Date: 2014-06-24
From: Rocky Mountain Shelters

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today I started early and took frequent breaks at the shelters I passed. My goal was to cross the Mason-Dixon Line which is the PA-MD border. There was a sign as well as a railroad track at that point. (The line was the work of surveyors Mason and Dixon before the Revolutionary War.)Occasionally through Pennsylvania I found wild blueberries. Near the railroad, I also picked some black raspberries.I passed Tort-a-leni and her dad going north. They had also stopped in Harpers Ferry to visit family. She began her thru hike as Tortoise because she was--in her words--so slow. However, after getting adjusted to trail life, she began to do better and someone changed her name to the current Tort-a-leni.There is a park at the border called Pen Mar which is only a mile from a pizzeria. I debated in my mind on the way whether to call in an order or walk the extra distance. Since the park had electrical outlets I just called in and used the time to recharge my body and my phone. I also ordered a 2-L bottle of Coke with the pizza thinking I would take half of it with me to drink at the shelter but drunk it all along with eating half a 14" pizza with anchovies, banana peppers and pepperoni. The little salty fish hit the spot on a hot day.The park is situated on an overlook with a shelter and benches looking out over a valley. I set my timer for thirty minutes and had a short nap before resuming my walk.I joined up with a group of young teens as I started the hike out of the park to the south. They were on their way to an overlook called High Rock. Neither of us knew where it was but we continued on faith that it was somewhere ahead of us. Eventually, the climb became rather steep and we had to climb over rocks and boulders to follow the trail. Sometimes we made our own trail in the absence of sufficient white blazes. I was the turtle and the kids were the rabbits as they went ahead of me. However, by the crest of the mountain, they had fallen behind. But they provided a distraction for me to make a difficult climb on a hot day more enjoyable. I was thankful for the rest and the fuel of the pizza to get me over the top.High Rock overlook is also reachable by car and lots of people were coming and going to enjoy the view. One couple Devon and Cody, asked me to take their picture and they took mine for me. After a conversation about the Appalachian Trail, they drove away on their motorcycle. I wished I had thought to give them a card in case they would have checked in my guestbook. Just another example of a chance encounter with good memories and only a couple of first names.As I left, the kids were just getting to the rock. I had begun to think they turned back because of running out of time. But they were tough and hung in there until they made it in spite of a couple of wrong turns.I met Aqua Man at the shelter when I arrived. He was quite a musician who made his mandolin really sing even though some strings were missing. Meanwhile, I finished off the pizza except for one piece I saved for breakfast. About dark Rod and Reel came in and cooked his dinner. He had been called Rod since third grade, so just added the reel for a trail name. If I had used my third grade name I would be Clodhopper because of the high top work shoes I wore.