Finally Finished

The last weekend in April, we ladies set off to backpack a section of the Maryland Appalachian Trail.  For one of us it was a repeat section, for another it was a first time ever backpacking trip and for the other two (one being me) it was a trip to finish the Maryland section that was started the year before.  We started from the South Mountain Inn parking area which is where my cousin and I had to stop previously.  We were hiking south to the Ed Garvey shelter and from there to the Weverton Cliffs Parking lot.  I was a little apprehensive about this trip.  Since the previous year, I've been working on fixing an injury.  The short story is that 3 years ago I fell and began having pain in my hip/butt area.  That led to a potential diagnosis of piriformis syndrome which then led to the correct diagnosis of a tilted and rotated pelvis.  Since started treatment for that, the pain has been significantly reduced, however, on my last doctor visit I was told that there was little left to do for the remaining pain as I had arthritis in my lower back that was causing some issue.  So, I was going to learn on this hike just how much the pain and injury were going to screw up my backpacking plans.  I loaded up on ibuprofen and also took along Salonpas pain patches the doctor recommended.

So at the South Mountain Inn Parking Lot, we said our goodbyes to Casserole (my aunt- she has a trail name) who shuttled us from the Weverton Parking Lot, and we headed down the trail.  The weather was a little iffy that morning.  NOAA was forecasting some potentially severe storms with high winds and hail.  This isn't really shocking since every time my cousin and I go on an adventure, something squirrelly happens.  Because there were some rumbles of thunder and a little light rain, we covered our packs and put on our rain gear as a precaution.  We hiked down to the Dahlgren Backpacker's Campground and stopped to use the bathroom.  For those who don't know, Dahlgren not only has a normal flush toilet bathroom, it also has hot showers.  Also note that while it is supposed to be for backpacker's only, it usually fills up in the summer months with non-backpackers who take advantage of the close proximity to parking and the fact that it's free camping (I really wish this was monitored better!).

After our quick pitstop, we headed up out.  Uphills are my enemy.  Added weight and and going up put strain on my injury.  So I was hiking up a mountain with 20 pounds on my back.  Brilliant.  What ended up being surprising was how well I was managing the inclines.  It seemed more like my issues were from being sadly out of shape and not an issue stemming from my fall.  We took our time slowly picking our way over rocks.  I dislike rocks.  It was slow going every time we had an uphill.  I have learned that I need to go slow and stop and take a minute to catch my breath and sometimes stretch out the tightening muscles.  My daughter and cousin didn't mind the breaks.  It seemed we all needed to take a break at about the same time.  I began feeling much better about my ability to hike.  20 pounds seemed like a manageable weight, and taking my time was key to making it through the tougher terrain.

