Date: 2015-05-29
To: Falls Creek - Mile 1064.9
Miles today: 42.1
Weather: light rain

Today is my 2 month anniversary on the trail!! Hard to believe!!The next couple of hours had even more rocks, which becomes even more tedious in the dark. We took another short break after 5 miles so Crafty could massage her feet. Then hiked on to Washington Monument State Park where we took a break at the picnic tables. Then realized the monument was another 0.3 miles further up the trail so we moved on and stopped to hike the 0.1 mile side trail to the Washington Monument which is the first one dedicated to the memory of Washington on July 4, 1827. It's shaped like a milk bottle. We climbed the stairs to the top for a view and then moved on. It started to get light but Crafty was feeling the impact of hiking all night and being awake for nearly 24 hours. She had never pulled an all nighter before. She was sleepy and running low so we stopped around mile 24 and cooked food. We left an hour later and walked through a bizarre section of the trail which passed between some people's yards and then over I-70 and followed along the interstate before turning away. The traffic was so loud! We climbed up to Annapolis Rocks area. Crafty was sleep hiking by now and struggling to stay awake. I was trying to figure out what to do since I knew I wouldn't leave her but also knew she wanted to finish the challenge but also didn't want to push ourselves too far. We took another break at Black Rock Cliffs which had a fantastic view. We had already hiked 27.9 miles, a new distance PR, which buoyed us both. Now we had 15.4 miles to go so I asked her if she thought she could make it another 5 miles to the shelter where she could decide if she needed to sleep or keep going. We agreed to keep moving but keep talking the whole way. We made it down to the road before the shelter where we saw a couple of hikers, dog and a cooler. Trail Magic! Someone had left a cooler with drinks in it. Not the best but it was ice cold. We chatted with the hikers Devo, D? and the dog Diva. They had started hiking from Boiling Springs and said they had decided to hike to GA on a whim but only had $20. Crafty told them about a painting job we saw posted on the ATC HQ for room & board and $50/ day. Devo was all excited about that. We left and suspected they may have stayed and consumed several more. We stopped at the shelter and then moved on. We started struggling again as it got hot and we crossed through several sunny exposed fields. My feet were really hurting by then as we had been hiking 20 hours. We came upon Warner Gap Hollow stream where we soaked our feet and met Rabbit and Tortoise, a mother and daughter who had just started a week before. They were with the dad who had hiked a few days but was going home. We had 6.7 miles to go. So close but yet still so far. We got moving again, climbing up and descending down to Little Antietam Creek and then climbing up Raven Rock Cliffs which were a series of huge rocks. Somehow I missed the view on the climb up. I trudged on as everything started to ache more. Finally we hit the 3.1 miles to go point just as we reached the steep descent which was a huge boulder jumble making it treacherous and more acute on tired feet and ankles. I hit my low point as it took a long time to descend and then the rock field continued making the progress tedious. It seemed to take forever as every turn just showed more trail. I stopped on a log to see how much further and let Crafty catch up. She had put on her Crocs. We slowly walked the remaining trail where we emerged out into Pen Mar Park and stopped at a bench. We were both done and looked to see if there was any place to tent in Waynesboro but there wasn't. The hostel was in the opposite direction of where we wanted to resupply. The PA border was still 0.3 miles away. I put on my Crocs and we started moving again, crossing the RR tracks and entering the woods to finally see the MD- PA / Mason-Dixon sign. It took us 23 hours and about 10-12 minutes. We took our pics, uploaded them, signed the register. We had been up for almost 36 hours by now and had been hiking two thirds the time.Crafty wanted to camp right there but we were both out of water and it was right next to the RR tracks which would be loud. I knew she didn't want to but, we walked the remaining half mile down to the campsite which was actually nice with plenty of flat renting spots and Falls Creek alongside. Timber from Kansas whom we had met 4 miles from the end was already there. I got some water and cooked dinner and chatted with her. She had hiked about 300 miles last year and was thru hiking the remaining this year. We hung our food bags. I intended to journal but only got the word "May" typed before I set my phone down. Next thing I knew I woke up at 11 and crawled into my bag. I was glad we did the Four State Challenge but also happy to be done. Including the 0.6 miles back to the border and another 0.8 miles on side trails, we technically hiked 43.3 +0.6 + 1.4 = 45.3 miles. The night hike strategy was great because we had cooler temps and even a breeze. The downside of night hiking is that you can't see some of the sights you pass along the way but you also get some pretty cool views of what you can see. Sometimes it's also nice not to see the climbs ahead. The bug issue is different as you have fewer bugs buzzing you all the time; however, the headlamp attracts moths and other so they are always flying into your light and hitting your face. Overall, starting at night was a smart move. It would have been better if we could have slept during the day before we started but I don't nap well anyway so maybe it wouldn't have mattered.