From our Comfort Inn in Frederick, MD, we drive West on Route 340 to exit 17 following signs to Gathland State Park. It’s no more than 14 miles and a piece o’ cake in a rental car. Driving the winding country roads of the Maryland countryside the first week of November, we know that there aren’t more beautiful bucolic settings in all the United States. Together Hannah and I have warm mid60s weather, no deadlines, and an adventure that we know not what we’ll find. Freedom of the open road is a cliché, but it’s what I was hoping to purchase when I retired. I get that and more today.
Today we’ll hike south toward Weverton Cliffs (April 10, 2011 blog covered hiking north to Weverton Cliffs in MD) where we hiked just a year ago. Driving up the Gapland Road from Burkittsville, we come upon a 40 foot stone arch dedicated to the war correspondents of the Civil War in truly the middle of nowhere. And Nowhere, Maryland is just where we want to be today. No traffic and no list of things we have to do.
With no one in sight, we cross the road and find a welcome passage to the AT.
Today we are in for unexpected treat - ridge hiking. We’ll have a mostly level terrain across the mountain top, where the trail is wide enough for Hannah and me to maintain a steady pace as we walk side by side. Today I introduce pledging for the coming year at First Parish Church in York for the first topic of the day. First the big questions. What is truly being generous? Giving what you have? Tithing? Giving til it hurts? What do we really need? How careful to do we have to be with our money since we may live into our nineties? No two ways about it, the bottom line is I’ve been blessed. Hannah being a lottery pick set everything in motion for much of my success. (If you feel this way about your partner/spouse/steady, go to http://www.artistdirect.com/video/it-s-your-song/47671 for Garth Brooks singing It’s Your Song.) Choose the right spouse and good things follow. But I digress as I am want to do. Let’s talk about generosity and giving when we next meet.
Side by side on dried brown leaves we have hit pay dirt on this sun-dappled day. From time to time branches with green leaves up and down block our path, but it’s easy to walk around them to get to the very obviously marked trail.
We hear geese squawking south and feel few rocks beneath our feet hidden by the dried leaves. In seventy minutes we arrive at the turn to the Ed Garvey Shelter after 3.7 miles of ridge line hiking.
The shelter is a two story building of wooden floors with a loft above that is reached by a back exit. Climbing the stairs to the loft we find a pristine room; the broom hints at why.
Lunching at the picnic table on our obsequious Subway subs, we scan the valley below through a thicket of saplings.
The raised privy lies to our south while benches on three sides face the campfire.
Each shelter has a log for hikers to record their impressions of the trail.
The latest entry is October 29th from a couple hiking during the snowstorm just a few days ago.
The firewood we collected was damp (even with flammable toothpaste) however we discovered skin-on-skin is a wonderful way to stay warm.
- LaChelle and Tim
From October 4th
I was here 4 months ago. It was naked hiking day (editor’s note - June 21st) and hot. How I miss the trail.
- Yinz
Hannah adds to the log.
Dan and Hannah from York, ME – ½ day hike to and from Gathland State Park. What a beauty-full spot and shelter. Thank you Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. And here’s to Ed. Garvey. 2-Ply (Hannah)* and Flag** (Dan) [These are current trail names. Mine is a work-in-progress.]
Today the hike is the best. Good company, warm temperatures, a trail wide enough to walk and talk side by side with occasional rise and falls of elevation. Much of my glow is about the freedom it represents. Tomorrow we head for home. We are blessed with this hiking escape. As always when hiking, know thyself, thy limits, and the conditions. Be prepared.
*This is between you and Hannah. hannahrothermel@gmail.com
**Flag is short for Flagstaff. Flagstaff, Arizona is often the jumping off point for our western hikes. After living in Arizona for ten years, Hannah and I try to get a “fix” of the West each year. A friend suggests "Traveling Man." I'll wear that one for awhile and see how it fits.
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