First off, I need to do some housekeeping. Yesterday was Bunny’s Aunt Linda’s birthday and today is Bunny’s sister, Kim’s birthday. Happy birthday wishes to both of them. If I ever go swimming in the ocean, I definitely want to go with Kim so the sharks will leave us alone. Professional courtesy, Kim is a lawyer. I also need to mention a couple of anniversaries that I didn’t call out. Bunny’s parents celebrated their 60th anniversary on June 5. And, last but not least, my parents celebrated their 66th anniversary on May 17. Between both sets of parents, that represents almost 100 years of happy marriage.
Bunny snored in a new frequency last night. I woke up and thought something was sleeping outside the tent. It took me quite a while to figure out that it was Bunny because she was ventriloquist snoring. I’m pretty sure I know how this new frequency came about; Bunny was farting so much walking down the trail yesterday that she has actually changed the internal pressure of her body. Lower internal pressure equals lower frequency emissions. Isn’t science grand?
We each woke up a little before 6 but decided to play a game of chicken to see who would get up first. I won because Bunny did eventually give in and get up at ten after eight. As usual, it took us an hour and a half to get ready. We hit the trail at 9:40. Surprisingly, we were not the last ones to break camp. Since it’s a weekend, there are plenty of day hikers there to make us feel good about our timely beginning. We were the last thru-hikers out, though.
As soon as we hit the trail, we met a man from DC out for the weekend. He got into Harpers Ferry on the 6p train last night and made it to the shelter where all the Boy Scouts were that we passed up. He got there in 2.5 hours and it had taken us over 4 hours. He told us we made the right decision to not stay there last night. Every adult in the group had severe sleep apnea. I had noticed that the adults were on the large side of life. He didn’t get much sleep.
We are loving Maryland. The high point in the state is less than 2000’ above sea level. That means Maryland is exactly what was promised in Virginia. This state is providing a walking recovery for us.
Bunny decided to skip Rocky Run Shelter and head straight to Dahlgren Back Packer Campground (and Showers). I would have liked to see the new shelter, but sweat was pouring out of me. The state of Maryland provides a free shower house exclusively for backpacker use. Porcelain, tp, and hot water…for free. One of the first things we shipped home was our towels and camp soap. There was hand soap at the sinks and I still have a bandanna because of my rescue mission yesterday. I’m not above air drying on a nice day.
Bunny opted out of the shower. She didn’t want to get her hair wet (since it is only 80 deg F out). I believe her exact words were “I had a shower just two days ago and I don’t want to take my boots off.” In the words of Neil Diamond 🎶 She’s a lady, woa woa woa, she’s a lady 🎶. I didn’t feel out of place sitting in my underwear while people walked by. After all, we are no where near a school.
We had another Decatur connection on the trail today. We passed some section hikers going in the opposite direction and stopped to talk. It always comes up “where are you from?” I said Cape Girardeau, MO but I’m originally from central Illinois. Charlotte and Steve are from Indianapolis, but Charlotte said she was from central Illinois. Neither one of us wanted to say Decatur in case the other had driven through it and said “that place stinks” (cooked soybeans). I broke down and she said she was, too. In fact, she lived in Decatur for a short time before and after living in Niantic, IL. That’s where my grandparents lived. I’m sure my brother has arrested some of her extended family over the years he was a deputy. I was so shocked by the Decatur connection that I forgot to play the “six degrees of Steve Johnson” with them.
Washington Monument State Park is directly on the trail. This monument was built in 1827 to honor the only President named George that I truly have respect for. Twice he was offered the crown to create a monarchy and twice he said “you f#$@ing idiots, we had a revolution to get away from being a monarchy” (maybe not those exact words, but he didn’t just fight a revolution against the crown to become a king. He voluntarily quit after 2 terms even though everyone wanted him to have a third term. He showed them, he went home and died in just two years.
The monument has the feel of a medieval turret inside. It was used as a signal tower in the Civil War before being let go into disrepair. Luckily, the people of Maryland recognized the significance of this monument and restored it to its original glory in the early 20th century. I don’t believe most Americans really understand what a great person George Washington really was. Would anyone reading this have the will to turn down being a king? (Peasants! I love the peasants. Pull…..waaaa. It’s good to be the king!—History of the World, Part 1 for those of you who don’t know movies).
There were still a little over 5 miles of trail between us and Bunny’s revised itinerary stopping point for today. When we could hear the sound of the interstate ahead, we knew we were getting close. What surprised me more than the noise was that people started popping up on the trail. I have no idea why or where they were coming from. I know they were not going to hike all the way back to the Washington Monument and there weren’t any parking lots behind us. I wonder if they were just being drawn to the interstate. We’ll never know.
When we turned onto the trail leading to Annapolis Rock, we saw a sign for the caretaker. Apparently, the PATC maintains the Annapolis Campground. We talked to Kiki a bit and found out he alternates weeks here. Every other week, he hikes from PennMar to Harpers Ferry and back while another caretaker is here. There is always a runner on the trail here in Maryland. I don’t understand why people do the “Maryland Challenge” or the “Four State Challenge” and not spend more time here. Maryland really rolls out the red carpet for AT hikers. More people need to slow down and appreciate it.
EFG