Date: 2010-06-12
From: VA/WV border

To: MD/PA Border
Miles today: 41.6

First of all, it was actually 43.3 miles. I can't record it in my "daily miles" because the first 1.7 miles of that was logged in the previous day, and Trailjournals uses that number to compile your total. Yes, we did 1.7 redundant miles and crossed the Shenandoah River 3 times in 2 days.The 4 State Challenge is to start in Virginia, go through West Virginia and Maryland, then hit Pennsylvania (4 states) in 24 hours. The Challenge is traditionally started at midnight.Our alarms went off at 11:45PM. By 12:30AM we were ready to roll. We went through Harpers Ferry, WV at about 1 AM. There were roaches everywhere! Though it was essentially a very late Friday night, no drunk bar people were around. No people of any kind actually, very desolate. Immediately following that stretch, we entered Maryland for the first time. It was still cool and I was hiking with my shirt off, which would later prove to be a mistake. No breaks until first light when we hit Gathland State Park (13 miles). The unfortunate aspect of the Challenge was that Maryland actually has lots of great facilities, such as public bathroms/showers and campgrounds that are right along the AT. At 9 AM I'd put my shirt back on (thank god) and we went past Rocky Run Shelter (20 miles). 4 miles later put us near Washington Monument State Park, where we climbed up into "The original Washington Monument" It is a 15' stone tower with a spiral staircase at the center. The monument was built in a single day (July 4th, 1827) by most of the residents of Boonsboro, MD.11:45 AM : Pine Knob Shelter (25 miles). This is the first of 2 shelters we actually visited. We bypassed 4. The caretaker came over and told us that tons of tourists were up a litle further to see the view from Annapolis Rocks. Continuing, we passed a lot of people dressed in normal clothes and smelling completely nonoffensive. However we got some laughs by smoking them on the uphill with our heavy packs. Of course there were some cute girls, but as it always happens, we were on a deadline and couldn't stop and talk to them.3:30 PM: Stopped for water at Ensign Cowall Shelter (33 miles). Caught Fig and Cheese. They'd gone much further than I thought they would in their 2 day headstart. As the day went longer so did our breaks. 10 more miles! Sounds easy, only 3-4 hours and we'd be done! Except that after 1 mile the sky opened up and poured as we crossed the poison ivy fields of Northern Maryland. This lasted for 20 minutes. Then 45 minutes of sun. Then about 30 minutes of a more serious downpour. Getting soaked was bad enough, but that brief period of sun was a mixed blessing. It occurred at the only significant uphill section of the day, climbing up to Raven's Rocks. This sounds good, but it actually created a hellish humidity. Once we were up on the rocks and caught the second soaking, it was a quick 5 miles to the finish line. At this point the 3 of us were absolutely dragging. We climbed down through a giant slippery boulder field and then crawled over a long stretch of woods, finally emerging 2 hours later in Pen Mar County Park, MD. Walking past the pavilion, we met some random hikers that we'd mostly already known, talking as we kept moving.Funk's dad Spiritwalker was waiting for us at the PA border, where we collapsed and didn't say anything for a long time. There were hot dogs, chili, ginger ale, beer, and whisky for everyone who wanted some. No one really did. Three old guys were also camping there along the border. They kept asking us questions and making jokes as if it were an appropriate time. If I'd been able to summon enough energy to stand up, I may have killed them. We were soaked and it was 7:45, about 19 hours after we'd left Virginia that morning.Spiritwalker drove us all back to Harpers Ferry where we stayed in the North Gate Inn for the night.