discoid

Smithsburg, Md.

I’ve made some 28 miles in two days over some very rocky ground and had to take today off to rest my aching legs. I might have made it even farther, but I kept stopping to rest and to take in some rather unique scenery.

Leaving the hostel in Knoxville on Tuesday, I first discovered just how rocky the ground is, though I was yet to discover it would get worse.

Appalachian Trail under U.S. 340, Knoxville, Md.Prevent erosion, stay on trail. Ironic, since... Md.Rock hopping up the Appalachian Trail, Md.Bee pollinates a flower, Md.

Around lunchtime I ran smack into Gathland State Park, home to the world’s only memorial to war correspondents, and near the site of the Battle of South Mountain, which took place September 14, 1862, three days before Antietam, a significant yet often overlooked battle in Civil War history. There was a soda machine here and so I had a Coke with my Mountain House freeze dried lunch.

War correspondents memorial, Gathland State Park, Md.War correspondents memorial, Gathland State Park, Md.War correspondents memorial, Gathland State Park, Md.War correspondents memorial, Gathland State Park, Md.War correspondents memorial, Gathland State Park, Md.

Marker for Gen. Samuel Garland, C.S.A., Md.Monument to Gen. Jesse Reno, Union Army, Md.17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment marker, Md.Field at South Mountain, Md.Field at South Mountain, Md.Field at South Mountain, Md.

Then I got my first taste of Maryland bureaucracy, and it was rather unpleasant. The state seems to want to keep us all unsafe.

Firearm restriction sign, Md.Appalachian Trail restrictions, Md.Hunting restrictions, Md.

And there was also some great scenery throughout the day.

Overlook at White Rocks Trail junction, Md.View from power line cut, Md.Dahlgren Back Pack Camping Area, Boonsboro, Md.

I made 14.3 miles to the Dahlgren campground and discovered bathrooms with hot showers! That was a nice way to end a hot day.

Wednesday I had planned to go into Boonsboro and visit the Turn the Page Bookstore (owned by Bruce Wilder, husband of Nora Roberts) but they didn’t open until 10 am and I felt like making some miles was more important. Probably a good thing, too, since I almost immediately ran into fields and fields of rocks, which wouldn’t quit all day.

I did get some nice views, though, and saw and a deer.

View east from north of U.S. Alt 40, Boonsboro, Md.Deer, near Boonsboro, Md.Washington Monument, Boonsboro, Md.Washington Monument, Boonsboro, Md.Inside Washington Monument, Boonsboro, Md.Inside Washington Monument, Boonsboro, Md.View west from Washington Monument, Md.View west from Washington Monument, Md.View west from Washington Monument, Md.View east from Washington Monument, Md.

Then I crossed I-70 and had lunch at the Dogpatch Tavern (it sucked, don’t go there if you can avoid it).

I-70 footbridge, Md.View east from I-70 footbridge, Md.View west from I-70 footbridge, Md.I-70 footbridge from U.S. 40, Md.A.T. passes under U.S. 40, Md.

After that the day was rocks and more rocks for miles. It wore me out.

A.T. gets rocky, South Mountain, Md.Rocks like these went on for several miles, Md.

I hiked a total of 14.8 miles yesterday and wound up here at the Free State Hiker Hostel (which seems to be misnamed; Maryland is hardly a free state anymore). I took today off to get my legs back in shape after all that rock hopping, and tomorrow I’ll be in Pennsylvania to visit yet more underappreciated Civil War battlefields, do some more rock hopping, and maybe critique some more restaurants. (Though to be fair to them, it bills itself a tavern…)

This entry was written by Michael Hampton, posted on June 26, 2008 at 6:19 pm and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

2 Comments

  1. Joy
    Posted June 27, 2008 at 4:46 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for the marvelous photos!

  2. Pat K
    Posted July 1, 2008 at 7:14 pm | Permalink

    28 miles of rocks, yikes!

    Glad to see you powered through
    and are getting some rest.

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