Last Day in Maryland! 5/9/2017

by | Mar 10, 2021 | Appalachian Trail

Started off the day, by making a wrong turn from the trail leading out of the shelter.  Walked about a half mile the way I had come in yesterday before I realized the mistake. It was the first time in the whole trip that I had backtracked like that.

After a couple miles (in the right direction!) I came to High Rock Ledges. A nice rocky overlook point with an access road leading up to it. Unfortunately,  ease of access means more litter and in this case more graffiti. The whole rock was covered in spray paint.

The views were great though

When I took my sunglasses out of my pack, they caught my lighter and flipped it out. It bounced down and fell over the cliff!

Luckily there was a small metal grate jutting out from the rock.

I looked over the edge and found my lighter on the edge!

Leaving the area and continuing down the trail turned out to be challenging. It was a boulder scramble down the cliff.


And to make it even worse, someone had spray painted over some of the blazes.

After making it through the rocks, the trail went passed Pen-Mar park, which sits near the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was a really nice park with great views,  plenty of shady trees, picnic tables and a pavilion.

Best of all, I read in the comment section of Guthooks’s guide, that a local pizza place delivers to the park!

I ordered a pizza for lunch and a foot long sub to pack out for dinner. I saw Papa Yeti walking by on the and called him over to share.  Shivers and her dad walked up a little while later just in time to get the last slice.

After leaving the park, I hit the border and Mason-Dixon line.  Finally back in the North!

A couple miles later, the trail ran near a small park and I stopped to fill up from a spigot. There was a another thru hiker (Tofu), taking a break.  We talked a bit, he was from Germany and actually recognized me and knew my name from reading the blog!

Aside from one decent climb, the rest of the day wasn’t too bad. The trail ran some ridgelines, past large rock formations and stands of towering trees.

Towards the end of the day,  I found a nice rock to sit and eat dinner on. Packing out the sub turned out to be a great idea!

I hiked a couple more miles and stealth camped in a nice flat spot at the bottom of a ridge.

In the morning,  I’m planning on hiking 2 miles down the trail to a road crossing and walking down to Timbers Restaurant for breakfast. Can’t wait for pancakes!

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