Date: 2005-05-23
From: Harpers Ferry Hostel

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

Miles hiked today : 14.413.9 AT miles + 0.5 miles of side trailI woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. and began reading "Schr¶dinger's Cat Trilogy" until breakfast was served at 7:00 a.m. After eating breakfast, I packed up and headed out at 8:35 a.m.The side trail back to the AT had a very steep section that was quite dangerous on the downhill traverse. Fortunately, I didn't fall, though some careful stepping was required. Back on the AT, I was walking along the C&O Canal Towpath and spotted 6 adult Canadian geese on the path. As I got closer, I realized that they had at least 12 half grown chicks with them, which were rather cute. I was able to get close enough to snap some photographs, though the adults were hissing at me and the chicks were making nervous squawking noises.Continuing on, I reached the Ed Garvey Shelter at 10:30 a.m. and stayed for a 50 minute break. The shelter was very nice, with 2 stories, of which the top story was a nearly enclosed room with a swinging door and a large picture glass window.At 12:30 p.m., after leaving the Ed Garvey Shelter, I came across a stone archway and an empty tomb. The tomb was built by a gentleman for himself, his wife, and parents. Unfortunately, by the time he passed away, while living in New York, his finances were not enough for his family to transport his body, so he was buried locally with his wife. The tomb, it turns out is part of Gathland State Park which had a large number of antiquated buildings, a memorial to war correspondents, and a museum. I skipped the museum, though I walked around to read the signs about each building and then took a break by the picnic area and sat in the sun with Dad's Grin and Wingit. We looked at the data book and saw that, close to Dahlgren Back Pack Campground, there is a restaurant that offered fresh seafod and vegetarian entrees, among other items. Then we noticed it was closed on Mondays and, coincidentally, today is...Monday.The clouds began to roll in, which corresponded to the predictions of a thunderstorm I'd heard last night at the Harpers Ferry Hostel. Shortly after beginning up the trail, I began to hear thunder and so I picked up the pace. While hurrying, it began to rain, though the tree cover was enough that I didn't need to stop to put on my rain gear. I reached the side trail to Bear Spring Cabin at 2:40 p.m. and arrived at the Rocky Run Shelter at 3:35 p.m., having hiked 5.7 miles in 1 hour, 55 minutes. Wingit and Dad's Grin showed up before long.While making dinner, I shared the strawberries that I'd packed in from Harpers Ferry. We didn't expect anybody else to show up, though after a couple hours, Marion showed up, later followed by Maruchan and Heidi. The shelter is small and the sleeping platform has about 2 feet of room between the floor and the ceiling. Different for sure, though it will keep us out of the elements.Today was a fairly easy day, as should be the rest of the week. The campstore at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, which offers the half gallon challenge, is only open on the weekends in May, so I'm timing my arrival for Friday evening and will stay the night at the Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel. Suffice it to say, I'm very excited about the half gallon challenge.Bedtime at 8:25 p.m.