Saturday, June 23, 2012

Spring Time Hike

On May 19th, Amy, Brian, and I did a two-day hike on the Maryland portion of the AT.  We left Amy's car at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and Jan dropped us off where the AT crosses over I-70 near Myersville, Maryland.  On Saturday, we hiked 12 miles and camped at the Crampton Gap shelter.  We set up our tents near the shelter and made a gourmet meal of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. 

The next morning we got up, had some breakfast, and continued hiking towards Harpers Ferry.  Compared to other parts of the AT, the Maryland portion is relatively easy.  We hiked 10.5 miles to Harpers Ferry without any problems.  Amy and Brian consistently hiked faster than me and had to stop to allow me to catch up.  One of the obvious advantages of youth, but I'm a conniving old man, and that counts for something! We pulled into Harpers Ferry right around 1 PM, had a good lunch of barbeque sandwiches and cold Bud Lights at Hannah's Train Depot restaurant.  They tasted so good!  Before leaving for home, we got ice cream cones for dessert.  Then, we were headed back to Bel Air. 

I really enjoyed Amy and Brian's company and as usual, quite a few jokes were cracked.  It was a good chance for me to prep for my return to the AT in Gorham, NH in July.

Planning to have lunch with Muldoon on Sunday, June 24th for final planning for my return to the AT.  He's graciously volunteered to drive me up to Gorham and we will hike together for several days. 

 At the start close to Myersville, MD

 Washington Monument State Park in Middletown, MD

 Washington Monument State Park

 Brian and Amy acting goofy

 Our campsite at Crampton Gap shelter

 My tent at the shelter

 Amy and Brian on the C&O Canal Towpath near Harpers Ferry

 Brian and I on the Towpath

Amy in Harpers Ferry