November 19

It's cold. The sun has been down for barely an hour and I suspect the temperature has already dropped afew degrees from the daytime high of about 32. There is no wind so it isn't that bad. My fngertips are cold and the tips of my toes are cold but everything else is warm. My only remaining concern is that my tent site slopes a bit in the horizontal plane. I may find myself rolling off my pad a few times tonight, but the tent is bound to be quite a bit warmer than the shelter (if I had a Western Mountaineering Ultralite or similar I'd use the shelter, but I'd rather not push the Iroquois). But, my concerns with my night's sleep are beyond my control. I'm tired enough that I should sleep well. The day was a good day and it began with Mom's and my departure just after 08:00.

We said goodbye to Dad and took off for Pen Mar. Mom thought it would not take much more than an hour to get to the starting point and she was right. We arrived around 09:30 and started walking down the AT about 10 minutes later on. The day was pretty much as warm as it was going to get and we were bundled up. Besides my typical three season garb I had tossed on a light fleece hat, fleece gloves, and a neck warmer made of, you guessed it, fleece. Mom had all her usual chilly weather layers on and we felt ready for the trail. We knew we would warm up once we got moving

The trail is wide and gentle in the beginning. We soon passed an old stone wall that I suppose separated pasture lands. We also crossed the Mason-Dixon line. We were waking by tangible signs of history.

We were making fine progress until we got near High Rock. High Rock is surrounded with rocks big and small and the trail passes through them. They make a nice rock garden, but are a pain to walk through. Mom was not looking forward to walking down off High Rock back towards her car (days later she told me that the return trip wasn¹t as bad as she thought it would be. She did it in about the same amount of time that the outbound trip took ­some days later, krk).

We parted ways near the peak of HIgh Rock and I began to walk by myself. I soon discovered that the group of backpackers we had passed earlier in the day were not the only backpackers out here. A scout troop came by after spending a night out together. I also passed some other weekend hikers heading in both directions. The trail was definitely not empty.

Once I summitted High Rock the trail returned to its nice and easy treadway. It was a joy to walk along. But, that wouldn't last. Soon it started to descend down towards Richie Road. The trail is covered in leaves and they obscure rocks. Worse the leaves can be slippery to walk upon and I had a couple slips that I normally would not have had because of this. I expect I'll have a couple good bruises soon making themselves really known soon.

I had lunch just south of Richie Road (If the big boulders I saw just off the trail were indeed Raven Rock they were impressive). I had covered about 5.9 miles and done it in about 3 hours of waling (maybe a little less). I was making excellent time and enjoying myself despite the falls. I know I only had about 3.5 miles to go.

The trail in this area comes very near some very small private residences. Maybe some of them are just summer homes. They look almost cabin like in their size. Those little residences added some confusion to my walk since the trail at times went down the small roads that were near them. I wonder what the home owners think of the hikers that walk on by.

I got to the shelter around 15:20 and slowly began to set up camp. A couple showed up shortly after I arrived, coming from the south, and told me where one of the springs was. I found it and my water needs were soon satisfied. While I was fetching water the couple had been building a fire between our tents. I shared its warmth with them (though we really did not talk) as I ate my diner at the early hour of 16:40. The sun was beginning to set.

Just as the sun was going down the couple's dog began to growl (it does that a lot though it is always wagging its tail and seems to want to be friendly; I think it¹s just talkative like certain cats). More people were arriving.

Red Horse, Spike, and Caveman are south bound through hikers. They're probably at the tail end of the southbounders but they don¹t care. I joined them to talk while they cooked their dinners around the roaring campfire Red Horse had built (he learned from his Mother who is apparently quite expert at building fires).

I was a bit shocked to realize that it was only 18:00 when I decided it was time to get the Newton out and start writing for the evening. It'll be a long night's rest. I hope I can get out of my toasty bag tomorrow and begin my hiking day early enough so that I can have several options for where to sleep Monday night.

It has been a good first day but my fingers are cold and I don't think I will write anymore even though there are some things I could, perhaps should, say.

November 20

In some ways pitching my Stephenson tent is tougher than pitching the Integral Designs Sil Shelter. You have to be even more certain that the ground is level. At least you need to be more certain when trying to sleep inside a Western Mountaineering iroquois on top of a Cascade Designs Therm-a-Rest. I found myself hopelessly sliding towards the left tent wall and that did have an effect on my sleep. In fact, the sleeping pad seemed to shoot out from under me and I was laying on the tent floor for the bulk of the night. Still, all things considered, I slept pretty well. My feet got cold even though I was wearing both pairs of socks but everything else was warm. I do wish the sleeping bag wouldn't rotate around as I turn in my sleep. Maybe that means the bag should be a bit bigger in its girth.

I think I began really moving just before 07:00. The day was lightening though there was no sun in obvious evidence. We were in for an overcast chilly day. My thermometer was reading 30 degrees and that was the in-tent temperature. I assume the outside temperature was quite a bit colder though by the time I looked at the thermometer again later in the morning it was showing a temperature that was 30 degrees and I doubt the ambient air temperature ever rose above that.

It definitely got a good deal colder than 30 degrees over night (though at around midnight when I had to answer nature's call it did not feel that bad since there was no wind - I bet a moon would have been lovely) and we had abundant proof of that since all our Platypus water bladders had frozen. While they were frozen solid they were not frozen firmly. I was able to break the ice up and get to liquid water fairly easily. However, the tube on the 2 liter platypus was completely frozen.