We eventually came to some power lines and a view of the valley. We took the opportunity to stop for a few minutes.  The storm seemed to have missed us, so we all put away our rain gear, and my mom shared her Twizzlers.  We took a few photos of the view before putting our packs back on and heading back along the trail.  I never realized just how loud large power lines are.  It's a constant buzzing, and it even felt like the hairs on my arms were standing on end.  I don't know how anyone could stand to live near power lines like that.
Anyway, we continued on our way.  It was a pleasant hike most of the way.
The weather was decent though a little hot and muggy.  We were lucky enough to have a steady breeze that kept things pretty comfortable for the most part.  As we made our way down the trail, we met up with quite a few hikers.  Several groups passed us, and we began to worry about whether or not there would be room in the shelter for us.  We had opted to leave our tents at home to save on pack weight, and because there was a chance of storms that night. There was an option to stop at the Crampton Gap shelter, and we voted to make the decision about staying there once we got to it. We eventually came to White Rocks overlook and took another snack break.  My mom is always saying that she thinks taking breaks for snacks and to take off your pack for a few minutes is important. I'd have to agree with her.  I broke into my beef jerky and ate some more Twizzlers.  We took several photos of each other up on the rock and of the view.  About that time, a Boy Scout Troop arrived.  We moved our stuff aside so they could all enjoy the view too.  I took a group photo for them so all their leaders could be in the shot.  We learned they too planned on staying at the Ed Garvey shelter.  I mentioned it seemed that was the go-to place for the night and they assured us they planned on tent camping.
We headed back onto the trail after that planning on stopping and having lunch at the pavilion at Gathland State Park. AS we headed off, we all sang Bohemian Rhapsody which sounded pretty darn good if you ask me.  Don't ask anyone else though.  We hiked past the Crampton Gap Shelter and decided to keep going for the day.  There were already some folks there, and we were all feeling pretty good physically.  We reached Gathland shortly after and stopped for lunch.  There we ran into one of the other hiking groups we had talked to earlier in the day.  It was 4 local guys hiking for the weekend.  They were just finishing up their lunch and said they'd see us at the Ed Garvey Shelter when we got there.  Lunch was good even if it was only Kind bars and beef jerky.  There were also Twizzlers.  Gathland State Park is a great place to have lunch.  It's also a great place for a day trip for anyone looking for suggestions for such things.  There's a huge history with the place and it has a little museum as well as actual flush toilets and a water spigot.  Once lunch was complete, we hit the bathroom and filled up our hydration bladders.  I was surprised to see I drank all but .5 liters from my 2 liter bladder.  I was also surprised when I put my pack back on after refilling the bladder with 2 liters of water.  Even though it wasn't any heavier than it was that morning, it felt like I had added about 10 more pounds to it.  After filling up our water supply, we set out for Ed Garvey.
The guidebook listed it as about 3 miles from Gathland State Park.  No problem, we could do that easy peasy.  On our hike to the shelter, we saw a snake, and my daughter nearly stepped on a box turtle.  My mom was quick to tell me to leave it there.  I've been known to bring turtles home that I've rescued on the road.  Not that I keep them- I just let my kids see them and learn about them before setting them free away from the road.  And taking a turtle on the trail would be a serious Leave No Trace no-no.  But I did make sure to take a photo.  We hiked on and on and on.  And we began to seriously worry about whether or not we would have a place to sleep.  We passed several hikers coming from the direction of the shelter who said how crazy crowded it was.  This part of the hike seemed like it would never end.  Then the breeze died.  The heat and the humidity increased, or at least seemed to increase without the breeze and my daughter and cousin started to feel the effects.  Just about the time I was ready to just lay down on the trail, we saw the blue blaze for the shelter.  My mom and I were ahead of the other two and she called me over.  "We are staying in that shelter" she said to me.  I assured her I had her back. 
As we walked up to the shelter, we saw a large group of men sitting around the fire pit.  The guys we had seen a few times that day waved us in and told us we had the whole bottom of the shelter.  It seems when they arrived they let everyone know there were 4 women headed there and needed space in the shelter.  We ended up being the only women there that night.  There were 4 Scout troops.  Two camped around the shelter and the other 2 stealth camped on the other side of the trail.  Plus there were quite a few section hikers.  Not long after we arrived, the guys decided to get a fire going.  Our guy friends from earlier in the day brought hot dogs and offered to share with a couple of military guys if they got the fire going. 
First one man tried to get the fire started with flint and steel.  He regaled us with tales of how he "always gets a fire started".  It was serious work, or so I assumed when he took off his shirt.  Several minutes later, no fire.  So the two military guys tried.  Someone got a lighter and they worked to get something started.  My mom suggested I help but I insisted I was enjoying watching them try to get something going.  Eventually, I just couldn't take it, so I quietly walked to my pack and pulled out my ziploc bag of lint and cotton balls with petroleum jelly (along with matches and a lighter) and I walked over to the men and asked "Which would you like to use?"  They opted for the cotton balls and a fire was started immediately.  One of our guy friends asked why I didn't help sooner and I simply told him I was enjoying the show.  The macho man said, "You sure are prepared." To which I responded, "I'm a Scout leader."  There were other conversations about how my cousin and I have a fire wherever we go since we're "pyros from way back".  All in all it was pretty hilarious.
The stay at the shelter was a lot of fun.  We had conversations with people from Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut as well as some locals.  Meeting fellow hikers is my favorite thing.  We all eventually turned in for the night.  None of us really got much sleep though.  It was hot and muggy for a while and then the wind kicked up and it got chilly.  I only brought my sleeping bag liner so I was a bit chilled.  Several time my cousin and I had conversations about hiking out at first light.  At one point some coyotes started howling which was super creepy.  Luckily I had already been to the privy. 
In the morning we got up, ate a cold breakfast, packed up and headed down the trail.  We  ended up finishing a little after 9:00am.  We were all beat and really sore, but had a great time.  I was thrilled that while my muscles were screaming, my injury hadn't really caused much in the way of a problem.  Sure I have to go slow and take a lot of breaks, but I still got to the end. A few other thoughts: I highly recommend Darn Tough socks, which I used for the first time on this overnight.  My feet felt pretty good and the socks were comfy.  Gaiters are a good idea.  I don't have Gaiters, and I didn't think they were very important.  However, I ended up with a bunch of dirt and leaves in my boot and gaiters would have prevented that.  And if you're getting tired and you don't want to say you need a rest, take a photo!

