Date: 2009-06-30
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Buena Vista Rd.
Miles today: 42.7

So I decided not to partake in the four state challenge (starting in Virginia, hiking through West Virginia and Maryland, and ending just past the Mason-Dixon line in Pennsylvania) due to my need to resupply and Harper's Ferry and not wanting to back-track to do it. Instead I ended up camping on the C&O canal last night. In order to find a legal campsite I had to hike about two miles out of my way to get there (I could have hiked back the same distance to Virginia...), but was glad when I found it. Part of the reason for camping here was simply nostalgia, as my family rode our bikes along the entire canal seven or eight years ago, another part was that it was free. Staying in hostels multiple nights in a row hurt my budget more than I appreciated.Anyway, when I got to the campsite last night I found that there was already another couple there. They were there for a vacation of sorts and we talked for a little bit. They started a fire while I was unpacking and then went fishing when I started cooking. Not too long afterward they caught a foot-long catfish, gutted it and gave it to me to eat! I don't usually enjoy fish a whole lot, but the fresh fish which I cooked over the fire tasted great---even in my ramen noodles.I went to bed fairly early and woke up at 3:15 to pack everything up. It was still dark while I packed, but by the time I left at 4:45 it was starting to get light. I got back to the trail, stretched, and ate a little bit more before officially starting my 'Maryland challenge' at 5:30.[It might make a difference for some to know that I hiked the day with enough food to last me four days and hence a 45+ lb. pack]The morning went quickly and I managed to hike 19 trail miles (21 total) by 12:30. I stopped at a state park and ate lunch and was astonished to find that there wasn't a single trash can in the park, not even in the bathrooms! I left the park at 2:00 and hiked on another 12 miles before I took a dinner break at a shelter. Though I only planned to take half an hour or less, the break lasted over an hour and I didn't start hiking again until 7:00. At this point I had 10 miles left to the PA border and no chance to make it before dark, but I hiked on in spite of this fact.It may have been a poor choice, but I knew I couldn't give up the challenge when the end was in sight and my body was still feeling good. The first five miles were reasonably easy and I got through them in under and hour and a half as twilight began to set in. What I didn't expect, though, was the rock field that came a mile later. I'll just say that it wasn't exactly a cakewalk. If it weren't for the fact that the white blazes are reflective I never would have found my way across that mess; yet I was still unsure the whole time despite the blazes. I did fall once, but only had a couple scratches/bruises, no real harm done. Once I passed that trial I was able to cruise again and managed to reach the Mason-Dixon Line around 10:45.It was a triumph not only to have reached my home state, but also to have hiked all of Maryland in a day. It was a little anti-climatic, however, as I ended up hiking for another half hour until I found a reasonable spot to camp with water nearby. It was very bizarre to be awake so late and even moreso because I was falling asleep in my dinner. Nonetheless, I had hiked over 44 miles in a single day and was quite content with that knowledge.