Rocky Run Shelter 1041.8 to Ensign Cowall Shelter 1057.6
I saw a beautiful full moon last night peeking through the clouds, I dreamt vivid dreams for the second night on the trail, and got up at 6am this morning.
I was able to shave about 20 minutes off my morning routine due to increased efficiency, and hit the trail almost a full two hours earlier than the day before.
It was a gorgeous day right away, and an easy two miles took me to Dahlgren Campground, where there are showers. I debated with myself about the time and effort of showering (the trail changes you quick apparently!), but ultimately ended up going for it, not sure when my next opportunity would come. It was more than worth it. I charged my battery block a little too while I was at.
I met Encyclo, another hiker who had done a thru in 2015 and was hopping around different sections at the moment. We chatted for a few, then I continued on. It was a steep hike up from the campground, but in low gear and fresh in the day it went quick.
Another couple miles ahead was Washington Monument State Park, with another campground, bathrooms, and the original Washington Monument. I forgot how much infrastructure MD has as a trail state. It is a bonus to starting a hike in Harper’s Ferry. Also all the history reminded me of visiting D.C. on an eighth grade class trip. We saw the real Washington Monument then.
A few miles further, Zeus caught up with me, and we hiked a couple miles together to Pine Knob Shelter for lunch. It’s a small, older shelter that looked familiar to me. We met Turtle there, and a section hiker who assured me pushing past Annapolis Rocks would be easy.
It was early in the day, only 12:30, and I had already done seven and a half miles. Cutting it short at Annapolis like I planned would be 9.5 for the day, and it would be boring hanging there all day. I felt good so I decided to hike on.
A NOBO, LB, got to the shelter as the others were leaving, and I hiked up the big incline of the day with him as we chatted. I was enjoying hiking with others for the first time so far. I let him hike along faster than me after a bit, when we saw Turtle, and I felt my pace slowing.
Turtle’s ankle was recently sprained, so she was hiking about two miles an hour, which is my pace right now with breaks as well. We hiked together to Annapolis, which was an extra quarter of a mile each way that “doesn’t count” toward AT miles.
It’s a nice view, it looked different than I remembered it somehow. I could see the large, fluffy clouds that had been promising rain off in the distance over the towns below.
A couple miles later we found a really nice spring and caught LB for a minute before he hiked on. We soaked our feet in the spring, and it was very cold and so refreshing. Turtle generously let me apply more of her KT tape to my feet. They were developing hot spots with the Altras in quite a few places.
We moved on and ended up in a dark, spooky forest as the rain clouds gathered overhead and thunder began to rumble, too. We knew it was coming when we felt the breeze. It was time to break out the umbrella.
We were making good time, until we came upon some serious boulders for about a mile, as the rain started pouring down and the rocks became slippery. Turtle and I made slow work of it, to protect her ankle and my trail adjustment period.
It took a while, but we finally escaped most of the rocks right when the rain ended and the trail got a little more forgiving. We were able to pick up some speed and ended the hike with a very steep eighth of a mile down a slope to the shelter.
Zeus had been telling us that we could order pizza at the road crossing .2 before the shelter since the morning, and though our feet were killing us from the rocks, the idea of Dominos sustained us.
As we rolled in, we saw LB and Zeus. Zeus was on the phone with Dominos right then in the most perfect timing possible, and we added a pepperoni pizza and (I added) lava cakes.
It was a fantastic way to end a longer day than expected this early on, as six of us split three pizzas, lava cakes, Sprite and Fanta. Today was also a really wonderful time hiking with three different hikers after two days solo. The conversations we had made the miles go by faster on my first bigger mile trail day.
Everyone is super polite to ask if you want company or not before hiking together, which I really appreciate. It was a nice change of pace, and I feel my muscle memory kicking in faster than expected as a backpacker.
After pizza, LB started a fire to burn the boxes and I chatted with him and the other hikers for a couple hours, including two later arrivals with pizzas of their own. It’s been so nice to talk with hikers again, and I am feeling part of the community already.
Order of the day for tomorrow: a possible tornado warning. Should be interesting.