Wanderlust

I'm not sure what it is- the super mild February weather, the hundreds starting their thru hikes or just my frustration from feeling like I'm stuck in a rut- but I'm dying for an adventure. 
My cousin and I are known for our road trips not so much because of where we go, but more for what happens along the way.  Though, when I think about it, it's also because of where we go.  Several years ago we packed up our camping gear and flew across the country to stay at the UFO Ranch in Trout Lake, WA.  And even though we met a Santa Claus look-a-like wearing overalls, an alien T-shirt and a straw hat and holding conversations with an alien head he kept in a dog bed, it probably wasn't the craziest trip we've been on.  Really.
On a trip to the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, WV, we drove through 4 tornadoes, torrential rain that had us searching for a motel (we never found one), fog so think we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the car, Biblical flooding of the Ohio river and mudslides.  Oh, and we spotted vultures sitting in a dead tree above a rusting hearse while "Dueling Banjos" played on the radio.  And we got shot at while checking out an abandoned asylum. 
Then there was the time we spent the night at the closed West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville.  It was so creepy inside that we took our cat naps outside on the concrete wall in the exercise yard in shifts.  This after being taken on a private tour by some caretaker in a section that was off limits, smelled of burning flesh (from Old Smokey the electric chair's chamber) and ended up being locked in a cell in said off limits area with the aforementioned caretaker we didn't know.  Scarier was the room at the hotel we stayed in that sported a giant bloodstain on the mattress (they kindly flipped the mattress over so I wasn't laying on the stain, but it was still visible), strange leering men in the parking lot and a tub I didn't want to think about using.
So, I'm ready for adventure.  Ready to hit the trail or hit the road.  Or hit the road to head to a section of the trail that is more than an hour away.  I'm ready to go check out some of the spooky places I've researched for the Haunted Appalachian Trail book I'm still writing.  I just need to go.
I guess it's happening to me the way it happened to John Muir: "The mountains are calling, and I must go."

Backpacking Trip: Day 2

View from Annapolis Rocks

The second day of our trip dawned on an overcast morning.  The rain from the night was long gone, and the sky had a promise of sun.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my disposition.  I did not sleep during the night.  Between the privy runs in torrential downpours, the changing of wet clothes, the worry about getting my new down sleeping bag wet, the worry my tent would leak and the ever increasing pain in my butt, it's a wonder I didn't wake up mutated into a shorter version of Godzilla ready to destroy Tokyo grumpier than I was.  We ate breakfast and packed up camp and got ready to head down the trail.  I was personally trying hard not to cry and failing.  It really was not a good morning.  I didn't care about the view, all I wanted to do was get moving.  I knew that my aunt had planned to meet us at our stop for the night at Dahlgren Campground.  All morning, I struggled mentally about whether or not I should make the choice to end my hike.  The pain was pretty bad, especially on any inclines, and I knew I had some inclines coming in the next couple of days.  I kept thinking that if I ended my trip, I would be failing, and then I was fighting back the tears again, which made it difficult to breathe while carrying 30 pounds with a bad ass.  I tried to keep quiet and push on.  As we hiked south, we began meeting up with day hikers heading north to Annapolis Rocks.  Annapolis Rocks is a popular destination for the view, hiking and rock climbing.  These people carried nothing except small hydration packs or day packs and some were wearing nothing more than flip flops.  I hated each and every one of them on sight.  The happier they were, the more I plotted their demise resented them.

