Day 81, miles today- 18.3, total- 1068.2

Free State Hostel to Tumbling Run Shelter.

I got up at 7:00 am. It wasn't raining at that time. We looked at the weather radar. There was a large band of rain coming our direction. I decided to start hiking anyway. I was on trail at 8:00. By 8:30 there was a light mist coming down. By 10:30 there was a light but steady rain. I hiked with Professor and ET, at different times. ET is from San Diego. He was originally from London England. He's lived in the States for 30 years. He has a strong English accent. As we neared a road crossing there was a bag of apples and a container of fresh strawberries laying on a large rock. We both stopped for a few minutes enjoying the trail magic.

At 12:00 I reached the Pen Mar County Park. It's a small but very nice park. From there I was going to hitch hike two miles into Waynesboro, PA. to resupply. I had stood there in a steady rain for ten minutes with my thumb out. I debated if I should start walking or stay put. A few minuets later a guy in a mini van stopped. His name was Allen. He was going to the Subway inside the Walmart to get subs to take home for him and his wife. I suggested that if I were quick enough in getting my food that perhaps he could give me a ride back. I didn't need much time. At first he said he was going right back, but by the time we were walking towards the store, he said he would wait a few minuets. I was on a mission. I felt like the person on the old game show, rushing through a store with a cart, having one minute to grab as many items as possible. I must have said "excuse me" and "I'm sorry" a dozen times as I zipped through the aisles.  As I headed towards the door, I saw Allen sitting on a bench. I had made it! At 12:40 I was back at the park. Allen even offered to let me stay the night at his house.

At 1:00 pm I crossed the Mason Dixon Line. I had entered Pennsylvania. Maryland is now completed. Six states now behind me.

I got to the Tumbling Run Shelter at 5:00 p.m. ET and Slacks are tenting. In the shelter with me are Mountain Goat and TK. Guy and girl. They are both from New Hampshire. They started the Trail on March 19, the same day as me. This is the first time I've seen them. They are both very friendly. TK hung my food bag and got a bottle of water for me when she was getting water herself. We talked for quite awhile about different people that we knew from the trail. Taking the Zeros in Harper's Ferry and DC is giving me the opportunity to meet a lot of new people.

I wasn't able to take many pictures today because of the rain.

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.

Day 79, miles today- 16.3, total- 1034.4

I got up at 6 am this morning. After eating breakfast, I went to get a cup of Starbucks coffee for one last time. I took it up to the sun deck and looked out over DC. I was the only one up there. It was very relaxing. I took a cup of coffee back to apartment for Katie. The two bedroom apartment that we rented for two nights worked out great. It was very comfortable and we were just one floor down from Andy and Jenn. Around 8:30 am we were packed and on our way to Harper's Ferry. They were going to drop me off on their way back to Cincinnati. By 10:30 we had said our goodbyes and I was back on the AT.

From where I got on at, the trail would take me through the historical district of Harper's. On the way, I passed a rock where Thomas Jefferson had given a speech. I stopped at a small ice cream shop to eat lunch. I had a tuna salad sandwich and a cone of ice cream. It was around noon when I was ready to get back to hiking.

As I crossed over the Potomac River I entered the state of Maryland. For a few miles the trail followed the C&O canal tow path. The tow path is 184.5 miles long. It runs from Cumberland PA to Washington DC. You can bike or hike all of it. Biking it is on my to do list.

I had a pretty big up leaving Harper's Ferry. Once near the top there was a overlook with a nice view of the area that I had just gone through. I stopped at the Ed Garvey Shelter for a shot break. After a snack I laid down on my pad in the shelter. I fell asleep for 15-20 minuets. I hadn't decided how many more miles I was going to do today. So I was taking it easy.

After another 4.1 miles I came to the Crampton Gap Shelter. At that point it was around 5:30 pm. I decided to eat dinner there and then hike another 5 miles to the Rocky Run Shelter.  At Crampton Gap there was a friendly looking group of people sitting around a fire ring in a tenting area. I asked them if I could take a break with them. They said sure. There was a father, his four children and one nephew. They are from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are backpacking the 41 miles in Maryland. They will end in Harper's Ferry. I fixed something to eat. I talked to them for 45 minutes or so. We talked mostly about thru hiking and trails in Indiana. After leaving there I went through several sections that had a lot of mountain laurel in bloom. It was very pretty.

I reached Rocky Run Shelter at 8:00 pm. There was one other person there. His name is Professor. He's from California. He had worked as a college professor. He started a few days after me. It's the first time I had met or heard of him. After being off trail for five days, I'm sure I'll meet a number of people that had been behind me.

