I completed the "Hike Across Maryland"! I amazed myself by hiking the 41 miles on the Appalachian Trail in 13.5 hours. I didn't know I could hike that fast.
I've spent over two years thinking about and planning for this event, having just missed the registration in early 2007. The Mountain Club of Maryland sponsors the hike on the first Saturday in May every other year. I made sure to sign up early this time around. The weeks preceding the hike were filled with anticipation and trepidation. I felt confident about the distance, but I've always done long hikes on my terms, at my pace, and usually in ideal conditions. These were out of my control for the HAM.
The first decision was how to handle the night before the hike- I had to check in at the firehouse in Blue Ridge Summit, PA, on Friday after 4pm, and could either spend the night there or not. I chose to sleep at home, so I took a 3-hour round trip drive Friday afternoon to sign in. I had to be back there Saturday by 4:15am, so after carbo-loading on pizza and focaccia from Pasta Plus, I went to bed at 7pm Friday. Not ideal sleep, but likely better than at the firehouse. Up at 2am, on the road at 2:30, and at the firehouse at 4am. It was raining as I drove through Frederick. "What am I doing?" came to mind.
Around 120 started out on this HAM, and many of them spent the night at the firehouse. The first thing I noticed was that most all were wearing trail shoes. I'm a boot hiker, but now wished I had trail shoes. They'd provide better traction on wet rocks and lighten the load on the long haul, but would they make blisters more likely? The next thing I noticed was the huge breakfast layout. I chowed down a sizable meal. After a pre-hike briefing, we were loaded onto buses at 5am, and dropped off at the trailhead a couple tenths of a mile north of the state line on Pen Mar Road at precisely 5:15am. The hike was underway!
The hiking order became established much earlier than expected. I never even saw the trail runners. Most of the passing or being passed was done in the first half mile in the dark approaching Pen Mar Park. After that, for the remainder of the day, I played tag with a small subset of hikers, occasionally latching onto them or being latched onto. It was a broken line of LED headlamps winding along the trail beyond Pen Mar Park. The rocky climb up to High Rock was in light rain as dawn emerged. This is the rockiest segment of the AT in Maryland, and thankfully it's all uphill. My foot slipped a few times, but I never took a spill. The first checkpoint was near High Rock. LED lamps were no longer needed by the time ridge crest was reached. The light rain continued, but a Gore-Tex hat was the only rain gear needed. The pants legs of the convertible shorts kept the boots relatively dry. The first major downhill was on the moderately rocky stretch down to Raven Rock Road, where the second checkpoint awaited. The checkpoints provided Gatorade, lemonade, water, and an assortment of food. They also provided tons of encouragement, which became quite important as the hike wore on.
The two stream crossings just south of Raven Rock Road were a little intimidating. A climb up and down Buzzard Knob ensued, followed by an elongated uphill through woods and fields before dropping down to Ensign Cowall Shelter, the third checkpoint. I realized here that I was hiking at a rate well above my expectations. Maryland does have several rocky stretches, but there are many miles of old woods road where I could open up my stride (I call it over-striding). Still, I was amazed at my pace. It's a steep rocky climb after crossing Wolfsville Road. The rain was largely done, but the rocks remained wet. This climb soon reaches the long spine of South Mountain, following an old woods road much of the way. There's a particularly rocky stretch north of Pogo Campsite, but I knew they didn't go on forever, and had no problem with them. I passed by Black Rock without stopping. I'd taken in the views on the prep-hikes earlier this year- this hike was simply about the miles. The next checkpoint was just beyond the I-70 crossing, at Boonsboro Road. This was near the halfway point of the HAM, and I was an hour ahead of my schedule, and 90 minutes ahead of the imposed cutoff time. I felt pretty good, certainly thanks to the food, beverages, and encouragement. A ways further on, at Washington Monument, was lunch. I went back for seconds on the beef barley soup, and ate a sandwich. I changed socks and boot inserts here, a decision I would regret.
Several miles of relatively flat trail followed, allowing time do digest the meal. As I power-ate that lunch, I worried I might see it again further up the trail. The most difficult climb awaited beyond Rocky Run Shelter, up Lambs Knoll. That uphill seemed slow, but I was well ahead of schedule. Nearing the top, I sensed trouble with the nail on my second toe on my right foot. My second toes are longer than the big toe, which is not a good condition to have. I'd trimmed the nails well, so what was going on? At the view beyond the Lambs Knoll checkpoint, I inspected the situation- a blister under the entire nail and cuticle. The nail was floating on top of the blister. I was very angry at myself. Perhaps it was the change of socks. I've long known that it's generally not a good idea to mess with the moisture balance within the boot during a hike. Major blisters were a must avoid, since I've got a 175 mile AT trip coming up in two weeks. It was decision time- drop on request, or hike on? The toe didn't hurt much, so I decided to continue. I hiked a bit slower, making it to Gathland in Crampton Gap without losing any time advantage. There was quite a pit stop here, with cow bells and plenty of words of encouragement. Dropping out seemed pointless here, even though there were still ten miles to go.
I was passed by very few until the climb out of Gathland. I was moving slower, as I was trying to prevent the damaged nail from getting any worse, although I knew it was a lost cause. Mainly, I didn't want to damage any other toes. This 6.7 mile segment seemed to go on forever. Short climbs became difficult. The sun was breaking out, and it was becoming muggy. I'd been listening to music since High Rock, and that was growing wearisome. A group of three young hikers that I'd passed miles earlier passed me, but I latched onto them and talked with them as long as I could. Eventually they pulled ahead. I could hear trains in Weverton below, a signal that the hike was nearing its end. I knew that a couple friends would be waiting for me down at the tracks in Weverton. They'd driven up to Blue Ridge Summit to get my car, and would meet me in Weverton and Harpers Ferry and drive me home. The final trail checkpoint was after the descent off South Mountain, and I met my friends at the tracks a bit further on. I was so happy to see them! I had some V-8, and they hiked with me a short distance on the C & O Canal, then went back to the cars to head over to Harpers Ferry.
I figured that it would take me an hour to go those last three miles- those flat miles that I'd expected to be the most difficult of the hike. I passed the time talking to a fellow HAM hiker. Rounding the bend and seeing the town of Harpers Ferry was exhilarating. Climbing the spiral stairs to the bridge was dizzying. I somehow managed a 4mph pace on the tow path, reaching a cheering crowd at the finish point just past the train bridge in Harpers Ferry. Arriving to a cheering crowd was very uplifting. I'd actually gotten to Harpers Ferry before my friends did. They showed up several minutes after I'd finished. We stayed a short while to cheer on the next few arrivals, then my legs said it was time to go.
I'd hiked 41 miles, climbed a cumulative 6400 feet and descended 7300 feet, in 13.5 hours, a good 90 minutes faster than I thought possible. Will I do it again? Probably not. Did I enjoy it? Most definitely. It was well organized, and the checkpoint crews were wonderful. Their friendliness and encouragement helped immensely, as did the handful of hikers I shared the trail with during the day. It was and will always be a most memorable event, and a highpoint of my hiking life. The blister doesn't look too bad. The nail is surely lost, but I don't expect it to interfere with my upcoming AT trip. Special thanks to Patty and the Mountain Club of Maryland, and to David and Joe for helping me get home alive. I am a lump today as I write this, but a happy lump. pictures.
