Date: 2004-05-23
From: Crampton Gap Shelter, MD

To: Day 62: near Ensign Cowall Shelter, MD
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

I returned to my usual 3:45 a.m. wake-up time on AT Day 62 so I could be on the trail by 6:00 a.m. just as it got light enough to see. Once again the weather was warm (60-80 degrees) and humid, but luckily there was no rain ¢ the latter was especially important to me since I discovered that I had inadvertently left my Gore-Tex jacket at my son¢s house. With my left knee still stiff and painful, I pledged to keep up the every 3-4 hour vitamin I regimen and take it easy all day ¢ despite the fact that my planned hike was 19.6 miles.About two miles into the hike I came upon Lambs Knoll where there are two separate memorials to two Civil War generals, one from the Union and one from the Confederacy, who died on the same day near this spot as part of the Antietam Campaign on September 14, 1862. Nearby there was another large memorial commemorating other aspects of this historic battle. [One thing is for sure, when I finish my AT hike, I am going to revisit these and other historic sites to learn more about the Civil War.]About two and half miles further down the path I came to what has been called by many as a ¢mirage,¢ but in fact it is MD¢s phenomenal Dalgren Back Packers Campground, complete with warm water showers, flush toilets, potable water sources, picnic tables, etc. ¢ all set aside for free by the State of Maryland for AT hikers ¢ like I said ¢phenomenal¢! Naturally I stopped to rinse off, but I skipped a full shower since I had only been out a day and I would be done in one more. While I was drinking some water and relaxing on a bench, out of the women¢s bathroom stepped a still wet-from-the-shower Swiss Miss, who I had not seen since our first days in NC when she was still known as Kat. It was sure nice to take a few minutes to get reacquainted. During our conversation, another through hiker, a young (20¢s) male named Hop Lite, emerged from the other set of showers and entered into the conversation. We ended with a decision that we would all go on that day to the Ensign Cowall Shelter.Shortly after noon I came upon the Washington Monument State Park, where I ate a snack and took pictures of and from the natural rock constructed bottle-shaped tower built by the citizens of MD in the 1820¢s as the first memorial to our first president. The park also has soda machines, bathrooms, pay phones, etc., all of which I by-passed. About an hour and half later I crossed the I-70 overpass near to US 40 and my son¢s house in Hagerstown and began my hike to Annapolis Rocks. I took the 0.3 mile Blue Blazed trail into see this local landmark, but to be honest, other than being a haven to local rock climbers, it was a bit of a disappointment since I have seen many cliff overlooks just as impressive on earlier portions of the AT. About two hours later I came to the spring at the Pogo Campsite and just as advertised it was impressive and I used the opportunity to get some water and then soak my hot, swollen feet in the cold water.Despite all of these delays I still got to the Ensign Cowall Shelter by 6:00 p.m. and since it was already packed with hikers eating dinner, I set up my tent near-by. Before darkness there were many other tents and shelter dwellers, the biggest grouping of through and section hikers I had ever seen and all seemed to be having a good time. In addition to the through hikers I had met before (Einstein, Hop Lite, and Swiss Miss ¢ Moonpie and Sugar Daddy had left earlier), I made many new friends (Condor, Top Lite, Squish, Rock Hound, Shooting Star and others). All in all, a pleasant ending to good day ¢ even though my knee was if anything stiffer and more painful than when I left Harpers Ferry.