Date: 2009-06-10
From: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 

To: Rocky Run Shelter, MARYLAND!
Miles today: 15.5

Cell poorOG notesLast night I had the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. We shared a room with two other people, that's a lot less than we have here in the shelter. The room air conditioner was set to keep the room cool and the covers kept us warm underneath. I also spent part of the evening laying on the bed with a sleeping bag over me. I had the radio on, with headphones, which was so relaxing.We had three expensive but great meals yesterday and this morning. For lunch we both had a salad and rib eye steak, for dinner a 1/2 lb hamburgers, and for breakfast we had a nice big breakfast. With all of that fuel and a decent terrain we made decent miles in decent time today. The weather was very humid and we sweat like crazy as we hiked. We were fortunate to hike through Gathland State Park partway through the day. It had restrooms, a water spigot, and picnic tables under a covered pavilion. We made Gatorade and drank the whole thing while we were there. We then refilled the water bottle and drank more, then refilled it again to take with us. We now have to develop a summer water consumption routine. We also will have to replenish our water more often.Oh I forgot to mention Gathland State Park has a war memorial dedicated to the memory of war correspondants, aka news reporters. It looks like a huge brick wall with windows and it sits where two roads split right in the middle of the Y.We're in Maryland now and probably will be in it tomorrow night too. We should reach Pennsylvania on Friday. We're hoping to reach the halfway point on Sunday the 14th or Monday the 15th. Wahoo half way! Pennsylvania starts off easy and becomes one of the most dreaded states after Harrisburg. The trail then becomes rock covered and difficult to walk on. I've heard from a local that they go out during the winter and sharpen the points on the rocks so we don't miss anything. I'll let you know if its true when we get there.C6 notesWe saw Early Bear today. He's the guy who was bitten by the rabid skunk. He has had 2 rabies shots so far and has more shots he'll have to get. He stayed in town for the first two shots because they had to be on days 3 and 7, so he felt it was easier to stay in one place for those first two. He has an appointment already set up for his next shot (in a city because small towns/medical centers don't always havethe rabies vaccine on hand). The ATC has been helping get him set up and will arrange rides for him to the hospitals for the shots. He's doing well, and it was nice to see him. He's considering changing his trail name because he's tired of telling the skunk story over and over now that he's so far behind the group he was hiking with.We were so suprised today to see a bunch of hikers we thought were far ahead of us. At the shelter with us tonight are Bison, Mr. Buffalo Man, Goof, SamWise, Newt, Miss Scarlett, Squeegie, and Rapunzel. We were happy to see Red Leg here (didn't realize he had taken a 0 day in Harpers Ferry). There are also a couple people we hadn't met before here tonight...Zipper and Dixie Dawg. I've seen their notes in shelter logs, but never expected to meet them. Seeing our friends again is a boost.We had a lovely afternoon and morning in Harpers Ferry. We didn't leave town until 11am, but a large breakfast was worth the late start. This shelter is gorgeous! It was built last year. It's large and beautiful. The floors are even varnished! Unfortunately the trail to the new shelter is not clearly ientified, so we first came upon the old shelter and had to look in that old shelter's log to figure out where this new shelter is located. we got here and got our water right before it began to rain. It was just cloudy for most of the day, but has poured a couple of times since we got here.We've had a bunch of humid, but sunny days lately. What's been nice is that the rain didn't start each day until after we were settled down in dry places. A severe thunderstorm went by last evening, but we were in a roon in Harpers Ferry. It's so nice when the rain takes place when we aren't hiking. (But it does leave a lot of mud and high creeks.)My emotions were much better today. Knowing we're almost at the half way mile helps, I think. In 2006 OG talked about people getting the Virginia blues. I didn't think I was bothered by how long we were in VA, but perhaps that was a factor in my emotions as well. It's nice to aleady be done with West Virginia and be in Maryland now...and to know Pennsylvania isn't far away. I just hope my emotions settle down. I hate being so emotional. I'm just glad OG is patient with me when I get that way.Old Goat & Check Six