6/09/01
Stealth camping beside the ATC headquarters last night provided great sleeping and a much quieter night than the previous night on the porch. Sundial and I woke up around 7 a.m. and I collected the laundry then hiked to the KOA campground in Bolivar, WV to get the clothes clean again after the wet week last week. While there I ran into Terry and Laura, as well as Phantom and Deadwood. Terry and Laura and I finished laundry at the same time and were able to successfully hitch a ride back to the Harper's Ferry post office where I sent out one last piece of mail. Then I collected the pack and hiked to the outfitters to work with Ron and Laura to lighten the load some more. By tweaking some gear, purchasing a summer fleece liner bag, and removing excess straps and the top panel of my backpack, I was able to shave 3 lbs. off the pack weight. Laura and Ron made several attempts to hire me to work for them for a week, but I politely and firmly held my ground that my goal is to thru-hike the AT and the trail was calling. After a "tourist" priced lunch near the H.F. National Park, I finally crossed the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers at 1:30 p.m. and entered Maryland. It was warm and sunny today, but the trail was easy. I stopped mid-afternoon at the Weverton Cliffs for the excellent view back toward Harper's Ferry and visited the Ed Garvey Memorial shelter, which was just dedicated in April this year. There I caught up with Phantom who said he was going to go on to the next shelter.
After making an entry in the trail register it was on to Gathland State Park where I caught up to Phantom, who was talking with weekenders as I arrived. He and I walked through the park together, stopping for a soda and to reload on water at the faucet. While we were standing at the soda machine, a large group of cubs and tiger scouts passed by on a treasure hunt. One of the "treasures" on their list to find was a thru-hiker, so we satisfied their search. Then we hiked on through the park and caught up to the scouts, who were busy playing and eating under a covered picnic facility. Their cubmaster, Dave Garman, invited us to eat dinner, making the comment that he knew that thru-hiking is about eating food and we jumped at the chance to participate. I managed to eat four plates of food, including two hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, macaroni and cheese, potato chips and dip, salad with dressing, brownies, crumb cake, and strawberry shortcake with cool whip. This certainly rivaled the other trail magic we've received on the journey, and Phantom and I ate our fill. To make the evening even more fun, the cubs had three water balloon launchers and a stockpile of water balloons and the in-coming balloons were raining on the shelter. The kids (and their parents) were obviously having a blast and I simply couldn't resist getting in the middle of the fray. I crossed the open field to the launch area, then loaded myself with four or five water filled balloons. After retracing my steps across the field to the target area, I proceeded to launch my own assault on the assaulters, landing four direct hits on adults and kids in the process. It was great fun and I really want to thank Dave Garman and all the members of Pack 1066 from Jefferson, MD for the fabulous buffet and fellowship with Phantom and me. We took some photos with Dave, loaded up some extra food for "The King" and "Thru-Thinker" who missed out on the fun, then headed for the Crampton Gap shelter. I had trouble hiking the short half mile to the shelter, I was so full. Upon arrival in the area, Thru-Thinker reported that the shelter was full. There were tent campers all over the side of the mountain but the four of us managed to find an isolated flat spot to set up our shelters. Finally, another night with no rain in the forecast. Here are today’s stats: low 60, high 80. Sunny. Today's mileage: 10.5, cumulative mileage 1,014.5. Mosquitoes are attacking finally, so it's time to get in the bag for cover! ! !
