Date: 2005-04-01
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy April Fools Day He spoke in a loud voice and said¢The water from this spring is pure¢I knew it was a lieBut when I told him soMy voice was loud also.What a day - meetings with the Woodcutter, the Bird Watcher, and cryptic messages for me in trail registers!   Had a good night with the boy scouts and was able to leave a message for KT. Got up at first light and cooked breakfast. The coffee turned out to be the drip kind, not instant. I bought the wrong one, and now will have to deal with the floating debris of bitter coffee grounds on the surface of my morning coffee.   Even though rain was predicted, it turned out to be a great day. After a very nice sunrise, I started out in my shirt ¢ no wind jacket ¢ and did OK, but will wear gloves in the cold chill mornings in the future. I was back on the trail as the sun was breaking through and soon warmed up. All of the scouts in the shelter were still asleep when I left, although a few of the younger ones were stirring outside their tents.   It rapidly turned into a beautiful day ¢ temps in the 70¢s with blue skies and small white puffy clouds. I love hiking in the cool of the early morning, everything seems so fresh and new. And combined with a hot breakfast and fresh legs, the world is just such a great place to be.   As I hiked this morning, I thought about how important it is to experience the ¢now¢ moments. We spend so much of our time planning for the future, or thinking about the past, that we forget to experience the present ¢ the ¢now¢. In reality all living is done in the ¢now¢. So I spent a lot of time today just enjoying the moment ¢ the trail, the trees, the feel of hiking, the sounds, the smells ¢ and the good weather sure helped.   I was soon past Rocky Run Shelter [did I smell wood smoke in the early morning?] and was soon at Fox gap. There is a monument there to Reno, a civil war hero. This entire area, as I was to discover, is rich in civil war history. Across the road from the monument is the site of the Battle of South Mountain ¢ I swear I could feel the ghosts of all of those dead soldiers!   Dahlgren Back Packers Campground was reported to have water and hot showers ¢ but alack it was closed, so I had neither.   Not long after however I came to Washington Monument State Park, which also promised restrooms and a spigot. The restrooms were closed and when I tried the spigot outside it was dry. I saw a man using a power saw to render a newly fallen tree into firewood, which he was loading into his truck. Approaching him, to ask if there was any other water source available, I found a second spigot at a campsite, and lo and behold it yielded water. So the fact that a tree had fallen, and a man was cutting the wood, meant that I got my water resupplied.   Continuing on with a light heart and step, and a full water bottle, I was soon at the Washington Monument itself ¢ no! not that Washington Monument! This is a large stone tower erected by the citizens of nearby Boonsboro in commemoration of George W. There is a doorway with 34 steps that lead to the top of the tower. Since I now had plenty of water, and time, I decided to go for the top to enjoy a panoramic view ¢ and at the top I met the Bird Watcher. A middle-aged man who was observing and recording the hawks, and other avian visitors. So I got a view and a ¢close encounter of the Bird Kind¢ [get it?], all because I had water, because the man was cutting the wood, because the tree fell!   Just before crossing Interstate 70, on an overpass bridge, to the side of the trail was a trail register on a table covered with a clear Plexiglas cover. I had never seen the like of it before. Stopping to sigh in, I discovered, to my surprise, that in the previous days entries there was ¢Slow Walker ¢ Welcome to Maryland¢ At first I thought that I was being monitored by the CIA and FBI. Who on earth would know that I was going to be passing that way today? Thinking about it now, I remember two hikers that I met as they were leaving Crampton Gap. They were section hikers NOBO and I think that the cryptic message must have been from them. Such a day for coincidences. It just goes to show that everything is related to everything else.   So her I am in the midafternoon at Pine Knob. The boy scouts are scheduled to overnight here also, so I am taking this chance to get my journal entries in for today. I got s cell signal here and left a message for KT. The Port Clinton box is due to be mailed in the morning.   The prediction is for three inches of rain for tomorrow. It will do whatever it will do.   Today I thought about free will and how we alone among all of the animals have true free will. I understand that other animals can make choices, but free will implies an ability to make difficult choices. Not ¢Which of the two piles of hay will I eat?¢ but ¢Do I want to eat hay anymore? Maybe I don¢t¢ This is the element of true free will and it is guided by our own moral judgments and values. Free will allows us free choice, but moral values guide us to the correct decision ¢ or they should.Thought for today ¢                   Hiking is a great lubricant for thinking!