Busy

July 25, 2016July 26, 2016 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

Digging a bear pole hole.

Northern Virginia section of the Appalachian Trail, July 21-24, 2016 — It was time for the monthly PATC ridgerunner meeting, this time at the Blackburn Trail Center where “Trailboss” is the caretaker and gracious host. Since he has an endless list of projects, Robin Hobbs and I showed up early to help do some work at the Sam Moore shelter (AT NOBO mile 999.6).

Bear poles have hooks to hang food bags using a forked pole, here tied down on the far side of the pole.

The pole is set 18 inches in the ground with four 60-lb. bags of concrete.

Working bear pole at Jim & Molly Denton shelter.

While the Sam Moore overseer and I installed the bear pole, Robin and Trailboss hiked north to clear two blowdowns across the AT.

We finished up by replacing a fire ring with a new fire grate.

The social and dinner prompted a lot of discussion. This is where the real business is done.

Sara Leibold, our Northern Virginia ridgerunner and I started patrolling immediately following the meeting.

We spent the first night at the Tom Floyd Wayside shelter with three others.

We took a break after picking up micro trash at the John Singleton Mosby campsite. It is deep in the area Mosby’s raiders patrolled during the civil war.

Along the way we clipped plenty of vegetation which grows prolifically this time of year.

Our last evening was spent at the Denton shelter with a large grouping of campers. Sunday morning we hiked to a road where Sara’s dad was waiting to take her home to Alabama for a whirlwind visit. She works 10 on and four off which gives her sufficient time.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized Sara might be a serial killer! 😉

Tried to photograph an interesting spider web with a phone camera. No luck. A good camera is on my Christmas list.

I was testing a new Osprey pack for use in the 100-mile wilderness next week. It carries nicely, but I like the cargo features of my old one. On a long hike the ride is more important, so the new pack made the Maine manifest.

Next stop Kennebunkport to see my friend Ed, the guy who taught me to split granite. Then to Manchester, NH to pick up Wendy “Pepsi Hiker” Horn at the airport and head for Millinocket where we’ll drop my car and get shuttled to Monson to begin our 100-mile journey. Boots on trail Aug. 1.

Sisu

Waiting for g OD ot.

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 / jim fetig / 5 Comments

Dick’s Dome Shelter, VA, AT mile 984.3, June 24, 2016 — My friend Denise texted me this morning that she was headed my way, leaving the trailhead at Hwy 522 Front Royal, VA. Her ETA at Dick’s Dome: 7 pm. She’s late, but that’s okay. I’ve been talking to the hikers and exploring the new “Whiskey Hollow” shelter under construction about 100 yards away.

My last visit to Dick’s Dome: Stink Bugs + Notebook Odds and Ends

Denise is my trail crew friend, now known by her trail name “The Optimistic Dictator,” OD for short. Readers will recall that I hiked with Denise in Georgia as she started: They’re Off I’ve also written about our adventures here: Let’s Go Hiking.

The PATC 2016 Ridgerunners

When she texted I was with the PATC ridgerunners finishing our monthly meeting.

This month we chose the PATC Highacre “cabin” in Harpers Ferry. It’s within 50 yards of Jefferson’s Rock if anyone cares to look it up. Regardless, nice view of the Potomac River.

The gathering includes a Thursday evening social followed by a Friday business meeting. These are hard working folks who patrol the trail, teach Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, act as ambassadors to the hiking community, clean up trash and privies, and patch up blisters and more serious injuries and afflictions.

We learned that the number of thru hiker reaching Harpers Ferry is up 18 percent over last year. We’re somewhat skeptical of this number’s legitimacy. Here’s why.

In recent years more and more hikers appear to be “yellow blazing.” That means they hitch rides ahead and don’t actually hike all the trail. For example, I saw hikers at the Hoodlum’s hiker feed who appeared in Harpers Ferry, 100 miles north the very next day when I was there. Hummmmm…… The younger generation is going to hell, and it always has!

