Date: 2021-05-03
From: Dahlgren Backpack Campground 

To: Wolfsville Rd, MD 17
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we were promised rain starting at 7 am, but being a ¢trust but verify¢ child of the Reagan years, I set my alarm for 5 am anyway. Sure enough, when I woke the weather prognostication had changed to rain by 5:30. I practiced a wet pack up anyway and had everything secured and stored by the time the rain hit.  My goal for today was about 13 miles away on the form of Smithsburg, Md where my package was scheduled to arrive. I started out uphill in the rain and about a quarter mile later came to a road crossing where there was also a bar and restaurant, which helped explain the rather giddy hikers who came staggering back into camp about 9pm the previous night. The first sight of the day was the Washington Monument.No, not that one, the original one. A squatish stone structure that local Marylandganders (I just made that up. I hate the term ¢Michigander¢ I¢m a Michiganian) erected in the early 1800¢s. You can see the outside of it, but the inside remains closed due to Covid apparently being super transmittable on federal property.I took a few rainy pictures and marched on. I did have on my rain gear today, more to try it out than anything else. Rain gear tends to have limited functionality when hiking because you sweat so much inside it you might as well be rained upon. I did look particularly stylish in my plum colored Marmot jacket and gray Enlightened Equipment rain kilt, if I do say so myself. Around 9 or so I had stopped to talk to two hikers when Santa (who I had last seen at the hostel in Front Royal) came cruising past. He had started the four state challenge at midnight and was nearly halfway done with the trek. I did not see Cheesecurds with him, so perhaps he had decided against the endeavor. The other hiker who I had met in Shenandoah who was going to do the challenge was named ¢Skeletor¢ (thanks, Easy!) which I should have guessed as his power was beyond my understanding. I contemplated my shoes as I walked some more nice Maryland trail. I didn¢t want to leave you, dear reader, with the idea I hadn¢t tried out my Altra Lone Peak 4.5¢s before hitting the trail.  No indeed! I had about 100 miles on the pair I¢m wearing, only the miles I had were Michiganian miles of mostly flat terrain and sandy soil. To their credit, the Lone Peaks have caused no toe issues, have had a sure grip, and were cheap at $65 for a pair. But the heal blisters and the overall feel just aren¢t getting it done, so, we¢ll try something new. I think that some Maryland trail builders may have read yesterday¢s journal post and took offense to my calling their trail soft. Because I think they went out last night and installed about half a mile of the trickiest rock scramble I¢ve come across to date. The rain didn¢t help matters, but the rocks were quite something. Some half the size of me (and I¢m no slight lad) would shift or move when stepped upon and you just had to keep moving. So to clarify: my classifying Maryland trail as soft was a compliment and was not meant pejoratively!I got to the road that goes to Smithsburg at noon - so 13 miles in 6 hours was pretty good. The two mile road walk into town was less so. Called the post office as I was walking in and...no package yet. But ¢it could still arrive today¢. So, continue to town. Once I arrived the post office was closed until 2 and the only restaurant in town isn¢t open on Mondays. So I followed my nose to a store/deli called the Trailside Kitchen. It was really unique, run by Mennonites, and filled with home made bread, snacks, candy and other baked goods. And the deli counter had a special: 4 pieces of chicken for $7.95, in!  They let me sit at an inside table due to the rain. The chicken was fantastic and the people even nicer. Tried back at the post office after they reopened and still no package. The clerk was very helpful and said it would likely arrive after they closed. More punches to roll with. This is fine. I booked a cheap hotel room in Hagerstown that was 15 miles away and I wasn¢t going to walk that if I could help it. Uber and Lyft weren¢t an option this afternoon with no drivers available. So I called a cab company, gave them an address where I was standing and they said ¢see you in an hour or so¢. While waiting, I did have a kindly older local man offer to give me a ride, but as he had just come out of the bar, I politely declined. 90 minutes later a early 2000¢s Crown Vic painted puke green pulled up. My chariot!  But rather than go to the hotel, we made a side trip to pick up another fare who needed a ride to the grocery store. More experiences!  The woman who needed the ride walked out her front door talking and didn¢t stop even after being dropped at the store 10 minutes later. It wasn¢t so bad, she really didn¢t require a conversation partner, just some oxygen and off she¢d go. The cab driver told me they had been crazy busy all day, as they always are the first Monday of the month as that is when people get their relief checks. The things you learn  Checked in at the hotel and started to do some laundry in the sink when my friend Mike informed me that according to the hotel website, they had laundry facilities here. I went back to the lobby and saw I had walked right past the GUEST LAUNDRY ROOM sign without noticing. This may be a trend. So, emptied the sink and shame-walked back and did a load of laundry the first-world way. My room also had a microwave so I heated some water and cooked one of my trail meals! (Coconut curry chicken - meh)Maybe the package being a day late wasn¢t the worst luck, as there were severe thunderstorm warnings and a tornado warning nearby as well. I¢ve got a ride booked back to Smithsburg at 9:30 tomorrow morning and as soon as I get my new shoes, it¢s a road walk back to the trail and move on north. As always, we shall see.