I think the cold also affected my stove fuel. The Primus just did not seem to burn as efficiently as it has before. I suppose the cold was preventing the fuel from vaporizing as easily as it normally would. The lack of a tall enough wind screen also degraded the stove's efficiency too. It took a long time for a pot of water to come to a boil. As I waited for the water to heat up I spent time chatting with the three through hikers as they also waited for their water to heat up. The couple with their peculiar dog were snug in their tent still.

It takes longer to get going when it's cold out. We had to unfreeze our platypus bladders after having breakfast and that seemed to take quite a long time. Of course, things seem longer than sometimes they actually are. I think we were actually all done with our breakfast and about ready to depart around 08:15. Spike, Caveman, and Red Horse left before I did since I still had to strike my tent but I was pulling out of camp by 08:30 just as the other tenters were coming out of their tent. It was still overcast and cold with a mild breeze blowing as I left camp.

The hiking was initially pretty easy. I found I was moving steadily and well and that I was now warm. The sun peeked out now and then but it was still pretty much overcast. Of course, all good things come to an end. In this case the trail had ascended South Mtn. and spent a good two thirds of a mile following a boulder strewn path along the mountain's ridge top. Fortunately the trail was level so all I had to contend with was the angles of the rock surfaces. I slowed down quite a bit but I was not as stressed crossing this talus slope as I thought I would be. I had to pause a few times to locate the next blaze, but for the most part the going was pretty good albeit slow.

After leaving the rocky slope the trail moved on to what must have once been old forest roads. In fact, it seemed to intersect with other old forest roads now and then and that did give me some pause. The forest here is, as you would expect, completely devoid of leaves. The trees are spread out, but they are not planted in that regular linear fashion you see in some national forests that indicates the area was planted with an eye towards tree harvesting. It was a nice forest and although the day had not warmed up much the sun was peeking through more and more and that did make it nicer.

Around noon I came upon a PATC (I assume) volunteer who was doing some trail cleanup. He was retrieving trash from some nearby campsites I think. I believe I was passing Annapolis Rocks at that time (I did not go and see them; I should have and if I had had more than 5 hours of light left I would have) so I was moving right along. As I continued on the trail began descending around a mountain and the traffic sounds of I-70 and US 40, which had been audible for hours, got considerably louder. Clearly I was getting near Pine Knob shelter which is only 0.5 miles from those two large roads. It really is too bad that the traffic sounds carry so well. I could hear cars all morning long. They may not have always been from the interstate and other highway, but the sounds are intrusive no matter where they are coming from. I did not stop at Pine Knob shelter but kept going.

The footbridge over the highways is rather nice. I suppose it is completely enclosed with wire fencing to prevent people from hurling things off the bridge into the path of traffic. I think that is a rather sad commentary on the nature of people.

After crossing the footbridge I noticed that the clouds overhead had become distinctly darker and heavier looking. I did not want to get rained upon. I was pretty sure any precipitation would take the form of snow and perhaps a mile into the section I was proved correct. The snow flurry came down pretty quickly and soon the ground was completely covered in white. On the trail the rocks stood out in sharp black relief. If I had had my camera out (I had stowed it in my pack for extra protection) I would have taken some pictures of the late fall snowy wonderland. The trees were covered in snow that hung off the branches in lovely crystal structures and everything became even quieter than it had been. The only sound I noticed was the crunching of my hiking shoes in the eighth to quarter (I doubt it was more than that) inch of snow that lay on the ground. I think my pace must have slown down as I moved through the snow. I had to pause to put on every layer (not counting the VB shirt or long john bottoms both of which would have required me to remove layers before I put them on).

I never did see the actual Washington Monument. I believe the monument is meant to also commemorate the Constitution.

I stopped for lunch at one of the small lean to structures, little more than a glorified bus stop pavilion except there made of sturdier rock instead of plexiglass, for people to take cover in during a rain shower. Red Horse came by and asked if I had seen Caveman or Spike. I had not although I had thought I had heard voices now and then. Perhaps they were not that far ahead of me after all. Red Horse had stopped at Pine Knob to cook a hot lunch. I would have seen him there if I had gone to the shelter. It was about 14:40 as I began lunch and Red Horse left. Soon I would finish re-fueling and continue down the gentle trail towards the park's main entrance.

I got to the main entrance of the park around 15:00 and could not find the trail. It was not anywhere I looked, but it turns out I did not look everywhere. I had been having some misgivings about the weather and what I was wearing and that piled upon the fact that I could not find the trail pushed me over the edge and I decided to end my hike.

I called my parent's home, did not get through right away, and then began to wait. If I had not gotten through I probably would have simply pitched my tent out of sight of the park buildings and stayed there. But, I did get through and about an hour later, just before 17:00, Mom arrived and we headed back home.

I am a little unhappy with my decision but it probably was the right choice. I would have survived the night and following days but the weather is certainly turning out to be colder than I had thought it would be. I was not really packed for this kind of weather and that clearly played a role in my decision. I do wish I could have completed the section. I do feel a little guilty that I did not. I feel a bit like I am lacking in suitable amounts of "get up and go" spirit. Clearly, if I had not had the option of calling my parents I would have had to stick it out so I wonder if I wimped out a bit or not. I am also sorry that I won't get to see the three through hikers again. I doubt I would have gotten to Rocky Run Shelter, but I may have seen them again in Harpers Ferry.

I suppose if I really want to know how my mind works I'd have to do this exact same trip again and hope for comparable weather. Of course that is not going to happen. I'll try and learn from this trip. I should have packed some extra clothing and I need to find a better way to keep my feet warm when not active. This also means that I may have to use a different pack. The old REI pack may be adequate but I am not sure. WIth any kind of luck I'll be able to purchase one of Ryan's packs and that will serve my needs year round.

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