After 650 or so miles in Virginia, Maryland was expected to be an uneventful (read boring) prelude to about 250 miles of Painsylvania. MD is a mere 35 miles.
But, the trail brought me more magic. Just when I needed it. I was joined by one of my best friends and his son - my Godson. Tim and Bo showed up on my birthday at Harper's Ferry, WV.
I first met Tim shortly after Cristina and I returned from being rescuers at Ground Zero in September 2001. He was the commander of a security unit protecting our Brigade HQ in the uncertain wake of that horrible attack. He was a captain and I was a lieutenant. We hit it off immediately - like we had been lifelong friends. As it turned out, we became lifelong friends. We went on to share three combat deployments. Two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Oftentimes, it was just he and I on some sketchy missions doing some really crazy stuff. I could write a book on our perilous and often ill-advised combat missions. I'll spare this blog those war stories.
Me as Tim's best man. That's me on the right.
I was the best man at his wedding. And I was honored beyond words when he and his wife Laura named their first son after me. Robert Forrest - Bo for short. And later they would ask me to be his Godfather. An honor beyond anything that I ever wore on my dress uniform. A sacred duty that only a Godfather could ever understand.
A word about Tim the soldier. He started out in the Navy. Then he completed ROTC in college and became an Army engineer officer. He is larger than life - he's 6-4ish, 275 with a booming voice. He dominates every room that we walks into. After five (unclassified number) tours in combat, he completed the rigorous Army War College. He's a full Colonel in the Pentagon now. He's led at every level including two battalion commands. He and I have literally put our lives in each others hands. He's one of the best.
So, on my birthday, Tim and Bo showed up in Harper's Ferry after they had been to Boston for Bo to look into some medical schools. We were gonna jump right out into the woods but a storm was looming and it was getting late when they arrived. So, we got a flea bag motel and had a nice steak meal for my birthday instead. Bo slept on his inflatable while Tim and I enjoyed or beds for one last night.
We woke early to get on the trail. It was a good climb out. It was hot and humid - 105 heat index. We were wiped by 10 am. We were shooting for a camp area known as Dahlgren Backpack Campground. By 2 pm we limped in there, beat down by the stifling heat not the terrain. We had the option to go another 5 miles to a shelter but we decided to do our big miles the following day when the temp would be 15 degrees cooler. It was a good call but we had some time to kill. We were the first in camp - but we would end up with around 50 through hikers and day hikers by nightfall. The largest group I had seen in camp yet.
We tuned our gear and ate a late lunch. We were at a unique site on the trail. We had a bathroom with a shower and flushing toilets. It may as well have been the Ritz. After a couple of hours we set up our tents and the minute our tents were up the bottom dropped out. We were able to quickly stow our gear inside and retreat to the cover of the bathroom building which had a nice dry overhang. The rain cooled it down a little and we spent the rest of the afternoon planning the following days hike.
In an effort to get them back to home in two more days, we decided to hike about 15 miles the next day - leaving a fairly easy 9 miles to hike on the final day. As usual, a plan on the trail is only a vague suggestion.
The crowded campground. That's us in the right foreground. First three tents.
The second morning, we rose early, had breakfast and were one of the first out of camp.
It was easy hiking and we were soon in Washington State Park. We were making good time and as often happens in the morning, we decided that things were going so good that we would just stretch out the hike to about 17 miles. Even less hiking the following day.
We met a south bounder after a couple miles - he offered a friendly caution. He told us to prepare for the last ten miles of Maryland - he warned that it was very rocky. Naturally, Tim and I ignored his cautious advice.
Because we had shifted our plans, by late afternoon we found ourselves in a situation where we would have to push through for nearly 20 miles due to dried up water sources. And, we disxovered that the cautious southbounder was right about trail conditions. We found ourselves in vast rock falls and boulder fields. Aside from just the pain of the rocks, the footing became treacherous. It was better described as bouldering than hiking. The normally well defined trail became a 100 meter wide free for all. By 5 pm we were smoked - and out of water. Fortunately there was a brook at the bottom of the last descent. Only two miles short of the shelter. We stumbled up to the water thirsty and tired. It took about thirty minutes to filter our water - we needed immediate drinking water, and water for supper, breakfast and for the walk out the next morning. Six liters each. Bo's feet were beat so he soaked them in the cool water while we Tim and I filtered.
Bo, leading the way through the pain. These rocks pound your feet.
After cameling up (I pounded 2 liters before filling all of my bottles) we were anxious to complete the last two miles to camp. Bo, always mindful of the trail profile, warned that it was all uphill and steep. I tried to soften the blow by saying it was only a 1000 feet in elevation. But I knew what was coming. After an hour we had only made it half way. We decided to eat then rather than to wait for camp. We needed the energy. We ended up eating and resting for nearly another hour. We considered staying there but decided to push on to the shelter.
Even with all of our water, the math said we were going to be dry. There was no more water to be easily had until we reached Pennsylvania. So, we rationed what we had.
Out tent site near the shelter was soft and quiet. We were all soon asleep and eager to get up early and get out of the woods at Pen-Mar park on the Mason-Dixon Line. At some point that night, a herd of rogue deer stormed through camp and woke us all up. Not the bear we were hoping for but better than nothing.
On the final day, we broke camp by 6 and were off to PA. Mostly downhill in profile, we expected an easy 4 mile hike - that's always a mistake!
The downhill was punctuated with massive boulder fields. It was slow and increasingly painful. Maryland was indeed rocky - a prelude for the tortuous Rocksylvania yet to come.
After picking through the stone gardens for a few hours we arrived at our destination - the park. We got plenty of cold water from the fountain and Bo tried the zip line. Tim and I opted out - best not to test the load limit.
We had to hike an additional mile or so to hit the Pennsylvania state line. It was flat, along a railroad bed so it was easy walking but my feet were suffering again. It seemed that this was going to be an ongoing challenge - all of us through hikers have a 'thorn in our side' of some sort. The ability to overcome it usually determines one's chance of completion. I've seen all manner of thorns. Poison Ivey, perpetual chafing, tick-bourn illnesses, giardia, bad knees, back problems, Norovo, broken bones, bed bugs, etc.
My hike was going to be more difficult now because of these continuing feet issues. I didn't know how how it was going to play out but I knew I was going to push on. Every step back from the PA line to the park was excruciating - like parts of the bottoms of my feet had been burned.
I had planned on continuing north after Tim and Bo got picked up by a shuttle but I knew it was foolish to continue until my feet were recovered. So, I tagged along with the guys and Tim dropped me off in Brunswick, MD for a day off. It turned into two days off. But with the advice of my shuttle driver (see the story in God answers prayers post), I was able to bet back on trail at the PA line and headed off into my birth state with a growing sense of dread relating to my feet.
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