99 HIKE APPALACHIAN TRAIL ACROSS MARYLAND

April 30, 1999 Friday Drive to Blue Ridge, PA

Got up and ran 5.1 miles. Biked 26.7 miles from Kent Narrows to Bennett Point with 75 Friday Senior Cyclers. After supper, Jack Bateman’s daughter Jill and son-in-law Marty drove Jack and I to the Blue Ridge, PA fire station where we spent the night sleeping on the floor with over 100 others. It was noisy and fire lights made it difficult to sleep in our sleeping bags. My number is 91 (alphabetical order).

May 1, 1999 Saturday Hike Appalachian Trail Across MD 40 miles

Got up at 4:00 am. They had a light breakfast at the fire house. We caravaned in about 25 cars to the Appalachian Trail where it crosses the PA/MD line. Organizing the caravan took forever and was chaotic. I was in a van with 5 guys from the Boston area doing this on a lark. We were the last car in line so I was dead last getting started at 5:35, had a longer distance to walk to the state line and was behind a large number of slow walkers. Jack was somewhere ahead of me. It was still dark but getting light as we started off through the woods. It was slightly rolling for a mile or so then we had to climb up a steep rocky incline. I caught Jack near the top and we hiked together the rest of the day. At about 10 miles when we crossed a road we stopped for a pancake breakfast in a hall which took about 15 minutes. Periodically there were rest stops with fruit and drinks. We alternated walking and jogging where the trail permitted for about 25 miles. We crossed I-70 in record time cutting off over 45 minutes from our practice time. There were many check points and they had radio operators who called ahead saying you were leaving that point. We ate lunch near the Washington monument. We had soup, sandwiches, fruit and sweets. I put on dry socks at lunch and we took about 45 minutes there. I didn’t know how I would do after 30 miles because I had never gone over that before. Actually I felt surprisingly fresh. I had to wait for Jack at the last several rest stops and he wanted to tary too long. I would start to lock up. I wore my heavy hiking boots which was a good decision because my feet were protected from blisters and bruises from harp rocks. We reached the C&O Canal towpath and hiked the last 2 miles upriver to the railroad bridge. We crossed the bridge into Harpers Ferry, WV at 6:50 pm. We finished the 40.1 miles 42nd out of 134 starters in 13 hours and 20 minutes or almost exactly 3 miles per hour including all stops. Jack’s daughter Jill and son-in-law Marty were waiting for us and we walked into Harpers Ferry to their car. We rode to Frederick, MD where we went to a restaurant for dinner. Jack and I split the bill. A little stiff and sore but happy hiker slept well that night.