Thursday, June 24th - Up at 6:30, to clear but hazy skies, and increased humidity. I got up a little earlier in order to complete yesterday's blog report. Mark got up just before 7:00, and prepped breakfast (sausage and scrambled eggs) for both of us (David and Carol declined - apparently, they rarely eat breakfast). Done by 7:45, and packed up and on our way just after 8:00, with thanks to Carol. David drove us back up to the trailhead, and with additional thanks for all the hospitality, and his wishes for good luck, we were back on the trail.
Today's trails were a repeat of yesterday's - some nice stretches, some nasty stretches, and again a lot of road crossings. There were also a lot of trail crossings, many of them unmarked (I guess you just have to know!) It was also noticeably hotter and more humid than it had been yesterday, or maybe we were just feeling it more. Mark's feet were better with his old boots, but he was still hurting. We passed a bunch of shelters today, set surprisingly close together and also close to local roads - Ensign Cowall, Raven Rocks, others, plus a PATC Cabin. We stopped at the trail junction for Raven Rocks, and I headed down about a quarter mile for water. Mark chatted with a northbound section hiker (Walker Kentucky Ranger) while I got the water. Contrary to what the book said, the spring was well before the shelter, and so I just got water and didn't bother checking the shelter register (the shelter was not in sight, and I didn't care to walk down
the (steep) hill any further). A little later we crossed a small stream that had a dozen sodas bobbing in the water - another Trail Magic. Just after High Rock Overlook, we stopped for lunch, with Walker Kentucky Ranger joining us; nice guy. He was completing Maryland that afternoon, then heading home. We pushed on down a very steep and rocky stretch - the northern end of South Mountain.
On the way down, however, Mark indicated that he wanted to leave the trail when we reached Pine Grove Furnace State Park, the halfway point. Quite a shock to me! We talked about it at length as we walked down the hill, and he explained his thoughts. In addition to several personal reasons (which I will not detail here), he strongly felt that the trek had become a chore, and simply wasn't fun or interesting anymore. Thinking about it, I agreed - and also knew that I had a serious question now, whether I should continue or quit. Having done the hundred mile stretch from Mt. Rogers Visitor's Center to Pearisburg alone, I was unenthused about another 1100 miles of the same - and one of the main reasons (probably THE main reason) why I had started the trek this year was because Mark was going. Needless to say, my mind was running about a hundred miles an hour for the rest of the day (and well into the wee hours of the morning) as I pondered my decision.
Eventually we reached Pen-Mar Park, at the Maryland - Pennsylvania border. A southbound section hiker told us that there was a Trail Magic going on at the park, but if so it was over and gone by the time we arrived. But it was a beautiful park, with a fabulous view to the north into southern Pennsylvania; they even had a grandstand set up for the view. Even though it was just a Thursday, there was a surprising number of people there. We took a soda break, and made a few more phone calls, before moving on, stopping for photos at what we think was the actual Mason-Dixon line on Pen-Mar Road. The trail improved dramatically as we headed into Pennsylvania, and we also passed several shelters: Deer Lick and Antietam, the latter having two small shelters side by side. We reached another park, the Old Forge Picnic Ground, and stopped for dinner there (another nice spot). After a half an hour, we pushed on to Tumbling Run Shelter, another two-shelter setup with nice tent sites and both a creek and a spring nearby. There were two hikers there, a female northbound section hiker Journey (a different Journey than the one we had hiked with in southwestern Virginia), with her dog, and a male northbound through-hiker (missed his name).
Due to the bug issue, we decided to tent-camp (as did the other through-hiker). Mark wanted to call Brenda, but there was no cell phone coverage near the shelter, so I set off up the next hill (still on the A.T.), reaching the crest about 20 huffing and puffing minutes later. The issues with U.S. Cellular continued, but eventually I was able to get some calls through. Coming back down the hill, I met Mark coming up - he doubtless thought I had been eaten by a bear or something, I was gone so long. He headed up himself, and I went down and had a nice chat with Journey, discussing whether to quit the trek or not (she was very sympathetic, and also very complimentary of what we had already done). As darkness came on, I went over and yelled up to Mark - and he answered, so no need for me to head back up the hill with my flashlight. After laying out the Spot, and recording the blog entry, we hit the rack around 9:20. So, 18 miles total, plus the extra mile to get up and down the hill for phone calls. Mark fell asleep fairly quickly, but I lay there til about 1:30, still agonizing over my choice to continue or quit. In the end, however, I decided it was the end for me too - though I could do it solo, and would have gone all the way with Mark, I just wasn't interested in doing it alone. I guess there was some relief in that, and I fell asleep soon thereafter. A tough day, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
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