6/11/01
Whew! I'm glad I had a bug screen for my face last night! The mosquitoes were relentless in their buzzing around my head and every time I turned from side to side I had to cinch down the screen and tighten up the new fleece liner bag to keep the hungry beasts out. Thank you, Locke, back home, for making those screens. I waited for the sun to come up before leaving the safety of my bag this morning. By 8:30 I was on the trail. I decided that I was going to be nice to my feet today and slow down a little. Both heels continue to give me small blister problems, but they are manageable and I'm not surprised, given the heat and rocky terrain along the MD/PA border. Maryland had to throw in one tough mountain to climb and descend just so we would remember it. It was the second devil's racecourse we've faced (or roller coaster) but what made it difficult was the rockiness of the terrain. Soon the mountain was behind me, but Maryland couldn't let me escape without first seeing some wildlife, so I saw four deer and a groundhog before reaching Pen Mar State Park at the border. After lunch I crossed the Mason Dixon line and said so long to sweet tea, grits, free drink refills and Southern hospitality. For the record, it was a hot afternoon in southern PA. I spent some significant time this afternoon reflecting on the Civil War as I crossed Little Antietam Creek and stopped at the Antietam shelter for an afternoon break. Finally at 5:30 p.m. I arrived at the Tumbling Run shelter and decided to call it a day. Other thru-hikers joining me at the shelters (there were two, a his and hers?) were Gypsy, Green Light, Thru-thinker and The King. Gypsy, Green Light and The King all tented while Thru-Thinker and I braved the shelter. The bugs weren't so bad and it was a quiet evening with a fairly early "lights out". Today's stats: low 65, high 87. Sunny to partly cloudy. Today's mileag:; 17.7; cumulative 1052.8.
