Maryland went by in a flash compared to the other states we’ve walked through.  It was not without wonder or Rocks.

Day 113: (Oct 21) 14.6 (Pen Mar 1130 – Pogo Campsite 1144.6)

After an amazing home cooked breakfast of protein pancakes, eggs, ham, juice and coffee by Soola the hostel host, it was time to see what Maryland had to offer us.

Soola dropped us back at Pen Mar Park, where we filled our water bottles, admired the view, and then marched on. Of course, it was slightly uphill and through similar terrain as we had walked in Pennsylvania.

Up we climbed to a stunning rock outcropping  (High Rock) that once held an observation tower.

The view was still there, but the tower was absent, and the rock base was covered in colorful graffiti. As we gazed upon the valley below, we couldn’t help but marvel at the history this valley holds, as it includes numerous American Revolution and Civil War battlefields, the examination of which, we’ll save for another trip.

The locals who took our picture, gave us a quick primer of what we were looking at and added that the government gate just off the trail, was one of gated entrances to Site R, a “secret” Pentagon adjunct “bunker” deep underground the size of a small city.

Most of the day was spent cruising through a waining forest of PUDS (pointless ups and downs) and pasture land. While my foot was in excruciating pain, the change in scenery and the fact we were done with Pennsylvania helped push through it.

Day 114: (Oct 22) 16.4 mi (Pogo Campsite 1144.6 – Gathland State Park 1161)

Not gonna lie, but my foot is not doing well. The “smart” Hiker in me says I need a few days off to let things heal, or at least get it evaluated, but the stubborn athlete and determined thru-hiker says, you have no choice but to “push on”.

We marched up a hillside (South Mountain) towards a monument to President George Washington. When we reached the stone monolith structure, we learned it was the first monument ever built commerating the memory of General George Washington.

While we marched through the forest toward the monument, I couldn’t help but notice the stillness and almost “sadness” that permeated the forest as we made our way to the monument. It wasn’t until we descended from the monument and read an interpretive panel near where we had our lunch that we discovered the source of my feelings of “melancholy.”

The mountain, South Mountain, was a Civil War battlefield wherein 23,000 men died over three days. The Battle of South Mountain was a significant battle wherein Confederate General Lee took the “fight” to the North for the control of the Washington Monument that had strategic military significance. While it was a Confederate loss, it provided a “distract and strike” moment for Stonewall Jackson to capture the Union garrison (base) at Harper’s Ferry.

The rest of the day, we walked in quiet reverence by battlefields and ruins into Gathland State Park, where we found a place to stealthily camp.

Tomorrow, we’ll walk into what a friend described as  the “spiritual halfway point” of the Appalachian Trail,  Harper’s Ferry.