We’ve completed another state (Maryland) today, and with that completion we’ve officially left the south, as we crossed the Mason-Dixon line this afternoon.
The trail was actually kind of rough today. The climbs and descents weren’t too bad, but there were some very rocky sections, which kind of slowed us down a little. Also, as I’ve said in the past, the rocky sections just kind of mess with your rhythm. Even so, we hiked about 16 miles to Pen-Mar park before we took our only break of the day. And lucky us… trail magic was in full force. It was the same guy who’s following his son, the one we saw in Shenandoah, and yesterday at the Washington Monument. There were quite a few thru-hikers there, including a group that hadn’t done any miles yet for the day (it was 3pm by this point). We all enjoyed relaxing, chatting, and commenting on the wedding that was going on in the big pavilion.
When we finally took off from the park, it wasn’t long before we crossed over into Pennsylvania, and left the south behind us. We finished the day doing about 21 miles to the Deer Lick shelters, which is actually two shelters built side- by-side. It’s exciting to be starting in on the northern states, but we’re starting to get that little voice chiming in that real life is on it’s way back. I know we’ve still got many miles to walk, and a lot more to experience, but now that we’re leaving behind the south, almost to the physical halfway point, and entering a region that we’re more familiar with, it’s hard to not think about what it’ll be like to return to the “real” world. I’m sure I’ll have more on that once we actually pass the halfway point in a day or so, as the future has started to become a regular thought while we’ve been walking these last few days.
That’s it for tonight. Time to get some sleep, but we’ll see how that goes, as a whip-poor-will (not whiperwill as I had previously guessed the spelling) already started his call for the night… maybe some earplugs will be used…
sounds like you guys found the right pace for trail magic!