Date: 2005-06-20
From: Ensign Cowell Shelter

To: Mason-Dixon Line
Miles today: 9.7

DAY 101This was a slow day for me. I¢m taking the Trail a day at a time. My AT hike is bound to end, but I don¢t want to think too much about it. My relationship with Rocky is back to normal after yesterday¢s misunderstanding. She has continued to be supportive and she does not seem to be bothered by our slow pace. By mid afternoon we reached Pen-Mar Park, which is a scant 0.2 miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line, the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. We decided to cook dinner here as we had a picnic table with a beautiful view to the west from the South Mountain ridge. Most of the Trail in Maryland has followed the ridge of South Mountain. The Park had water and a rest room, but there is no camping allowed, so we would have to move on after dinner. While we were relaxing at our picnic table, other hikers started to show up. First ¢O¢Conner¢ came by. Then Hareball arrived. We had not seen Hareball in ages. O¢Conner ordered pizza in, so we did the same and had a second dinner, which we shared with Hareball. Other hikers joined us also to await the arrival of hikers doing the ¢Four States Challenge¢. I would have loved to try the Four States Challenge had I been healthy. The idea is to hike from Virginia, through West Virginia and Maryland and into Pennsylvania, all in one 24 hour day. It is about 43 miles. Hikers start in the dark on the Virginia side of the Shenandoah River bridge, opposite Harpers Ferry. Eventually, ¢Thumper¢ and ¢Snowy Man¢ showed up after completing the Four States Challenge by walking the 0.2 miles to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. They came back to our picnic table at Pen-Mar Park.While we relaxed at the picnic table and shared the fellowship of the Trail, a man and woman came by to chat with us. They lived in the area and were out for an afternoon stroll. They talked with us and Rocky told them of my knee problem. They went and got ice for me to put on my knee. I don¢t know if the ice has helped much, but once again I am touched by the kindness of strangers I will never see again. To top it all off, the couple came by later with more ice, as they knew the first ice pack would have melted. It is incidents such as this that have made me want to stave off my inevitable departure from the Trail as long as possible.Eventually this evening we moved on to a grassy area right at the Mason-Dixon Line and set up our tents for the night. Hareball came by and told us she had found a better tent site further up the Trail. However, I told Rocky that I am going nowhere else tonight. Camped with us at this site are O¢Conner, Thumper and Snowy Man. O¢Conner is from New York. Before she started the Trail, she had her head shaved to a stubble. Some Irish hikers thought she resembles the bald Irish singer Sinead O¢Conner, so hence her trail name. Tomorrow, June 21st, is the first day of summer, and is traditionally Naked Hiking Day on the Trail. The tradition is that hikers brave enough will hike naked, or with as little clothing as possible. The four younger people at our campsite told us they are going to participate in this tradition. Rocky is looking forward, with eager anticipation, to photographing them tomorrow morning.