Date: 2004-06-28
From: Annapolis Rocks

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It¢s just past 1 a.m., I¢m soaked to the bone, and I just crawled into my tent. Even as I write the rain is picking up again. Fozzy, Coyote, Iron Back, and I, all just pulled in. The day has been long, and the last 4 miles made it far worse¢¦Still, today provided a good mix of fun and blessings. In addition, I crossed the Mason-Dixon line today and left the south for good! Here is how it all began:I roused on the rocks fairly early, maybe 7 a.m., and I began to pack up. My friends did likewise. Booboo and Fozzy left in the lead and I grouped up with Iron Back. The trail was mostly flat, but very rocky. I also discovered that part of it has been re-routed since my test hike. As we walked we talked about girls, his time at Clemson, and a plethora of other topics. As we skipped over the countless stones on a viewless ridge I talked about home, my desire for a godly woman, and the bitterness of having someone cheat. He recounted many stories of his own. We shared and laughed. It seemed amazing how quickly we were sharing a serious topic with each other. Shortly before the shelter Coyote joined us after bickering with Booboo again¢¦hehe. At 10:30 a.m. we reached Ensign Phillip Cowall Shelter. I had officially covered all of my test hike route. The highlight, or possibly the lowlight, of our stop at the shelter was the ¢HUGE SPIDER¢. It was 2 inches round in diameter, easy. As I began to enjoy a snack I saw Booboo pick up the creature and advance toward Coyote¢¦drama ensued. She ran away and then nearly killed Booboo afterwards. I too moved a safe distance from the 8 legged beast and then snickered at the chase before me. The spider soon escaped and Fozzy & Booboo hiked on. I think Coyote had her fill of Booboo for the day¢¦I would love to see a reality TV show where both of them were forced to marry, it would be hilarious! After commenting on a thread in the shelter log on overpopulation (my comment: Just Hike!) Iron Back, Coyote, and I hiked out.As we hiked out the rocks eased; the temperature however did not. We crossed a couple of field sections and I was burning up. Coyote, Iron Back, and I all joked through our tiredness (what a fun crew!). Soon we reentered the woods. We walked down a large hill and passed a church group of 27¢¦just to be devious, Coyote and I beatboxed without saying a word¢¦it was fun. We were nice enough to wave though. After a while we reached the base of Devil¢s Racecourse. Devil¢s Racecourse is an under 1,000 foot climb, but after the relative flatness of Maryland, I was ill-prepared. The climb seemed massively steep, the rocks never ending, the heat unrelenting¢¦then 30 minutes later it was over! After the climb, we all needed water, so we headed to Devil¢s Racecouse Shelter.Devil¢s Racecourse is found at the end of a long downhill trail supposedly 3 tenths from the AT¢¦humpf! After the never-ending side trail we found a shelter unfit for a large midget and a privy so nasty some of the flies were threatening to leave. We laughed when we realized we had plodded so far to reach such a hideous shelter. Soon, however, we were laughing our way through lunch and I had an idea to really brighten things up. I made us all tea (Tazo Passion)¢¦Thank you Shannon! As we had our treat we all smiled and seemed to feel better: we would need the boost!When we reached the AT we ran into another large group of teens. The group engaged us in a game of 631 questions. They were friendly, but it was 30 minutes before we started hiking.PA is known for rocks, but the last 5 miles of Maryland sure offered a taste. I grew weary as we passed over rock after rock. As we hiked Coyote quizzed me on a minor crush I have on someone that I accidentally mentioned over tea. I successfully endured her onslaught and soon shifted attention to Iron Back speaking of his last girlfriend. After 3 miles though, we all were sick of rocks and we all were silent. We pushed on until we reached Pen-Mar Park, 1,000 feet from the Mason-Dixon Line.Pen-Mar is beautiful! Luscious green grass, a nice pavilion, a full playground, and multiple picnic tables. As we arrived we saw K-less, Gaia, Rooster, Booboo, and Fozzy. I had heard we could order pizza, but K-less informed me ¢They aren¢t open on Mondays¢. DEVASTATION! Saddened greatly, I went to get a Pepsi¢¦the machine was broken! (Time to Yogi!) At that point I saw a woman named Christina and I said ¢First no pizza and now this¢¢¦we started talking. Five minutes later she offered to drive me to pick up pizza. She was so sweet. I collected money and took an order from my pleasantly amazed friends. Christina grabbed her 4-year-old daughter (so cute) and the 3 of us walked toward her mini-van together. I heard Booboo in the distance: ¢Look Beatbox yogied a family!¢As we went to get pizza I shared about the trail. She told me that her husband is in the military and how she spends a lot of time with just her and her daughter. We arrived at the Pizza Place shortly. I ordered 2 cheese pizzas and a Coke 2 liter¢¦while we waited I played bouncy ball with her precious little 4-year-old. Soon I had my delightful treat and we drove back. She asked if I needed anything else, but I politely declined. Hence we arrived back at the park everybody thanked her! It is amazing for someone to offer a ride like that, yet alone a young woman to a bearded hiker like myself. I felt more than a little blessed as I enjoyed my pizza and my Coke. As dusk approached K-less, Rooster, Gaia, and Booboo stopped to camp near the Mason-Dixon Line. I decided to night-hike with Iron Back. Soon Fozzy and Coyote decided to join us and night hike too. Only 5 minutes into our journey we stopped at a sign: ¢Mason-Dixon Line¢. We took pictures, Booboo peed on the north base of the pole, & I counteracted him on the south base. After all urination ceased, it hit me how big it was that we were done the south.   WOW! After ending our reflection we set out to do 4 miles. At first night-hiking was great! With four people it was not as scary, and we joked and sang songs. Two miles dropped by smoothly. Then we hit a road crossing and followed to what we thought was the trail (old gravel road) with what we thought were white blazes (forest boundaries). Completely wrong, we hiked for 25 minutes before stopping in a foreboding section of the woods. Right as we decided that we were not on the trail the rain began¢¦it was torrential. Our lost little group huddled together, tightly holding in warmth. We held Iron Back¢s tarp over our heads as a makeshift fly. We felt stupid, but at least we were together. After a few minutes the rain lessened and we made the joint decision to backtrack to the road. Sure enough, there at the road we found the REAL trail, with REAL white blazes¢¦DOH! We followed it and hiked on in the rain to the shelters. At about 1 a.m., exhausted and wet, we piled in. Both shelters were full and the camping space seemed to be rough. We were about to give up hope when Fozzy found a narrow trail leading to more empty camp spots. Our night was finally over! The Night HikeTonight we hiked half the night longWalking on in a line 4 strongAt first we all were feeling fineThere at the Mason-Dixon LineHiking & joking for two milesEach one of us were wearing smilesThen the blazes passed detection And we chose the wrong directionWe hiked on deep into the woodThen we said ¢This can¢t be good¢We were lost out there together With rain as the sudden weather Yet still we laughed and had wet fun Until we hiked in here at oneNow we¢re dead as we set our tentsDue to the silly way we went Hopefully soon we¢ll be snoring Ere the sky again starts pouring!HA, HA¢¦Goodnight and God Bless, BEATBOX   ttt