Day 80, miles today- 15.5, total- 1049.9

I took my time getting out of the shelter this morning. It was 9:30 when I started hiking. I spent a lot of time being a tourist today.

I passed the South Mountain Battlefield. There were several displays with details of the battles that were fought there. There was one Union and one Confederate General killed in the battle that was fought here in September, 1862. The trail passed along side of the battlefield.

I passed through Washington Monument State Park. There is a Washington Monument that was built in 1827 by the people of Boonesboro, Maryland. Yesterday I saw the Washington Monument in DC and today I'm at another Washington Monument. A light rain began to fall after I left there.

I crossed over I-70 by way of a  footbridge. My family passed under the footbridge on their way home. I stopped for lunch at the Pine Knob Shelter. From there I had 8.2 miles to the next shelter. While I was there the rain became much heavier. Two people stopped that said they heard we were going to get a strong storm tomorrow. I decided to stop at the Free State Hostel. It is 0.2 miles before the shelter I had planned to stay at. I wasn't very fond of staying at a hostel tonight, but if the weather is bad, I'd rather be indoors. Hopefully it's better than predicted and I can continue on as planned.

At the hostel is Professor and Rock Steady. Rock Steady started late April and has been doing 20-30 miles per day. I asked him if he had passed many hikers in the last few days. He said he saw a young couple earlier in the day. The first couple I thought of was Garbage Man and Caroline. Who I haven't seen since around Hot Springs. I asked if he knew their names. He said they were Gypsy and Hancock. I haven't seen them since Grayson Highlands. Having been off trail for so long, I'm now seeing people who were several days behind me.