Date: 2006-03-27
From: Wolfsville Rd

To: Monument Rd
Miles today: 12.1

Monday, March 27, 2006Glistening bright blue day, not one cloud anywhere, thirties, a light wind.Trail is 6 feet wide, in places 8 feet wide counting the little shoulders alongside it. Like a combo hiker/horse trail, but not rough like horse trails and no manure.Mountain Goat is an expert horsewoman. She used to own horses and teach horseback riding. Amoeba asks her if she has any horse stories to tell.Yes.My daughter Becky had a horse who was what you call a ¢cold back¢. You have to warm up that kind of horse before you ride it, otherwise it¢ll start bucking. One day I was riding her and I didn¢t warm her up first. And I was wearing not my riding boots but shoes that tied. We ride English and I had breakaway stirrups, which are stirrups that have no outside edge, just bands on the outside which disengage if you have an accident. The horse started buckin¢, and I decided I was going to jump off. The bands disengaged OK but my shoelaces caught on the way down. I was hanging underneath her with my foot up on the stirrup. She didn¢t take off. She was just dancing all around me. I could see the hoof heading for me and it landed right on my stomach. But I was braced for it. The impact broke my shoelace and released my foot. I was very lucky. All I got was a huge hematoma.Shudder to think what could have happened. Compared to horseback riding, hiking seems tame.Annapolis Rocks. Clear views. Privy there has toilet paper.Hello 2 young men hiking south who camped last night at Pogo Campsite. They have not met any thruhikers.By lunchtime day is just as crystalline blue as when they started, temp warmer.Treadway becomes a stretch of good ol' ¢Pennsylvania¢ rocks. Then soft trail running beside large rocky outcrops to the east.Butterflies. One a rich dark brown with a creamy edge to its wings.Another old friend! Six-spotted green tiger beetle, metallic emerald green beetle flying low to the ground.Hikers who watch their feet notice low-flying creatures. Speaking of low-flying creatures, missing so far is the spring azure butterfly, periwinkle blue on the upperside of its wings, whitish on the underside.Trail turns to the east, up and over the rock pile.Stupendous trail work. Huge stone steps. Hard work done by PATC volunteers.On the descent, slippery dry oak leaves, but there is enough duffy bare ground that provides secure footing.Reset cars Monument Rd and Rte 40. On the way, a flock of 8 turkeys, 2 with their tails spread. One of those is so big, at first glance it looks like a dog, or even a small bear.Right after crossing Rte 40, there¢s a curious little path that goes between 2 houses in a residential area. There¢s a register to sign.Hello to a young woman who has hiked from Rte 40 to the monument and is on her way back.Back in the woods, the AT Lost and Found: saplings holding various items, a purple scarf, a single sock, an undershirt.At the monument, a family of 4. From the top of the monument, good views of Hagerstown, Boonesboro, and the rows of distant ridges in WV and PA. Though clear, you can¢t see DC. Mountain Goat is suffering from foot and ankle pain. They'll revise their hiking plans: shorter hikes between 6.2 to 8.7. End this trip at Bear¢s Den.