Date: 2005-06-28
From: Washington monument state park

To: Pennsylvania
Miles today: 21.6

Luckily Gypsy Lulu is feeling better this morning and we all hike on. I lag behind because I'm in a sad mood once again and don't feel like pushing at all. The Washington Monument State Park has all kinds of signs about President Washington and there is a monument on top of the hill. It's only a short walk up there but I think 'blah-de-blah-American history-blah-de-blah' and pass it up.I hike some then stop to take a ten minute 'I feel so sorry for myself' break. But you can feel sorry for yourself while walking too so nothing is preventing me from hiking. And I guess I'd like to get to Maine eventually. So there I go again.There is an interesting footbridge over Interstate 70. It's all fenced in and you can see the cars rushing underneath. I wonder what they are thinking when they see a backpacker perched high above them. Pine Knob shelter has a warning sign talking about a rabid raccoon attacking innocent hikers. That doesn't sound good so I don't go down there. It's about two more miles to Annapolis Rocks and I expect to see the rest of the group there so when I see them sitting on a rock right around the corner I'm surprised. Of course I'm not passing up the opportunity to take a break with them so there I am taking my second long break and not having progressed much further than three miles. Eventhough there is a definite lack of forward movement today the Annapolis Rocks are not to be missed and I go down the .2 mile side trailto enjoy the view. It's a little further to the spring but the Ridgerunner at the rocks is telling us it is the best water in Maryland so curiosity pushes me on. Indeed it is great water, well worth the extra tenths of a mile.Alas, it is time to say goodbye to the views and carry onward and upward.At Ensign Cowall Shelter I meet up with The Garland 5, Stilts, Vogue, Gypsy Lulu and some others. Busy, busy, busy...Sunshine and Touk soon arrive too. I'm having a tuna sandwich and it must look really good because I get several comments on how good it looks. I explain how it is the last bun out of my food bag, it is a little moldy. The mayonnaise is a little on the sour side and the tuna, well... it's tuna. Sounds less appealing than it looks ; )After the late lunch it's time for a nap. After all I've already covered the amazing amount of 11 miles. I have to say that the humidity and the heat takes a lot out of us. We're all tired and take turns being grumpy and frustrated. Yesterday it was Sunshine, today it was Gypsy and I'm always frustrated ; )I'm hoping to get some peace and quiet but as soon as some of the hikers leave other ones come barging in. Time to move on I guess...I really am grumpy today and lag behind again so that I don't have to be social. I catch up to Clothesline (the mother in the Garland 5 family) though and she asks me if it helps to talk about what bothers me. I decide it won't hurt to vent a little and we swap personal drama stories. We go quite slow because we have to keep an eye on Zing (their youngest) and his new found friend 'Pheonix' (his spelling). They love to take breaks, run ahead and take more breaks. They also pick up a dead snake which reminds Clothesline of the time that they had all been passing around a dead snake that wasn't dead at all. It had just been unconscious for a while. When it came to it startled the person handling it so much that he threw it away and it landed in someones hair twisting itself in her pony tail. Great story!Clothesline, Zing, Pheonix and I finally make it to Devils Racecourse Shelter. The Gypsies and Carnies have already left. They were planning on camping at the Maryland-Pennsylvania border which is about five more miles. I feel good so decide to push on. The five miles aren't hard except for the fact that Maryland wants to show that Pennsylvania doesn't have the monopoly on rocks. There is a nice rocky stretch which I hope will end soon because it would suck in the dark. Luckily I get to the Pen-Mar Park before dark and meet up with the rest of my buddies. We all have dinner here and then move on to camp a couple yards from the border. I'm glad to announce that I already took my first shit in Pennsylvania ; )