Flash forward. With dusk on the horizon, I pulled up my WordPress app and began my thoughts. Just then OD rolled in. It was marvelous to see her now after wishing her well at mile 80. She’s nearly 1000 miles into her hike. That’s a big odometer number by foot.

We took up residence for the evening at the Whiskey Hollow shelter under construction. It’s going to be a nice one.

Our itinerary marched us through an Appalachian Trail section branded the “roller coaster.” It’s a series of steep pointless ups and downs, more of a toothache in the grand scheme of the 2,200 mile trek, than a serious challenge, but nevertheless… I’ve often said it’s like an outlet mall where Pennsylvania ships its surplus, worn out rocks, and the stones that don’t sell. This time it occurred to me that the roller coaster may also be where PA’s fugitive boulders go on the lam. That is to say there’s no shortage of miserable rocks on the roller coaster.

So, there I was. It was hot, humid and I was now hiking with someone sporting “trail legs.” Like a Philip Marlow client, the dame’s spandex oozed confidence and strength. Her glimmering smile stared down the roller coaster like Paul Bunyan making match sticks in the north woods. My role in this little meet up was to act as speed break.

This trip “slow-and-melting” was my middle name and I know Denise took great delight in having to stop and wait for me more than a couple of times. How do I know? She loved telling the story. Yea Denise!!!

We found what we thought was trail magic. Instead it was a refreshment station for a trail running group. They didn’t seem to mind that we helped ourselves to some of their cold Gatorade!

Sometimes your dogs need a dip in cold water!

We took a selfie at the 1,000 mile mark (L) GA in March (R)

Raven Rock, VA

Trail Magic at Keys Gap from a 2014 thru hiker and her mom.

A happy hiker reaches the psychological mid point at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry.

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The official enshrinement in hiker history. This is a strong young woman.

Did I tell you that a bear tried to chew through Denise’s kevlar “bear proof” Ursack food bag in Shenandoah National Park? In this case, bro bruin chomped into a bottle of sriracha sauce. Hope this particular Yogi learned his lesson. That stuff is liquid bear spray.

Oh the adventures OD has had! Stay tuned…

Weedwhacking

June 19, 2016 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

A ray of light perfectly aligned with my eyes under my hammock fly this morning at 6 a.m.

Shenandoah National Park, June 17-19, 2016 — It was North District Hoodlums trail crew work weekend. I usually go to the park on Friday early to work on the section of the Appalachian Trail for which I am overseer and personally responsible. Saturday we do crew work. Sunday we clean up any odds and ends we didn’t get done on our AT sections.

It’s been raining like crazy on the east coast for the past month. In fact, it’s only recently warmed up. Add water to vegetation and you get jungle! Jungle is habitat for the ticks that are the vector for Lyme Disease. What to do about that. The only logical thing is to chop back the jungle.

Weed whacker Man – a superhero if there ever wasn’t one.

I spent two whole days week whacking. First was my trail. Second was a section that belonged to a dear fellow who left us for the charms of Milwaukee. Did I mention that it was hot? At least there were two of us the second day – we are a crew, right?

The idea is to cut the salad back about double arms length from the center of the treadway. The hikers should not touch vegetation as they walk. No vegetation. No ticks (well, almost).

I have an informal campsite on my section. No fires allowed people. They build them anyway and risk the fine. I break up the fire rings by tossing the rocks a long way away. This knucklehead obviously had an unsuccessful fire, not to mention ample signs of raging diarrhea. Poetic justice. Damn right. I’m sparing you the shxtty pics, but I always document the scene of the crime.

The third week of June is prime thru hiker season. Time for the annual Hoodlums hiker feed. We cooked burgers and hot dawgs for about 30 thru hikers. Turns out that they were all very nice folks. That’s not always the case this late into the season.

Sometimes we see dramatic views. Worth a whack so to speak.

Love the evening ambiance.

Next up: I’m about to hike 55 miles through northern Virginia with Denise, the friend with whom I hiked Georgia. She’s here and off the trail on “vacation.” After that, I’ll be out for 240 miles with this year’s group of excellent ridgerunners. Can’t wait to get moving!

