Date: 2018-05-04
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Raven Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

This was my fourth day of hiking. I felt pretty good today. It was overcast and cooler out. I got out late again, but managed to go 13.1 miles. Hard Knocks got up very early as he was planning to do 22 miles today. The hikers from Georgia are like gazelles on the trail. They have 1,000 miles under their feet and glide along, while those of us just starting seem to trudge along. It will come with time and patience. The trail continues to train us, giving us what we need.Coming out of the shelter area, there was a steady climb with rocks - a good warm up for the legs. My hip muscles aren't as sore, it is now moving to my glutes, which are getting quite a workout. Lots of rocks throughout the morning and early afternoon. I came across a day hiker who had stopped and pointed out a snake in a tree! It was an interesting sight. Another day hiker, Chuck, came up behind us and stopped. After taking photos and moving on, Chuck and I struck up a conversation, which led to his offer of a ride when I came off trail. My first Trail Angel! I have a photo of Chuck in my photos, with a description of what a "trail angel' is. It is part of the amazing culture of the trail which drew me to want to hike it. I stopped at Black Rock Cliffs, overlooking Hagerstown (MD), took off my boots and had lunch. In the afternoon, I caught up with the Canadians. We had some rough ups and downs today. In the afternoon we found a nice cold stream to get water, and soak our feet. They are such a pleasure to hang out with. Young love...they have fun, and make each other laugh, which I believe, is the most important thing for a long and happy relationship. We also ran into Pocket Dock and Snugs, who are NOBO from Georgia.I headed off to Raven Rocks Shelter, and they took a food break at Ensign Cowall Shelter. I had a nice hike through the woods which opened into a meadow. I saw deer just before coming out of the woods. It was a very pleasant walk through a couple of meadows, then through another woods, and a steep down to a creek. After crossing Antietam Creek, I hit the hardest part of my day, a steep 600' elevation climb. 600' up doesn't seem like much, unless it's steep. I trudged along, my steps barely longer than a boot length, for about 35 minutes, steadily going up. I haven't mentioned it yet, but I hike with a very light umbrella, attached to my shoulder strap. So far, it has been my best piece of gear. Since there are no leaves on the trees yet, it has kept the sun off me, and this particular afternoon, it kept the rain off me. As I ascended, I was using my umbrella for the rain. There was a large boulder I was navigating up, as the trail took a sharp left turn. To my right was a 15' drop off. As I was coming up the boulder, a gust of wind caught the umbrella at the moment I had the least amount of stability. It caused me to lose my balance to the right, and I fell to the boulder, landing on my knees and grasping the boulder with my hands. Whew! No more umbrella today!I made it into camp late. There were several hikers. I can't remember everyone's name, but I was greeted by Wingnut and Phaedrus, thru hikers in 2014. I was very excited to meet them. I read their journals in 2014 while they were doing their hike. Thumper joined us and we stayed up late chatting. They were a wealth of information.