Date: 2015-09-15
From: PenMar County Park, MD

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 40.6
Weather: clear sky

9/13 Day 103 23.4 miles M1148.6Soggy picked us up at the agreed 7am time from Days Inn and shuttled us back to PenMar Country Park, MD where Luis hiked out first while I was able to phone Lynette to make final plans for her to visit with me in Harper's Ferry, WV -- a two day hike across MD. Talking with Lynette at the park overlooking the valley, I was quite cold with temps in the low 50's and wind around 20 mph. I had packed my jacket, knowing I wouldn't need it while actually hiking, so the conversation was short. Climbing out of the park, the trail was surprisingly rocky. After all, this is MD, not Pennsy. I hiked up to High Rocks and had an even better view of the valley and stood atop a rock where many hang glide. I met a man sitting there who was about to leave to day-hike down the AT a few miles. We had a nice conversation while hiking. He is a 62-year old diplomat with the State Department and had interesting stories and connections around the world, plus two very nice dogs, retrievers the same color as my former two dogs, Basso and Callie, who were the inspiration for my first trail name, Two Dogs. It was a wonderful morning. After about 10 miles into Maryland, the trail began to lose its rocky character and became smooth as silk for many miles. More level, smooth, and very fast. My regret for the day is that I bypassed Annapolis Rocks, not realizing that this was the place I wanted to stop to see a nice view. A weekend day, many day hikers were out and hiking to this point. I heard a number of military aircraft and also seemed to be not far from a firing range... much different sound than the hunters target practice I'd heard all through Pennsy. The temperature was very cool, and an amazing breeze all day... NO BUGS. Fall is definitely here. I later passed a Washington Monument that depicted history of a surveyor, Virginia Assemblyman, Representative to the Continental Congress, Commander-in-Chief, and our first President. I hiked on past Turners Gap, US Alt 40, a nice inn and restaurant (tempting), to stay at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Backpacker's Campground... a real luxury resort (relatively speaking) with hot showers, tent pads, flush toilets, sinks, and potable water faucet. There were about 6 other SOBO thru-hikers there, plus a couple of other hikers. I was the last one in and took the last available tent pad, each of which had its own table. Very nice evening listening to a group sing along with accompaniment played on a Travelling Martin guitar. Taco, I've seen several times over the past few weeks, bought the guitar recently. I believe he said his home is near Boiling Springs and that he just picked it up when he got off the trail for a few days to visit home. The campground was in a clearing from which the stars were amazing overnight. The moon didn't come up until the wee hours, so most of the night was a star show. This is heaven.9/14 Day 104 17.2 M1165.8I felt an extra spring in my step, an extra level of forward energy knowing this is the last day hiking before I see Lynette tomorrow in Harper's Ferry WV. (It's been three and a half months since we've seen each other!). It was nice to hike along with Diddy Kong for a few miles of pleasant conversation. Lots of SOBOs today. At Gathland State Park, there were 7 SOBOs when I walked up, having lunch, drying dew off their gear in the sun, and another SOBO walked up after. Must be something about the gravity of Harper's Ferry. We're right at the peak of the SOBO "Bubble" for this part of the trail. I had seen nearly all of them at one time or another, but haven't seen this many SOBOs at one time since Maine. The afternoon was a rocky descent into the valley of the Potomac River. Into the valley, the trail runs on a towpath for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal that operated for about 100 years into the 1930s. The canal and towpath run between and parallel to the Potomac and a set of three railroad tracks. The views of the Potomac are amazing. It's very different from the lazy slow river I'd seen in Washington, DC. At Harper's Ferry, the Potomac is peppered with boulders and rocky outcroppings, small rapids, is very wide and generally shallow, and fast running. The towpath walk, though shaded, was very exhausting after a long day. The towpath/AT is also a bike path that runs several hundred miles from Washington DC to Pittsburgh PA, so I was having to dodge cyclists while enduring the flat, hard gravel path. The canal was an amazing engineering accomplishment, to run through mountainous terrain, with a series of more than 30 locks and dams for several hundred miles. Most of it now is overgrown, water standing in some places. I was grateful to arrive at the railroad bridge crossing the Potomac at the confluence with the Shenandoah River, and cross over into West Virginia. I found the Towns Inn and stayed in the bunk room, excited about seeing Lynette, now in Salem, VA -- should be here by noon tomorrow.