The Ridgerunners Ride Again!

April 2, 2016April 2, 2016 / jim fetig / 11 Comments

After a early evening rain shower at Annapolis Rock

Annapolis Rock, Maryland, April 1-2, 2016 — Spring has sprung loose the usual Pandora’s box that is the hiking public. The weather is improving and they are on the march. Time for the ridgerunners to ride again and help the challenged to do the right thing.

This year’s class is interesting. We were funded for six vs. five last year. The extra one goes to Shenandoah National Park where we’ll now have two veteran ridgerunners to cover 105 miles of the Appalachian Trail there. I’ll introduce or reintroduce everyone as they come aboard.

First things first. Maryland funds two ridgerunners because its 42 miles of trail is among the most heavily used anywhere. After all, millions of people who live in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. areas are within two hours travel time and easy access to relatively gentle hiking. The trail candy, e.g. the sites, vistas, civil war, and monuments, are attractive incentives.

Consequently the state wants a caretaker at Annapolis Rock (AR or the Rock) from April one through Oct. 31. All the rest, with one exception, work from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day – peak season so to speak. That exception launches in Shenandoah next week.

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The easy access, gorgeous views, romantic sunsets, and excellent rock climbing, not to mention being named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s top 10 hikes, make the Rock a prize to to which people flock in droves. Three hundred people on a pleasant weekend day is not uncommon. Someone’s gotta help and guide them or the vegetation would be trampled and the trash would obscure the rocks.

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Enter Kyle. He’s a jocular former Marine and 2014 AT thru hiker. He’s also a recent graduate of the National Park Service Park Ranger Academy.

Ridgerunning is not glamorous. First thing is moving into the rustic apartment provided by the Maryland Park Service. Then the AR overseeer helps you find the wood chips that help the two composing privies at the AR campground work. Taking care of poop by tending the privies is a big part of every ridgerunner’s job! That’s the ironic part of this dream job.

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Q: Guess what the shovel’s for? A: It falls into the privies.

Next you have to put up the tent in which you or the summer ridgerunner will be sleeping in for the next several months.

It was fun trucking that stuff up the mountain – not. Thanks to Rush, the AR overseer for schlepping it up.

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We got the rain tarp flying over the picnic table just before the rain hit. The rain was a nice complement to April Fool’s Day.

After the first band of showers, we went up on the rock to enjoy the scenery and that last “golden hour” of sunlight.

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Overnight showers snare-drummed the fly of my hammock all night long. Me, I was hanging high and dry, my ears stuffed with ear phones listening to old “Lone Ranger” radio shows. Rain drops or hoof beats. I couldn’t tell.

They sky cleared this morning and it was time to haul up the first bail of wood chips for the privies. The first day in the glamorous life of a ridgerunner.

Separation Anxiety

March 19, 2016 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Hiawassee, GA, March 17, 2016 — It was time to say farewell to my intrepid friend Denise and head home for a Hoodlums trail crew work weekend, since snowed out, but that’s another story.

I really didn’t want to go. In fact, the bug bit me. I really, really wanted to hike all the way home. A cool thousand miles would be a great way to celebrate spring and work off my winter weight gain. Unfortunately, my volunteer career comes with responsibilities requiring my presence in places other than the southern Appalachians.

I’ll be up front. I think Denise is going to make it. At the very least she has better odds than most. She’s stubborn, positive, and has the self discipline of the soldier that she once was. Her competence in the woods counts for a lot.

For most people Georgia’s 80 miles are a bitch, plain and simple. Although the treadway itself is mostly smooth dirt, the hills are steep and a good test of will and fitness. The first day out, Denise’s challenge was compounded by a nasty upper respiratory infection (URI).

Being sick in the woods isn’t fun. She suffered, yet she persevered without complaint – good sign!

Along the way we met a ton of people. At one point she asked me if there was anyone I didn’t know. Here we are with Erwin, Tennessee’s “Miss Janet” Hensley, one of the iconic trail personalities and genuinely good folks on the trail. She’s referenced in memoirs going back to the turn of the century. It’s fair to say those stickers help keep her van in one piece.

