Oh, what a nice hike. The treadway was good; there was only one short section of really bad rocks and that was over in about 30 minutes. We each had a steep uphill at the beginning of our hikes, but that too was over quickly. Hiking south, I had the benefit of rock steps for most of my climb. The forest was mostly oaks and open. There wasn’t a lot of underbrush so we could see for a far distance all around.
The trial maintainer had been there recently with his weed-eater. I always love the weed-eated sections. They make me feel like I can see the snake before he sees me. That’s just one of my little fantasies that keeps me out there by myself.
There was only one good view point along the way--Annapolis Rocks. The guidebook indicated that it was two-tenths of a mile off the trail down a steep side trail. Two-tenths round trip makes almost a half mile and I generally don’t go that distance unless it is something special. I strongly debated with myself whether to go. When I met Gene, he said he didn’t think it was as far as the guidebook indicated and he didn’t think it was very steep. When I got to the side trail, I just turned and went, not even thinking about it. I am so glad I did.
The view from the rocks was awesome, but I also discovered a backcountry campground down there. Apparently, it has been added since my guidebook was revised. There are about a dozen campsites plus 3 or 4 more group sites. There is no running water, just a spring nearby. There is also a caretaker. I guess us RVers would call him a camp host. He had a large tent, food storage locker, and picnic table just off the trail.
We saw several day hikers and a few weekenders along the trail today, but not so many thru-hikers. I did see one thru-hiker who warrants mentioning. I saw this really old guy coming down the trail just as I got started. When he got close enough, we greeted each other then went our separate ways. I noticed he didn’t have any teeth. Gene had mentioned a few days ago that he had seen several older gentlemen without teeth. We discussed this at our break along the trail and decided we probably wouldn’t take our teeth either if we had the option. Each plate probably weighs 4 oz and the Polident tablets, little overnight cup, toothpaste and brush probably weigh another 4 oz. That’s 12 oz. Too heavy. Leave the teeth at home.
That’s it for today. Tomorrow, we’re doing the last 10 miles of trail in Maryland.
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