Date: 2005-06-21
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy Summer Solstice (or as it is known in the thru-hiking community...Happy Hike Naked Day)! It is the first day of summer and for all of you out there wondering, Bug and I did not take part in this tradition of stripping down to the buff and walking through the woods in our birthday suits. Amazingly enough, we didn't witness anyone who did. Just doesn't sound fun to me, no matter how adventurous....all that sticking to the pack, chaffing, sunburn, and not to mention the possiblity of poison ivy in places we won't talk about. No thank you, clothes on for these hikers! I guess if I came close to hiking naked, it was in the dark of night moments ago when I walked the few yards from our tent to the creek so I could bathe.We did well this morning getting out of camp. 7:30 rolled around and we were out on the trail hiking. It has been warm but not miserably and we have had lots of flat to rolling terrain with a bump here and there. There is a caveat to the above statement for all hikers considering a thru-hike....mountains have become relative after 1,000 miles on trail. Terrain that I now refer to as bumps or hills, I probably would have referred to as mountains when I was in Georgia. And in fairness, the bumps over Raven Rock Cliffs and up to Buena Vista Road were quite large....enough so that I was huffing and puffing and on the verge of whining about it.When we arrived at Pen-Mar Park (which was beautiful by the way), we denied the temptation to order a pizza and stuck to tuna wraps. Patch had his revenge as he ordered pizza and ate right in front of us, but turnabout is fair play.We stayed for about 4 hours enjoying the view, the company, and the afternoon. Bug and I did take the opportunity to enjoy ice cold Mountain Dew, and we even had yogiing opportunities when some day care leaders sent over extra hot dogs, chips, and cookies. Not to be outdone, a nice lady shared a bag of fresh picked cherries with us. The day was just so lovely!Bug and I finally brought ourselves to get up and hike our final eight miles of the day, and for the majority, it was very gradual climbing and took us a very short time to accomplish. It was time to say goodbye to our home the South as we passed over that infamous line, the Mason Dixon line. I am excited to visit new areas, but the things we know and love like iced tea and grits will soon be replaced with the likes of manufactured whoopie pies and Tastey Kakes.We stopped very briefly at Deer Lick Shelters to read the registers before moving on. Just as we passed a road we moved quickly through the woods and into a pretty little clearing in the pines to cross over a bridge at Antietam Creek. From what I understand however, this creek is polluted and should not be drunk from. As we passed over the bridge, I could hardly believe my eyes....there at the shelter were picnic tables covered in table cloths with masses of food and cold drink! My first thought was TRAIL MAGIC, but as we came closer I realized this was probably not the case at all. There were a small group of men and women. The women were all dressed in sundresses or dress casual pants with blouses, and the men were decked out in polos and khackis.Come to find out, this was a Summer Solstice birthday party, and they had chosen to celebrate here because of their (the women's) love of hiking. The birthday girl was all decorated in a lovely wreath of flowers for her head that a friend had made for her and you could just tell that this was her day! We felt a bit awkward and didn't want to intrude, so we walked over to the shelter for a quick snack and read of the register before moving on. The birthday girl soon came over and offered us a cold cup of cranberry juice which we graciously accepted. As we were packing up to leave, she also was kind enough to offer for us to stay. We didn't quite feel right about that, so we started to continue on. They were very insistent though, so as not to be rude we stayed for awhile longer. What a warm welcome to the North and to be completely honest, quite unexpected. There was cocktail shrimp, pasta salad, watermelon and cantaloupe, and the list goes on! Bug and I told them all about our hike and tried to answer all their questions. They were an interesting group of people and I was fascinated as I spoke to a gentleman who is a composer and has had some things produced on Broadway. Even though the company and food were great, we really did feel the need to push on. It was only 1.2 miles into here and it wasnn't hard at all, which is great considering that most of it was hiked in the dark.So here we are...I have hiked naked to the stream for a bath and now I am clean and ready to hit the bed. I hope your longest day of summer has been as great as Bug's and mine!