The weather this season has been unusually warm leading to a slightly greater number of hikers making it out of Georgia. In other years adverse weather tends to wash out a lot of inexperienced people.

The warmth this year has led some hikers into believing spring has sprung. They have sent their weighty cold weather gear home. Not Denise. She knows that she’ll be hiking over 5,000 ft. (and at one point 6,000) for the next 400 miles. Not until you’ve seen the wild ponies at Virginia’s Grayson Highlands state park just south of Parisburg is it safe to shed most of your cold weather gear.

Denise started ahead of the big bubble. By March 15 last year I was counting around 150 hikers per day. They fill the shelter/camping areas beyond capacity in spite of the heroic improvements made by the Conservancy, the Georgia Club, National Forest Service and the Appalachian Long Distance Hiking Association. Knowing the area helped us find good flat spots away from the tent cities.

We hit one day of intermittent rain last week. Our training hike in the cold rain last spring paid off. The orange rain cover is to give the hunters a visible aiming point.

I’ve always loved the way life renews itself and finds a way to survive and recover. That tree is a survivor.

People still need to learn how to Leave No Trace in the woods. It’s gross, and a lot worse than this in many places.

Taken three years apart.

Meanwhile, our intrepid hiker has invaded North Carolina. One state down. Thirteen to go. She’s fine. I’m the one wringing his hands. I’ll continue to cross post her blogs as her hike unfolds.

Adventure Season 2016

March 2, 2016March 2, 2016 / jim fetig / 9 Comments

Kensington, MD, March 2, 2016 — It’s that time of year again when the call of the wild echos through the ether. This is when we plan, pack, lace ’em up and get it on.

The year starts in Georgia on the AT. For one, I’m anxious to see if all the planning we have done to manage the early crowds actually is beneficial. All I know is that a lot of time and energy have gone into the improvements.

Next it’s the National Park Service’s centennial. Shenandoah has challenged folks to celebrate by hiking a hundred miles in the park in return for a free patch. My friend and first hiking partner Mary and her son Ben will be hiking there on a 600 mile-long AT section hike in mid-April. I plan to tag along for all 105 of Shenandoah’s miles.

From there it gets fuzzier. I have my ridgerunner hikes and trail crew week – only one this year. I’m signed up for a Leave No Trace master educator course and a talk on backpacking at Sky Meadows State Park, Va. for National Trails Day.

We’ve hired two returning ridgerunners and four new folks for this season. More on them at another time.

There’s an opportunity to hike the northern half (Oregon and Washington) of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and/or the Colorado Trail. Lastly, once school is back in session, finishing the Long Trail in Vermont is carved in stone after having to miss it last year.

I’m learning not to predict too much. Plans do not survive contact with reality, and this year reality is holding a lot of face cards. I’ve taken on some executive responsibility with my trail club that’s going to eat time, and have been nominated for a professional lifetime career honor that, if selected, I will accept in person come hell or high water.

Top of the first inning is the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain, Georgia. I’ve noted and written about my friend Denise’s plan to thru hike this year. Well, she gets dropped off at the trailhead around noon on March 9. I’ve made the arrangements to be there like a beacon to cheer her on and hike the first 80 miles of the AT with her. She will nail her hike to the wall.

The weather in Georgia has been all over the map. Hey, it’s in the south you say; it’s bound to be warm. Well considering that the entire AT in Georgia is above 4,000 ft., cold weather, sleet and snow are factors throughout March.

I’m packing now. My pack is going to weigh much more than normal. For one, I’m carrying my food in a bear-proof container, not so much for the bears, but to set an example to others who don’t take bears seriously.

As for which sleeping bag, jackets and other clothing, I figured I’d split the difference between zero degrees F and 70F.

Stay tuned for dispatches.

Don’t practice being miserable!

January 6, 2016 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Forty liter pack.

Appalachian Trail, January 5, 2016 — By now the 2016 thru hikers are deep into preparation. A very small number have actually launched. You go guys and gals!

