I woke up today to a beautiful Maryland sunrise! I wanted to get up a little earlier but it felt so good in my sleeping bag that I couldn't get moving! We got up at 7:00 and got on the trail at 8:30.
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| Sunrise today |
Since I shared what I do when I reach camp (last night) I thought I would share what I do each morning. First, I gather all of my equipment in the tent (or around my bag if I'm in a shelter). Then, I pack everything in it’s designated stuff sack. My sleeping bag goes into a compression sack and an additional waterproof stuff sack. The compression sack makes the sleeping bag get tiny. It’s amazing!
Next, we take down the tent and get the food from the bear pole/box or tree. Sometimes we make coffee and eat breakfast right away, sometimes we get a few miles down the trail to a cool spot and stop for breakfast. Today we made coffee and mixed oatmeal with peanut butter at the campsite. We also talked to this cool guy, Paul, for a while.
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| Sometimes you come across a memorial to someone who loved the trail |
It was a perfect hiking day, cool in the morning and it warmed up in the afternoon. It's supposed to be 36 degrees tomorrow morning and around 70 degrees during the day. I love this weather!
We hiked through Gathland State Park today. While hiking we came across Gath’s Empty Tomb. The sign next to the tomb stated:
During the 19th century few people bought burial lots in public cemeteries as we do today. Instead, a small parcel of their own land was usually set aside as a private cemetery. If enough money was available, a mausoleum (tomb) was often built for certain family members.
Gath, concerned with his own burial, built his lonely tomb about 20 years before his death, which came on April 15, 1914 (side note: that was 102 years ago tomorrow!) in New York City. By this time his great wealth had dwindled and the near Penniless Gath was buried in a Philadelphia, PA cemetery instead of his own tomb as he had desired.
Gath’s Empty Tomb mutely symbolizes the uncertainties of Life, Fame, and Fortune and the certainty of death.
We sat at the state park for a bit while we charged our phones and hung out with Two Steps. We also found a charger left in the bathroom. We have tried to find the owner but have not had any luck yet. If you lost your charger at Gathland State Park in the bathroom we still have it. If you e-mail me and describe the charger it’s all yours! (flipflophikers@gmail.com)
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| Gath's Tomb |
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| Gath's Tomb |
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| War Correspondents Memorial Arch at Gathland State Park |
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| Ruins in the state park |
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| Messing around on the trail |
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| Being goofy! |
After spending two hours sitting at the park we realized that we had to get moving. We would have liked to spend more time looking at the history of the park but we had charged our batteries long enough.
When I got to Rocky Run Shelter I set up the tent like a champ. I was quick and the lines were tight. Each time I set up the tent I get better at it and I’m getting pretty good! We did 9.1 miles today. That puts us at 177.5 total miles!
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| Rocky Run Shelter Stay on Trail to Prevent Erosion |
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| The old Rocky Run Shelter |
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| A view we saw today |
Day: 18
Miles hiked: 9.1
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 177.2
Bears: 0
Butterfly: 7
Chipmunk: 1
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Really Big Dog: 1
Mouse: 1
Nest of bugs: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Squirrels: 11
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Woodpecker: 1
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