Day 78, Zero, total miles- 1018.1

I spent a little time on the sun deck this morning. From there I could see the traffic backed up on the highway, I can understand why people here avoid driving a car.

We walked to a nearby chicken restaurant, called Nandos, for lunch. They had good food and the coolest drink dispenser I have ever seen. There were many many options.

I took a long nap in the early afternoon. Around 4:00 pm we went to the swimming pool. Andy, Katie, Luke, Bella, Noah and I got in. Cathy and Jenn watched. We swam for about one hour.

We walked to the Good Stuff Eatery to have dinner. Afterwards we took a walk along the Potomac.

When we returned to Andy and Jenn's apartment, we had cake and ice cream. It is my birthday today and Katie's birthday tomorrow.

We worked at getting things ready for leaving tomorrow morning. Cathy and Katie are going to drop me off in Harper's Ferry, WV. I hope to be back on trail by mid day.

Day 77, Zero, total miles- 1018.1

Last night we all got to sleep late. The first part of the day we took it pretty easy. I took a short nap. Andy and Jenn both had to work today. When Jenn got home in the early afternoon, some of us went swimming. Katie, Luke, Bella, Noah and I got in the water. Jenn and Cathy watched. It was a lot of fun.

We rented a two bedroom apartment in Andy and Jenn's building. It's a very nice fully furnished apartment. We moved in there this afternoon.

For dinner we grilled out. There is a very pretty outdoor area that has grills, tables and chairs. Very nice!

Day 76, Zero, total miles- 1018.1

After getting up this morning I went down to the first floor of the apartment building. They have a Starbucks coffee brewing machine. The coffee is free. I took a cup up to the 22nd floor to sit outside on the sun deck. It was relaxing to be outside on such a beautiful morning. From the deck I could see the Pentagon, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Capital Building.

Andy, Jenn and I went to an outfitters and a few shoe stores so that I could look for new trail shoes. I bought a pair of Asics. Hopefully they will work. We then went to the grocery store so I could resupply.

I went through my backpack, to decide what items I can send home, now that the cold weather should be behind me. I want to cut weight as much as possible.

My wife Cathy, daughter Katie, and grandchildren Luke, Bella and Noah arrived late this evening. It was wonderful to see them all. It was so late that everyone went right to sleep.

I still plan to get back on trail Wednesday morning.

Day 75, Zero, total miles- 1018.1

Today I was going to Washington DC to visit with family. I had got an Amtrak train ticket online. The departure time was 10:55 am. I wanted to get to the train station by 10:00 just to be safe.

When walking to the train station I would pass the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I stopped there to have one last look around. Before I went in, a girl with a backpack on walked up. She was a thru hiker. Her name is War Cry. She asked me how she went about signing in and getting her picture taken. I told her how it works. I went in and looked at the album with the current thru hikers, to see who else had come into town after me. I also looked briefly at the 2012 album to see if I could find any of the people that were doing trail magic that I had met. I only found one guy in the short amount of time that I looked. I then walked to the outfitters that is across the street from the train station. I looked at their hiking shoes again and other items as well. I had over an hour before the train was to arrive. I then walked around the train station. There isn't anybody working at this station. You have to get your ticket online. It's just a building to wait in. I left my backpack inside. I walked around inside and out looking at the building, the many pictures and reading about the history of this very old station. The there were two other thru hikers and three section hikers waiting for the train too. The train arrived at 11:30 am. We were off.

My next stop was Union Station in DC. From there I took the Metro subway system to Pentagon City. I had to make one transfer to get there. As luck would have it, I got on the wrong line heading in the wrong direction. After several stops I realized I had made a mistake. I asked a couple people for directions. Within 15-20 minutes I was on the correct line headed for my destination. Soon, I was at Andy and Jenn's apartment building. They were waiting out front for me. I had called them when I was a few blocks away.

In the evening Jenn was going to a cookout. The principal at the school that she works at was having an end of the year cookout for the staff. Jenn asked me if I would like to join her and Andy. I said sure. I hadn't had a haircut or shave in 2-1/2 months and I had limited clothes, but Jenn didn't mind. The building Jenn works at is for kindergarten and first grade only. I believe there are 8 or 9 classes per grade level. She said it's a very nice district. A little like Madeira or Wyoming schools, but larger. Her principal, whose name is Kathy, has a beautiful home. There was a large crowd. I told a few of them about working at Madeira Schools and about how nice of a district it is. I also told them about talking to the third and forth grade students about my hike and the letters of support that I had received from them. Before the evening was over, I had talked to several people about my thru hike in detail. Many of them seemed very interested. They also had a lot of great food, so when we left, I was full. It was fun!