Hiking Recap

June 19: To leave Harper's Ferry, we walked across a railroad bridge that crossed right where the Shenandoah Rover merges with the Potomac.

And then, we were in Maryland. The trail changes dramatically here, merging with a gravel bike trail and running along the river, level and flat for 3 miles before climbing into the ridge line. We passed through a historic state park (Gathland State Park) with a museum, war memorials, and plaques about civil war battles. In fact, we would continuously pass through battlefields with plaques our entire short time in Maryland.
Plus, there were some nice views:

That night, we stayed at Dahlgren's Campground, which had showers and bathrooms! Nice touch!

June 20: as yesterday, today's hiking provided a not of a history lesson. We saw the original Washington Monument, alongside ( what else) plaques about George Washington's life.

The walking was fairly level, no significant climbs or descents, but very very rocky! Happily, the new shoes provide significantly more cushioning than the older ones. We get to Raven Rock shelter, a new, two story shelter that is very impressive, and are met by Sparky and Rabbit, two hikers on their 60s who were at the campground with us last night. Could it be we are finding another hiker bubble?

June 21: the longest day of the year! And boy, did we need all the daylight we could get. Since our resupply was fond mainly at an outfitter, we decided on 2-3 days of food with a trip to a grocery when we could. That happened today. But first....right outside Pen Mar Couny Park, we left the Apple-latch-Che-un Trail and arrived at the Apple-lay-shun Trail:

Then we hit the road, hitched in to WalMart, did a bigger resupply, hitched back, and still managed to do 20 miles on rocky terrain.
June 21st is also naked hiking day. Yes, I did see some naked hikers. And yes, I hiked naked - under a protective layer of clothing. Because while I embrace the spirit of naked hiking day, there are ticks, bugs, poison ivy, sunburns, and chafing to consider!