Two years ago on this date I was thru hiking north of Damascus, VA. The following day I was leaving the trail because one of my parents was going into hospice care.

That was cold hard news, but the weather was colder.

If you recall, the winter of 2013-14 was the year of the infamous polar vortex. When I woke up at dawn the morning of my departure, my thermometer read -15 F. I had 21 miles to make for pickup. That’s cause for pause for everyone planning to hike this or any year.

It had rained the entire previous day. Fortunately my rain kit kept my body and the contents of my pack bone dry. That was a life saver under those circumstances, but my pack harness and pole straps were frozen hard as rock. Pounding them into a pliable state generated much wanted body heat!

That icy morning I also took my all time thru hike favorite photo of a gorgeous white blaze framed in plump Virginia snow.

This year, as the seasons have switched from Indian summer to true winter, I’ve been following social media discussions on what gear thru hikers should carry.

This March the temp on the AT in north Georgia fell to 4 F.

On the one extreme are the ultra light gram Nazis. Some of them won’t even carry a Bandaid for fear it will add too much weight. On the other are extreme the Wally World folks who contemplate hauling camp chairs and elaborate cooking utensils. Each of these approaches carries existential risks that aren’t for me. I can tell you stories …

Most everyone else is somewhere in the middle on pack weight. As I’ve followed the discussions and debate, I’ve contemplated what constructive information I might be able to add. Afterall, I hiked 1,000 miles on the AT in winter conditions and was a ridgerunner in Georgia this past spring. I saw and learned a lot of value from those experiences.

In that context I follow a blogger named Paul Magnanti (www.PMags.com). Paul writes a very useful and entertaining hiker/backpacker blog from his home base in Colorado. His most recent is entitled “Snivel Gear.” Continue reading →

The Secret Word

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015 / jim fetig / 9 Comments

Standing near the old apple orchard. The saw is for cutting logs used to construct waterbars and check dams. The red pants are Kevlar chainsaw chaps.

Shenandoah National Park, October 17 – 18, 2015 — Remember the secret word on Graucho Marx quiz show “You Bet Your Life?” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Bet_Your_Life I have a new one for ya.

According to the Urban Dictionary, a “lumbersexual” is a Metro-sexual who has the need to hold on to some outdoor based rugged-ness, thus opting to keep a finely trimmed beard. Sometimes their wardrobe includes plaid flannel shirts and leather work boots. Well, this weekend was my best imitation – or maybe was I just testing my latest Halloween costume idea…

This was the final regularly scheduled Hoodlums work weekend of the year. I took a crew of four including myself on my AT section to finish the rehab started earlier this year.

My arrival was timed for dawn plus a few minutes to beat the traffic. It’s peak leaf season the the peepers cars clog Skyline Drive bumper to bumper for all 105 mikes if the park.

This morning it was 28F when those of us who camped at Indian Run popped out of our mummy bags. I slept toasty and warm. Hated to get up but for the warm coffee.

This morning it was 28F when those of us who camped at Indian Run popped out of our mummy bags. I slept toasty and warm. Hated to get up except that the thought of hot coffee twisted my arm.

I spent this morning inventorying all the erosion control structures on my trail. Along its 1.3 mile length, it has 58 waterbars, 45 check dams, 3 swailes, 14 stone steps, 20 feet of stone retaining wall and one stone culvert.

I spent this morning inventorying all the erosion control structures on my trail section. Along its 1.3 mile length, it has 58 waterbars, 45 check dams, 3 swailes, 14 stone steps, 20 feet of stone retaining wall and one stone culvert.

The Appalachian Trail is administered by the National Park Service. it’s budget is based in part on the amount of infrastructure that must be maintained. All 2,189.2 miles of trail are being inventoried by its various overseers like me. I think they are going to count a lot of “stuff.”

Milam apples were the most common type grown in the area. Not sure these are those.

My trail skirts an old apple orchard that was part of a farm when the land was condemned to create the park. You can see were the bears have trampled the vegetation enroute to their Oktober Apfel Fest.

