AT Hike: 04 October 2000

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

Saturday, March 10, 2001

8:45am 29ºF After sleeping soundly through most of the frigid night, I began waking up periodically to roll over. It seemed like at first it was every hour, then half hour, then quarter hour until it became too uncomfortable and I just couldn’t sleep any more so I decided to peak my head out of the sleeping bag – it’s cold out there. My sleeping bag kept me very warm except for my feet. Todd was moving around more and talking about how cold he was especially his feet so I rolled closer to him and put my feet and sleeping bag on his feet—much warmer for both of us.

By the time Todd and I crawled out of the tent, Tim and Kev were already stoking the fire. We all cooked some water for our various breakfasts (tea, oatmeal…) and around 10:00am a group of 20 or more people showed up at the shelter. Our camp was down a slight hill from the shelter and across the quick flowing stream so it made a natural barrier. Soon after the large group arrived, a group of boy scouts arrived as well. Their Scoutmaster came over to see if we were staying the night. He informed us that they were going to do some mountain survival training with no tents-good luck! Ha

Slowly, we gathered all of our gear and headed back to the trail.

11:00am 38ºF We are back on the trail after filling up our water and drinking some before the hike. It is another perfectly clear blue day. We figure that we need to make it 15 miles today to make up for the late start yesterday. Soon, we resume our fireside conversation about how cold it was last night and everyone agrees that it sucked. Especially Kevin – who’s new trail name is: Marlboro man. Kevin smokes Marlboro cigarettes but that is not the primary reason for his trail name. Kevin saved a bunch of Marlboro Miles that can be redeemed for cool items. What did he get? A cool Marlboro sleeping bag. It is really small and shrinks down to nearly hand size – unfortunately, the only thing this sleeping bag has going for it is that it is cool…very cool! According to Kevin, it sure as hell isn't warm! The sparks another conversation that perhaps we can knock out the remaining 25 miles to forego enduring another night in below freezing temperatures.

So on we go. The Maryland portion of the Appalachian Trail is pretty easy going from south to north. The climbs are not too steep or long especially when compared to Georgia, North Carolina or Virginia – the unique thing about Maryland is the rocky mountain tops. I can only compare it to the rocky field we had to hop over and around while in Georgia just north of the head waters of the Chattahoochee River (April 29,2000). However, the Maryland rocks are particularly sharp and partially covered in snow which makes the going a bit tougher and slower. If it were not for the rocks, Maryland would be an easy state-hell, even with the rocks, it is relatively easy.

12:45pm We begin to see signs of life and civilization as we approach the Washington monument built by the state of Maryland to commemorate the life of George Washington. The trail that climbs to the hill this monument is on is marked with milestones in Washington’s life. Very informative. The monument is a rock tower that was used as a signal station by Union Troops during the Civil War. On our way again, we descended the mountain and eventually crossed into a neighborhood where the trail crossed into someone’s driveway, then along their backyard fence then down to a footbridge that crossed high over I-70. We got a lot of honks from cars driving by. Once across the bridge, the trail follows the highway for a few hundred yards before slipping back into the woods. We had been traveling for a few hours so it we time to take a break for lunch. Shortly after passing the side trail to Pine Knob shelter, we stopped for lunch. We picked a large boulder to cook our food on. Tim and I had ramen, Todd had tuna and Kev had crackers and jerky. The cooking stove is very loud and sounds like a small jet engine while it is running. As we sat there eating we were passed by two different groups of hikers who stared at us as they passed. Eventually we figured that they heard the “jet engine” of the cook stove and were trying to figure out where that sound was coming from.

We pushed on walking for hours without stopping hoping to finish 15 miles before dark. Walking without a break is a departure from our normal established hiking style of “one hour then break "that we followed so religiously in the past. We got a late start today and only have about 6-7 hours of day light and have at least 15 miles to do today. We continue to hike on through a lot of snow still left from the “storm of the century” earlier this week but it is a change from the same old dirty trail. The snow is 1”-2” deep and mostly frozen with some thawing on the trail where it has been walked over and beaten into slush. Along the trail there are some erosion channels – logs or rocks dug in across the trail to prevent a rushing river from developing in a storm. In these places that look like steps, there are pools of 6” deep slush water.

We definitely want to find a campsite before dark so we can hopefully eat in the day light. Still pretty easy going, we push a fast pace to make it to the shelter by 5:30pm. Remember, by campground I simply mean a place where others have slept before and maybe even left a fire pit. There are no outhouses or slabs to put your tent on. Just primitive earth that has been designated as campsites.

5:30pm After a step decent down a small mountain, Todd and I cross a two-lane road that is Maryland 17. The data book places the shelter and camp before this road, but we saw no other side trails that would indicate such a place. There was a sign for the shelter but nothing in site. It’s getting colder and the sun is starting to set. We decide to find a flat spot to pitch our tent. Kev and Tim are no where in sight.

Todd and I continue on the trail for a few more minutes when we find a blue-blazed trail (blue blazes are side trails off the white blazed A.T. that usually lead to shelters, water or scenic views) that leads us to a muddy spring. At first we thought that we found the shelter, but a wooden sign quickly dispelled that though. At the head of the muddy stream is a concrete box that houses the head of the spring itself. The water does not appear to be flowing out of the box, but there is a trickle in the mud as the spring moves on.

We drop our packs and decide to make camp about 10’ from the concrete box against the base of a huge boulder that is maybe 15’ high by 30 ‘ wide. It is a very tight squeeze to fit our tent in here, but we haven’t much of a choice. We clear a few branches and small twigs/trees from the area and figure that it will work.

There is about 1” of snow on the ground and we are putting our tent up on top of it. By the time we are just about finished with the tent, we see Tim and Kev crossing the road. Todd yelled for them and soon we were all together again. We finished the final touches on the tent and started gathering wood while Tim mad the fire pit. For the fire pit, we found a larger boulder only a few feet from the tent that made a nice barrier and natural wall for the fire. It was naturally surrounded by a hill and more rocks, so with the addition of a few more rocks it made a great, natural fire pit and stove. We all collected a huge pile of dried wood, sticks and logs to keep us warm. The fire was perfect – even a bit too hot at times but definitely necessary. The large boulder radiated the heat nicely and the surrounding hill and rocks made for some nice seating once we added some logs. We sat with our feet very near the fire itself. It was not windy at all, but very cold indeed.

By now it was very dark and cold away from the fire and we hadn’t eaten yet. I set up the cook stove and made some tea and ate cheese and crackers. Tim shared some rice-n-stove top with me and Kev gave me some mac-n-cheese. I sure didn’t want to move from the fire pit until it was time to sleep.

We all hung around stoking the fire until 9:30 pm then Todd and I went to the tent followed by Tim and Kev. We all squished in together and kept close all night to share body heat and keep warm and comfortable. Tim gave Kev a layer of his sleeping bag so he wouldn’t freeze again.

Miles Today: 15.4 miles
Total miles: 20.7 miles

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