| 8/29/99 | We left at a decent hour and crossed over the Mason-Dixon line, PA-MD line, about noon. We stopped into Pen Mar Park for lunch. Pen Mar used to be an old railroad park, with amusement rides and hotels. Now its a state park with picnic tables and pavilions. There was an auto-show there with a bunch of old Mustangs and Cameros. Then about at 2 they had a band playing some big band music. We stayed 'til 2:45 listening to the music. We finally broke away from the social Mecca of the park and stepped back into the isolation of the woods. It was a very unique feeling of being a wanderer. It was a pleasant feeling, also knowing that there was a destination to wander to and home waiting at the end. Today's trail mileage 17.8 |
| 8/30/99 | A ridge runner came in last night and we got talking about the trail and according to him, we are out of the fire ban. We are able to have fire in designated fire pits again. It's a first since VT. At the end of the day I am usually too tired to maintain a fire. Today we passed by the first George Washington memorial. It's a small rock tower on a peak in MD. Pack-man and I stopped there for lunch. We then passed a memorial sign that caught me off guard. It was a sign designating a nearby Civil War battle between the MI 17th regiment and a confederate force. My great, great, great, great grandfather fought and lost a brother in the MI 17th regiment, or so we believe. When he came back from the war he named a son after his lost brother. The name has been passed down since, including to my new nephew that was born a couple of weeks before I left for the trail. Seeing the sign caused a very exciting and solemn moment. Knowing that I could be walking in the same places as my forefather, and this also could be where death claimed his brother. We finished up the day at a shelter where they filmed "The Blair Witch Project" close to. It was a pleasantly cool day and a great hike. Today's trail mileage 20.1 |
| 8/31/99 | We made an easy 9.1 miles into the hostel by Harper's Ferry. Unfortunately, we didn't plan our town visit too well. We registered at the AT center. I am southbounder #16. From there we went to the post office and made a quick stop to bounce our boxes forward. After that, nothing went as planned. The outfitter didn't have the boots I have, and I didn't think about new insoles at the time. We then grabbed something to eat at a tourist trap of a restaurant. Then we walked out of town to another outfitter. That outfitter was a rafting company and didn't have any back-packing supplies. We lucked out and one of the employees was heading back into town. He drove us back to the hostel. Other than registering we didn't accomplish anything today. |