Date: 2015-07-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Here I sit eating gas station food in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. That's right people! PENNSYLVANIA. I'm thinking about all the events of yesterday, as I attempted to hike all 40 miles of the Maryland portion of the Appalachian trail in 24 hours. It went something like this:July 1st started as a day unlike most on the AT- with all you can eat chocolate chip pancakes and bottomless coffee(which I was going to need for the day ahead). For as long as a day I had ahead of me, I wasn't doing myself and favors by leaving so late but... ALL YOU CAN EAT CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES! I headed toward the trail after 8, hid my pack in the woods and started walking south as the hostel I was staying at was a mile north of the WV-MA state line and I wanted to do the entire state! When I stepped good back into WV, the clock started and I grabbed my 25 lb backpack full of my gear and the peanut butter sandwiches I'd made myself for the day. It was a little after 9AM. At this point I'm feeling stoked and unstoppable. Fast forward 17 miles. I had only taken 2 fifteen minute breaks up to this point and I was feeling it. My feet and knees hurt and I was starting to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. I decided a long break was in order so this time I actually took my shoes off and ate 2 of the 10 peanut butter sandwiches I'd made myself for the day's journey. The break was well worth it. About another 3 miles later, who did I see but my trail family Wind and Lorax. I called out, "HOOTIE HOO" in excitement as I had figured they'd be more north of me and I wouldn't see them. They still had 10 more miles on the day and needless to say I was glad for the company for miles 20-30 of the 40.As we neared the place that wind and lorax would camp for the night, I decided it was time to bust out my secret weapon. Upon hearing about my 40 mile quest, A thru hiker bestowed upon me a MRE caffeinated pudding packet that he'd been holding onto since Georgia. This little beauty had 230mg of caffeine. That probably would have been enough to raise Lazarus from the dead. I could feel its power coursing through my veins for the next 3 hours. Up to sunset, I had been making really good time. The trail had been decent and quite flat even if a bit rocky. Having had little experience night hiking, I underestimated how much I'd slow down. As the sun set, I entered a portion of the trail that required quite a bit of boulder jumping. Not to mention I always had to keep my eyes peeled for the white blazes on trees that mark the trail. Getting lost in the black of night was the last thing I wanted to do. Around 10PM, I started hearing gun fire in the distance and it was coming from the north which is where I was headed. Id hear bursts of 4-5 shots every 5 minutes of so. Now, hearing gunshots on the trail isn't all that uncommon. But this portion of the trail seemed to be going through private acres of country land, and the gunshots just kept getting closer until it sounded as though they were less than a half mile away. They had gone on for about an hour. Until 11:00. AT NIGHT. Who waits till 10 at night to get in their target practice?? I was quite relieved when it stopped and I had put a few miles between myself and the gunshots. I kept imagining getting hit by a stray bullet or worse, the back country family sees the lone thru hiker and decides to make me their practice target. As if I didn't have enough to worry about doing a solo night hike. The dark seems to make me more aware that I'm not at the top of the food chain in the woods. Sounds that don't even get my attention during the day had me on edge, shining my headlamp looking for eyes staring back at me in the darkness. Finally, around 2AM, I had been hiking for about 17 hours I see a familiar beam of light headed my way! "ANOTHER HIKER", I thought ecstatically to myself. As we passed one another, we exchanged pleasantries. It was odd meeting someone else who was hiking at 2AM. He said he was attempting the 4 state challenge and I wished him well. I told him I was headed to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border and he said I was only about a mile out. At that point, I shed my sleepiness and finally felt as though I'd done it- I'd hiked 40 miles and knocked out Maryland in a day. I crossed the train tracks and just as I reentered the woods I saw it- " Mason Dixon Line" the sign read. I touched it and felt like a formidable human. Perhaps like a tiny Greek god. Its feats like this that give me the confidence I need to make it the next 1100 miles and that make me feel like I've transitioned into a real hiker, instead of a flat lander from Texas who is faking it. "When you summit Katahdin, you'll feel like a tiny god but you'll look like a homeless person" -Napoleon 2014 thru hiker