There’s something super cool about cowboy camping. Especially in a place where the Civil War took place. I could’ve been sleeping where General Lee slept. He fought all over this territory in the 1700’s. Anyhow, I woke up to the song birds promptly at 5:30am. They are relentless and never stop ushering in a new day. I had my coffee, not cowboy coffee but real instant Death by Coffee and MCT Powder that I acquired from my good friends Mark & Meredith. Yummy goodness to start my day out right.

I was low on water so I needed to gather some. About 4 miles down the trail was a sweet campground that has flushing toilets, running water and showers! Yep, I could’ve had a shower. I filled up my bottles and a gal with her twins 7 year olds shows up. She’s planning to hike the entire trail with these rumbustious kids. The girl’s trail name is Butterfly and her brother’s name is Stink Bug. Mom took the name Herding Cats, which Stink Bug told me, matter of factly, we never listen to Mom, just like cats. I find that hard believe as there are many times that they need to pay close attention to be able to make it this far. They seem to be having a grand time. Herding Cats and I talked for a bit about life on the trail and raising kids. She feels this is the best education she can give them, and I have to agree.

We all took a side trail to George Washington’s Monument. It is a stone building that looks like a beehive. Inside is a spiral staircase which takes you to the top of an observation deck. The view is one of the best that I’ve seen in Maryland. It’s quite expansive and you can see for miles and miles. Lucky for us, we made it up and out before the bus load of kids showed up. Took some pictures and we were back on the trail.

There’s more hikers on the trail today. I met these three kids who are undertaking the 4 State Challenge. The idea is to cover four states in 24 hours! They started last night at Midnight in Virginia, stepped into W. Virginia for a quick mile or so, crossed over the Potomac River into Maryland and will end in Pennsylvania. It’s about 40 miles and a handful of motivated hikers do it every year. They had someone meet them around mile 25 to resupply with food and water. When I saw them, they had finished a marathon of walking and were well on their way to finishing before midnight. Oh, the joys of youth! I was happy to get in 17.5 miles today and I don’t see any 40 milers in my future!

When I stopped for lunch, I met Cat Woman, as I called her. She was walking down the trail with a backpack condo for a cat. I had to ask her what she was carrying? Evidently her cat Motto wasn’t too keen on being carried around in a Cat Condo and flew the coupe. She stopped to let it out, and imagine this, the cat bolted! Hmm, I could’ve predicted that ending. She looked for Motto for an hour or two and plans to come back later this afternoon to hopefully, retrieve her cat. Good luck with that.

Today was the typical Appalachian Trail that I remember. There were much more ups and downs with tons of rocks. I could even say boulders. I did stop quite a bit to take in the vista. Many rock outcroppings that overlooked the flat valleys and pasturelands of Maryland. I saw tons of day hikers that were enjoying the weather. It really has been nice without the rain and humidity that I remember from last go around. I need not get too excited though, as it will come. But for now, I’m enjoying the mild temperatures.

Besides my feet being a bit tired, I’m feeling great. Honestly, Maryland is probably the flattest and most mildest trekking state of the 14 that are part of the AT. I know what’s ahead of me in Pennsylvania, which has the dubious name of Rocksylvania. Hopefully my ankles will be ready and able to tackle the myth and the legend of that state. But for now, I’m gonna soak in the sweet terrain of where I am. So far, so good.