My cousin, myself and my husband

Finally, we made it to the Interstate 70 overpass.  This was my husband's thrill of the trip.  As a kid (and adult) he passed under that bridge on trips to visit his grandparents, and he always wanted to walk across it.  My cousin and I did our best to muster pleasant faces for the photos that we weren't thrilled about having to take.

Once we crossed over the bridge, we meandered around people's backyards before deciding to take a break and have a snack.  We met a few people out for a day hike who were headed the same direction we were.  One was a Hispanic man in a bright yellow shirt (he's important later).  After resting and eating some snacks, we got up and headed back on the trail.  Our plan was to hike the roughly 3 miles to the Washington Monument (the original one in Boonsboro, MD not the one in DC) and eat our lunch there.
It was a grueling 3 miles because 1. It was the longest 3 miles I've ever hiked and 2. There was a never ending mountain hill.  As we climbed the mountain hill, I had to stop every couple of feet to rest and stretch my butt.  It was about this time that my mom began feeding me lifesavers.  My cousin swore several times that we were "almost there" and several times she came near death when each time we were nowhere near almost there and more mountain hill lay in front of us. Then I spotted something bright yellow making its way down the hill.  It was the Hispanic man we had met earlier.  He took one look at me and said "Jew are berry close, berry close" in his accented English.  I think I said "God bless you" 4 or 5 times to him as I realized that I wasn't in the 4th level of hell  going to be hiking this mountain hill forever.  I now refer to that man as my "Little Ray of Mexican Sunshine".

We did finally make it to the top.  There we met 2 men headed north on a hike and we stopped to chat with them.  I asked how far it was to the Dahlgren campground.  One said less than a mile and his partner said, "No it isn't, remember you can't trust information from other hikers on the trail"  Turned out it was more like 2 miles.  I thought about all the horrific stories we heard about upcoming terrain from The Wannabes and Eeyore and realized the guy was right, you can't trust the information.  They assured us that the hike wasn't too bad and that we wouldn't have any trouble getting there after we ate. 

We got to the monument and sat on the bench for lunch.  The Monument was still closed for repairs.  Prior to our trip, the monument was struck by lightning and damaged.  There were 2 women in it at the time, and one was seriously hurt.  That afternoon it was a sunny, though windy, day.  There were 2 men there bird watching.  I assumed they were watching peregrine falcons, but I was too tired to bother to go ask them.
The vultures were there. Circling.
Normally I would be interested in walking around and looking at the view, but all I wanted to do was die not move.  My mom walked around and took pictures, thankfully.
