Autumn is slowly asserting itself. The colors are shifting from the the energy of spring toward the reds and greens of the Christmas season. Snow and a quiet winter sleep are just over the horizon.

For more on lumbersexuality see: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article4277725.ece

Cowboy Candle

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

This is a cowboy candle. More about that in a bit.

Shenandoah National Park, Mathews Arm Campground, September 18 – 20, 2015 — Come September mother nature begins nodding off as she contemplates her year’s achievements and a well-deserved winter rest. Her spring creations are mature now having flourished in the embrace of warm summer sun and slaked by rain. It’s time to lengthen the nights, turn down the heat and prepare to swaddle in blankets of white.

With the humidity having been wrung out of the autumn air, my car pulled in just after 8:30 p.m. Friday evening. I’d been helping with a thru-hiker event at an REI store in Virginia that nailed my feet to the floor until after six — dead into the locked jaws of outbound D.C. area traffic.

The penalty of “rush hour” tacked a vexing extra hour to my trip, thank you very much! Traffic is the only thing in Washington that isn’t in a hurry.

As I shut off my ignition, it was dead dark and I was much later than I wanted to be. I still had to find a spot, pitch my tent, cook the a la foil steak resting in my cooler, and get some rest before the starting gun popped Saturday morning. The night was warm with a gentle breeze that allowed me to snooze on top of my sleeping bag.

The workshop is a cooperative effort between the Hoodlums trail crew and the Shenandoah park rangers.

Our workshop is an excellent training exercise limited to 30 participants. They are divided into three groups classified as novice, intermediate and advanced trail maintainers. People come from other geographical areas and maintaining clubs to take part.

I led an intermediate level group of five to build check dams and water bars on my section of the Appalachian Trail.

I led an intermediate level group of five to build and rehab check dams and water bars on my section of the Appalachian Trail.

So much for the work. The best part is socializing at the bookends of the day. We each contribute to a kitty so that we can hire caterers from Pennsylvania who have been with us for years. All we have to do is schmooze and have fun.

The Park Service sets up an awning for us. Thanks to good weather we didn't have to use it.

The Park Service sets up an awning for us. Thanks to good weather we didn’t need it.

I could get used to car camping. Unlike backpacking, if you think you might need it, you just pitch what ever ‘it” may be into the trunk of your car. That’s why everyone brought a cooler full of beer!

Saturday night is the only “official” night of the workshop. One of our rituals is torching a “cowboy candle.” A log about three feet long is chainsawed into eight standing and numbered sections. Everyone bets on the upright they think will be the last one standing.

This year about 90 percent of us bet on pillar number seven. It was up wind and seemed a bit thicker than the others. Wrong! It was the first to go. 🙁

As we cheered for our cowboy candle favorites, the breeze sharpened in a way that signaled that we were on the doorstep of a new season. From now on, the year will age quickly. For that reason, we have only one more monthly work trip left in our regular season. Sometimes there’s a November encore trip, but that’s nature’s call as much as anything else.

It could have been the food, the friends or even the beer, but on Saturday night I snuggled into my trusty sleeping bag and was lost in dreamland before my head dented my inflatable pillow. The morning dawned crisp. I turned up the collar of my fleece as I shivered in line for coffee.

Steve Dannenfeldt and his daughter Shelby were in our group. Steve oversees the trail atop Compton Peak where my section terminates. His trail leads to the columnar basalt formation about which I’ve previously written.

Unfortunately people in three separate groups were stung by yellow jackets. Paperwork! I was delighted that our group didn’t find any.

The Easy State

September 1, 2015September 2, 2015 / jim fetig / 8 Comments

Max Mishkin and Dan Smith are the AT ridgerunners in Maryland

Maryland Appalachian Trail, August 28 – 29, 2015 — Many hiking guides list Maryland as the easiest state on the Appalachian Trail. Here the AT is a relatively flat ridgewalk, mostly on South Mountain. It has its share of rocks, but nothing compared to those to be experienced north and south of here. In that sense, Maryland is fortunate.

