Date: 2016-05-31
From: Annapolis Rocks Campground

To: Ensign Cowell Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: few clouds

Time moves weird out here. This morning was soooo long ago, but the day kinda flew by. Doesn't quite make sense. I would have no idea what the events of the day where and in what order were in not for the pictures I have taken. (Keep in mind, one pic is displayed in each post, but others are available via the photos link on the left.)I woke up at 7 this morning. Well, got out of the hammock at 7. Took my time making breakfast and breaking camp. Cute little spring at Annapolis Rocks, and I swung by the rocks on my way back to camp. (Because I ended up on the wrong trail but it's all one big loop. Explains why Ed made the loop last night after his trip to the spring, which he confirmed.)When I was finally ready to head out at 830 and was getting on my way I ran into Robin. I stopped by her tent and she made us coffee. It ended up being well after 10 but the time I got out of there, but that's okay...it was good company, decent coffee, and I left with a bag of Doritos which I had been craving. Not long after setting off I took a blue blaze (side trail) to Black Rock. This was the most amazing vista. I climbed out onto the rocks where I met Trooper, a chick from Scotland who is they hiking. For some reason I want to say that it overlooked the Cumberland valley. It was hazy, as it has been since I started, but really beautiful.The rest of the day kinda passed in a blur. There were some ups and downs, but the trail mostly just stayed along the ridgeline. I am getting into rockier terrain. There was one long scramble that was blazeless as far as I could tell, but I kept going and eventually saw that swatch of white that confirmed I was still on the trail. Phew! A rock scramble, by the way, is a field of rocks that are too small and condensed to stroll around, but too large to breeze over. It's pretty technical as each step must be calculated, searching out the safest path from rock to rock, keeping in my the potential for slippage and rock shifts. It takes a lot of energy both mentally and physically. Unfortunately this type of terrain leaves little opportunity for looking up!The rock scramble was followed by a very short, very steep climb, then a long, very steep decent. But, I made it in to Ensign Cowell without incident and net up with Ed and Lyle. There are a few other thru hikers here as well as one guy who, I think, just hangs out on the trail. He's a great source of info as he knows the trail and be area very well. But the man won't shut up! Nice guy though. The shelter is .2 miles from the road and a parking lot is not far from there. A number of people hitched into town today for resumption and/or treats. One guy packed in several beers which he shared around, though I declined. A thru hiking couple ordered pizzas and salads to be delivered to the parting lot. I was strongly considering doing the same, but I couldn't really be bothered. I had pretty much decided that I was just going to have Robin's Doritos for dinner. But there ended up being more pizza than they could handle and they shared a slice with each of the hikers that were around at the time. That sufficed for my dinner!I really need to figure out that I am going to eat out here. Oatmeal for breakfast is awesome, especially with my coffe/hot chocolate combo I had this morning! Lunch so far has been tuna on English muffins. So much better with Doritos! I can keep going similar to that for now. But dinner...I am not going to be able to eat mashed potatoes. A spoon or two of the flakes as a side dish might be decent, but not as a whole meal. Honestly I am not sure if I want to continue bothering to cook for dinner. Though last night I made a Bear Creek minestrone soup a weekender had left behind in a previous shelter, and it was amazing. Still have half of that left to cook for dinner tomorrow. I am going to have to explore my options when I get into Waynesboro the day after tomorrow.Yay! Town day in two days! We will have a very short day tomorrow, but it's supposed to be really rocky so that's good, then a town day the next! We will still have a few miles to hike, then I will hitchhike into town with Ed and Lyle. A hotel, a nice shower, a laundry mat, hopefully an amazing burger! Yes!!Well, long day and the kids are heavy. Good night!