Day 78 - Back at it; Goodbye West Virginia, Hello Maryland

Tuesday, June 22nd - Got up at 5:30 and grabbed a final (pre-trail) shower. Then checked email, discussed a few final issues with Marco, and headed off to McD's for a quick breakfast. Back to the house at 6:45, and finished my packup by 7:00. Mark and his son William showed up at 7:20, and we headed back to Harper's Ferry, arriving at the 340 bridge parking lot around 8:30. Beautiful day, clear blue skies and low humidity, with a light breeze. We loaded up and headed out by 8:40, with William departing as we walked away.

We started out along the river for a bit, passing Jefferson's Rock (nice views), then walking through a bit of the Harper's Ferry Historic District (spending a few minutes to read the various plaques along the way). Eventually we crossed the Potomac on a footbridge adjacent to the railroad bridge, entering Maryland (our sixth state!) Walked along the C&O Towpath for roughly 2 1/2 miles, where we saw a turtle attempting to lay eggs (another first for me); there were also some very large mud turtles sunning themselves on logs and rocks in the canal itslf (which was green ooze here). Eventually we cut left over the canal and started up the long climb up South Mountain (which runs nearly across the entire state). The trail runs down the center of the ridge, which is fairly wide and flat. Some nice trail, but also some really rocky sections. Passed (but did not stop at) two shelters along the way, Ed Garvey and Crampton Gap, and then entered Gathland State Park (nice facility).

After getting water and chatting with a few other through-hikers there (none who we knew), we pushed on to Rocky Run Shelter. By this point (early afternoon), it was getting pretty hot, so we dropped our packs and Mark went on down to fill up on water again, and enter us in the register. Happy had been there on the 12th, and Fidget on the 15th - no one else we recognized in the register. Several people at the shelter indicated that our intended destination (Dahlgren Backcountry Camping Area) had some sort of mini-Boy Scout Camporee going on, but we decided to risk it. Arriving around 6:00, we did in fact find one Scout group in residence (Troop 439 out of southern New Jersey), but the other (larger) group was a YMCA youth group. There were eventually a dozen other section and through-hikers camping there. For the day, 17 miles done. The site itself was very nice - a wide lawn, with picnic tables situated on gravel pads, and a full-service bathhouse. And a small rabbit. Despite the name, not exactly a primitive site! There was still plenty of space, so we went ahead and set up, then ate dinner, then went and chatted with the Scout leaders from Troop 439 (they were impressed with our encyclopedic knowledge of Philmont, which they had attended 3 times over the past 15 years). Mark also chatted with several of the other hikers in residence, while I made the diary entry for the day. By this point we had some thin clouds overhead, but it was still very pleasant. Bed by 9:00. A good day, and a good start to the second half of the trek.