After lunch and a rest, we headed out.  At this point, I had made the decision that I needed to end the hike.  My cousin had also come to this decision as she was dealing with some pain as well.  My husband is the one who really pushed that I needed to stop.  So the choice was made, my cousin and I would be heading to her house for the remainder of the trip while my mom and husband continued on.  As we made our way down the trail, we discovered that there was more to the Washington Monument State Park than we realized.  Down the hill from the monument, there are pavilions, picnic areas, a museum and bathrooms.  Had we known, we might have eaten our lunch comfortably at a picnic table. 
As we hiked on, we that we would all have dinner at the Olde South Mountain Inn which was where we were meeting my aunt.  The thought of a hot meal that didn't require me to boil water and a soft bed I didn't have to blow up gave me a little extra energy (not to mention all the extra sugar from the lifesaver candies my mom was handing me). We reached the parking lot of the restaurant and my cousin and I sat on the curb and waited while my mom and husband went to set up their camp at the Dahlgren Backpacking campsite.  When my aunt pulled in, my cousin and I were all smiles and waving.  My aunt commented that we made it past MD 77 which was further than she thought we would make it (like I said, she's hilarious).
When my mom and husband made it back, we all headed into the restaurant.  We weren't exactly dressed for the occasion, though luckily, none of us stunk too bad.  There was a wedding rehearsal dinner going on, and we were all a little self conscious about our clothes.  The staff at the Inn were very nice and treated us just like any other customer who might be in better attire.  Our meals were awesome as was the dessert.  Starting back on day 1 about an hour into the hike, we were all dreaming about food.  I guess when you're hiking through the woods with little to no signs of civilization carrying everything you need to survive on your back, food becomes an obsession.  My mom, cousin and husband started talking about Key Lime pie and continued talking about it right up until we were seated at the table in the Inn. And wouldn't you know it, the South Mountain Inn had Key Lime pie.  I had the chocolate Godiva cake and it was awesome.  This turned out to be a surprise gem in our trip.  We had a great time, ate great food and had a great waiter.  The only odd treatment we received was some hoity toity blonde woman who turned her nose up at us as we walked out (I swear we didn't stink).  For those planning hikes along the trail here, note that the menu is pricey (though so worth it).  After dinner, we said our goodbyes and my cousin and I headed to her place for showers and clean clothes.  It was up there in my top 5 showers (hard to beat the shower I had after living in a field for several days at the UFO Ranch in Washington or the one I had after a weekend of Scout Camporee and nothing but Port-a-Pottys)

Day 3 coming up!

Lookin' For Adventure

Or whatever comes my way....

 These two mean trouble-
with a capital T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  Really. As adults, they began taking road trips, road trips that seemed to include crazy circumstances.  The first- a trip to the WV State Penitentiary for a ghost hunt.  When they arrived at the hotel they would be calling their home base, they discovered it was scarier than any haunted prison.  Between creepy leering men in the parking lot late at night to a blood stained mattress.  That's right ladies and gentlemen, the mattress was stained with blood and the hotel decided to just flip over the mattress rather than replace it.  So creepy and nasty was the room, that the two opted to leave in the early morning even though they had been up until 3:30 am.  And at the prison, the two were given a private tour and locked in a cell.  This creeped them out because they were being shown and unauthorized area of the prison and NO ONE KNEW THEY WERE THERE.  They luckily made it home safely.
During another trip where they were headed to the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, WV, they encountered 4 tornadoes, torrential rain that had them seeking a hotel (that they never found before the rain let up) and fog so thick you couldn't see more than about 5-10 feet in front of the car on a highway with people driving 55+MPH.  The next morning as they continued to their destination, they were met with gorgeous blue skies- and Biblical flooding of the Ohio River.  At one flooded town they pulled out the map and figured out a detour around a flooded road.  It was later discovered that only minutes after driving through, their alternate route was taken out by a mudslide.  Once at their destination, they went to check out a reputedly haunted abandoned asylum and ended up being shot at by an unknown individual.  They eventually made it home safe.  But of course their next trip included another weather anomaly where they drove through storms so bad they nearly had to pull over.  The storm system ended up spawning tornadoes further East in New York.

During a camping trip to Washington State to the UFO Ranch, they came upon an individual who looked a lot like Santa Claus but who was dressed in overalls, a straw hat, a black alien t-shirt and a long sleeved unbuttoned flannel shirt.  At his camping area he was talking to something named "Thor" that they assumed was a small dog.  It ended up being a plastic alien head sitting in a dog bed.  Santa conversed with Thor often.  The two girls decided not to stay around long and left at 6am, well before they needed to in order to make the flight home.

The two girls above are in fact myself and my cousin.  And all the above stories are completely factual.  Needless to say, we're wondering what adventure may happen while we hike the trail: Bigfoot? Aliens? Bear Attack?  Stay tuned...