Date: 2015-06-14
From: Dahlgren Backpack Campground, MD

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: clear sky

Why did I stay up til after 3:00am in order to catch up on my journals and ride the struggle bus today as a result? It's because of you, people, for your support. I'll do my best to keep you up to date in order to show my appreciation for your support.Waking up at 7:30am when Moose shook my tent, I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself into a little Cambo ball and sleep away the morning. However, with a steady stream of voices seeping in under my rain fly and into my tent, I knew trying to sleep would be of no use. I slowly climbed out of my tent and joined Moosehead at a nearby picnic table and downed a quick breakfast of carrots, celery, broccoli, and crackers. I then retired to the bathroom where I dumped for the fifth time in 48 hours (the sixth would come at the end of the day, and then jumped into the shower. By shower I don't mean your body lathered in bubbly goodness, but merely running water in a small space most likely crawling in germs, pubic hair, and bodily liquids I chose to remove from my mind during the process.With Moosehead hitting the trail while I was showering, my hike all day would be a solo and rather uneventful one. I quickly reached Washington Monument State Park which, like the name suggests, is a park commemorating the life and accomplishments of our nation's first president. The AT follows a tourist-friendly path up and around a hill to a large, stone tower you'd expect to see as part of a castle. Don't worry, civilians, the .25-mile path offers 3 stopping points with benches, thus making sure the walk from your vehicle and back isn't too strenuous. This park offers an mazing view overlooking a large expanse of flat land where you can see West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Antietam Battlefield, and several communities spread throughout; do yourself a favor and visit this place.I continued on, crossing over I-70 before continuing up Black Mountain to Annapolis Rocks, some ~2 miles away. It was during this stretch that I noticed 4 pairs of fathers walking along the trail with their young sons and even a young girl. I thought this was a nice thing to see for this is the type of stuff they'll one day remember. Reaching Annapolis Rocks around 11:30am, I decided to enjoy lunch on a rock outcropping overlooking a valley as civilians sat spread out along the top. Quickly shoveling food into my mouth, I considered settnf my watch and taking a half-hour catnap. With their constant coming and going, however, I decided to just continue on.I passed the Black Rock Cliffs, but chose not to venture off trail in order to enjoy the view mainly because I was pissed off with another round of chaffing. My goal with this journal has been to help portray all the beautiful, awesome, unique moments unable to be experienced anywhere else but a place such as the trail. It's all accurate, but also very much my interpretation of things. Every hiker is different and if you want to get a feel for the many differences, find another hiker to follow and support. There are some universal things, though, that most hikers would agree on. Perhaps out of a change of style, pace, or just my own enjoyment, I've decided to share things in a more raw fashion. Although I'm living my dream every day, not every day is magical or even interesting. Today was one of those days and, as a result, I've chosen to discuss something that was on my mind all day.I smell. A lot. I don't notice it most of the time, except for a particular area: my balls. So much so that when taking a pee, I try to limit how much I need to touch it in the process. I've even stooped as low as using a small twig in a tong-like fashion during the process. Picture 2-a-days in football. Take that smelly, sour funk that develops after a single practice. Instead of washing those clothes after each practice or at the end of each day, allow it to marinade each night as you wear it to sleep or hang on a line with humidity too high to dry overnight. Wear those clothes each day and repeat the process for 7-10 days (or for as long as you wish) and you'll begin to get the idea. You can bet the same circumstances are taking place with the female hikers as well.All hikers experience different things on the trail. I've heard a few say sex between hikers is common. However, the group I'm with hasn't really experienced that at all. The only tent-rocking going on is being created by ourselves and even that has been at a minimum. Without the 24/7 access to TV, internet, magazines, etc. our libidos have drastically decreased as a result. Don't get me wrong, there is a handful of bad ass chicks out here, hairy armpits, legs, and all, but the desire has definitely decreased and been replaced with the overall common goal of hiking north.Grossed out by crapping in the woods? Get over it. Every one does it and it's actually way better than the crap-smelling, privies crawling in germs and the risk of Noro on every surface. This is just a small taste of some of the things bouncing around in my head today as sweat poured down my body, soaking my clothes in the process as I continued north through the Mid-Atlantic region currently blanketed in humidity that even rain can't seem to break. The remainder of this week brings good chance a for rain, but with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80's, thus meaning a potentially wet, sticky, and sour week ahead.One such storm rolled through around 2:00pm today, but luckily I made it to Ensign Cowall Shelter just in time and was able to stay dry as the storm passes over, dropping rain and sending mountain-rumbling thunder through the air. The tornado sirens of a nearby town coule even be heard wailing above the rain. I eventually fell into a deep, though quick nap, waking once the storm had cleared and the sun and heat returned. With ~5 miles left to my current location, I covered the distance in 2 hours, stopping only to pee, drink water, and grab a photo of a snapping turtle that I nearly walked over assuming it was a rock. Crossing over Little Antietam Creek and climbing up ~600ft in just under the final mile and a half, I reached shelter at 6:30pm. I quickly said hello to Moosehead who was in the process of setting up his tent, I shoved a few thing into my stomach, and set up my sleeping area in the shelter since the night suggests potential storms. I'm sure I'll be soaked again at one point in the near future, but I'll at least take another dry night tonight (aside from my sweaty shirt and underwear that I'm wearing.)Tomorrow I will be finishing the remaining ~5 miles of God's Country and entering the North through Pennyslvania for the remainder of the hike. The trail through Pennsylvania is in the ~230-mile range so I'll be trekking through over the next ~2 weeks or so. Hoping to pass out immediately after submitting this entry. Though I don't cross a river when entering Pennsylvania, the feeling of entering the North feels like, in the words of "Stonewall" Jackson, "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of trees."Here's to a spot-on metabolism, thunderstorm naps, and the Southern hospitality shown to me over the past 2.5 months.