusive), who I first met on the Continental Divide Trail in 2016. Dave is a very adventurous soul whose experiences include sailboating across oceans, hiking and biking across America, and paddling cayaks down major rivers such as the Missouri and Mississippi. It was great to have breakfast, beers and dinner while catching up with Elusive. Good times!
Excellent pictures!
Maybe you should have taught history Roger. Lots of it where you just hiked. Especially. Harpers Ferry. Nice pictures too. You made it all come to life. Thank you. You sure look good and strong. Hope the weather holds well for you♀️
More adventures await you. Very happy to hear about them. Stay safe and well.
Thank you for the great pictures, too!
Marv
Wow! So many historic sites to see! The AT is a “history lesson” of our country! Very impressive, Roger!
It was great catching up with you, Roger. Hope to see you again before too long.
Shadow makes you look like “long leg Greg”!