Date: 2007-11-01
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter, MD

To: Maple Tree Campground
Miles today: 21.0

We are mapless today so we will be following the white blazes. Dave somehow forgot a map of Maryland - easy to lose track of one amongst the plethora of maps. Imagine Dave without a map! We are, however, far from worried as there is no chance of getting lost. We simply like to see where we are. We also like to monitor the potential water sources. You can tell a lot by how large a catchment area a stream has, although this is not foolproof. Lee has a map but he will either road-walk or hitch hike today and meet us tonight. We have been warned about a 10-mile stretch of rocks here in Maryland and maybe Lee thinks today is it. I resisted the idea of road-walking yesterday, Dave too, and Lee stuck with us to find no more than the usual amount of rock, so where is this 10-mile stretch? We hate roads, and are not sufficiently put off the trail by tales of rock, so Lee has gone off today and left us to it. It is interesting to see our different tastes, usually a result of cultural differences. Lee is often quite bemused by us since we resist quite a few of his suggestions including hostels (unless wet and/or dirty), diners and restaurants (from our point of view the food is generally pretty bad), ordering pizza (we especially dislike pizza) and road-walking. I have heard him on the phone saying things like ¢these kiwis, they want different food from any hikers I¢ve ever met.¢ Mostly he goes and does his thing and we meet again later and it works out well. Speaking of food, whatever we are doing seems to be working if the objective is not to lose weight. Most people on the trail lose an awful lot of weight. For some that is their objective, but not for all. For us, we don¢t have it to lose! Also what about the sheer amount of energy you need to hike the trail? I don't know how people do it when on the verge of starvation.We bypassed Rocky Run Shelter since it was still quite early in the afternoon and went on to Crampton Gap where we met up with Lee again. Maybe he was right as we climbed 1048m (1225 down) and did 21 miles. It was the biggest day we'd done since way back in New Jersey. There was no water at Crampton Gap Shelter so Lee phoned the Maple Tree Campground about 1 mile away and we walked down and stayed there for the night. It was a pretty unsatisfactory place. A cabin for 4 had 2 bunks and a couple of very dirty mattresses with torn plastic covers shoved under the bunks. If you wanted to use them you pulled them out and found a spot on the floor. There was a wood burning stove but the night was not cold enough for a fire. Despite this, the proprietor insisted we buy wood and have a fire. She was so insistent and I was so tired that in the end I gave in and paid her for the wood, but I felt very annoyed about having been so gormless. I should have walked away. The total price to stay for 3 of us was nearly $60 not counting the wood - a motel price! Lee said that many people would be willing to pay that for the rustic experience. I have yet to work out the preoccupation Americans seem to have with things rustic! Ensign Cowall Shelter - Stinger - Gene Vicent photo Footbridge between Cowall Shelter and Rocky Ridge - photo by sandman - George Duane