In contrast, Maryland has the misfortune of being easy and close to the millions who live in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro areas. That’s a lot of people, many of whom take the shortest path to the AT section nearest home. It’s a recipe for over use and abuse. That may be why the state funds two ridgerunners for just 38 miles. One starts early and the other stays through October.

On Saturday Dan Smith and I hiked from Weverton Cliffs to Gathland State Park. These gentle miles unfold quickly. Even the hump to the top of the cliffs isn’t an outrageous challenge. Pretty much any able bodied person can make it. Come at it from Gathland and the physical challenge is even easier.

Relative to the work Lauralee and I did last week in Shenandoah National Park, this southern chunk of Maryland was a piece of cake. Still, I was surprised at the amount of trash we policed up – ranging from micro trash like mylar snack wrappers to discarded/forgotten clothing. Dan said it was a light weekend. Note to self: Remember this for next year.

We also broke up a couple of illegal fire rings too. Fires, except at designated fire pits at the shelters, are illegal in Maryland, but some people just don’t seem to care.

Dan is an amiable Pennsylvanian and mechanical engineer who appreciates being outdoors. He’s thru hiked both the Appalachian Trail (AT, 2,200 miles) and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT, 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington, featured in “Wild.”)

Next year Dan’s off to hike the Continental Divide Trail (CDT, 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada via New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.) It’s the last leg of his triple crown and I have no doubt he’ll nail it. The ridgerunner community will miss him.

After repositioning Dan’s car, I left him to rush northward to spend the night at Annapolis Rocks with Max Mishkin. I made camp about two minutes before I needed to turn on my headlamp.

The two Maryland ridgerunners rotate so that there’s always a caretaker on site at the Rocks. It didn’t take long to figure out why.

Caretaker’s tent at Annapolis Rocks. I hung my hammock nearby.

Annapolis rocks is the Grand Central Station of Maryland’s AT section. On a nice weekend, several hundred people per day have been known to visit. Most are neophyte day trippers who are unaware of the Leave No Trace principles. Consequently trash and cigarette butts figuratively snow from their presence.

Outdoor organizations also frequent the Rocks. Scouts and Outward Bound groups are common. Camping is restricted to a limited number of designated sites and no fires are allowed.

As I was walking in, a disgruntled father with a couple of sons was moving out with the speed of the approaching darkness. It seems that the father brought the boys to one of the most sensitive and protected places in Maryland to show his boys how to build a fire and make a lean-to. Max caught them hacking live trees and starting a fire.

Rather than camp the right way, they packed up when Max didn’t allow them to continue their activities. The damage they caused was sadly obvious when we cleaned up the site the following morning. As some of my military friends put it, “You can’t fix stupid.”

The upside to caretaking at Annapolis Rocks is obvious. People seem to love a guy with patches on his shirt. I think we found Max at central casting.

Max is a jovial extrovert from Connecticut who graduated from William and Mary. Since then, he’s knocked about in political campaigns and paralegal work. On his days off, he volunteers like I do at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor Center. In early November he plans to hike Vermont’s Long Trail. I’m planning to be on that trip too if circumstances permit. I love the challenges of winter hiking.

Two Outward Bound groups came in turn to climb the rocks. This is a climbing favorite in Maryland. The highest rated climb, Black Crack, is 5.9 because it has an overhang. The others are non-technical but do require rope protection.

Two Outward Bound groups came in turn to climb the rocks. This is a climbing favorite in Maryland. The highest rated climb, Black Crack, is 5.9 on the Yosemite decimal system because it has an overhang. The others are non-technical but do require rope protection. It’s a long drop to terra firma.

I love to see young folks learning how to climb. The rock is a hard sandstone infused with calcite. The cracks and fissures make excellent and safe handholds.

The youngster on the right did an excellent job.

Say it ain't so! The seasonal transition has begun.

Say it ain’t so! Buckle up your overshoes. The seasonal transition is beginning.

A fork in the road

Yogi said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." So I'm following the white blazes.

backpacking