Appalachian Trail Backpacking Section Hike: Maryland

We chose Maryland for our first attempt at an AT section hike for a few reasons. The first being that it is the closest in proximity from our home; right around six hours. With little time to plan, as this was a very last-minute decision, I emailed several “locals” (whose email addresses I’d found on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website). There I found options for shuttle services to the trail head from Harper’s Ferry National Park. You will need to pay $10 for an extended parking permit to leave your car there while you complete your hike.

We found someone willing to drive us from Harper’s Ferry, WV to the Pen-Mar border, so that we wouldn’t have to do an out and back and could see that entire portion of the AT. Lee Baihly, owner of River & Trail Outfitters, Inc. in Knoxville, MD, took us to the border and trail head for $80.

We finally got started on our hike at 3:30 pm, with a plan to hike 9-10 miles to the second shelter called “Ensign Cowell.” The trail consisted of mostly rocks and hills, making it near impossible to move faster than 2–2.5 mph. It was tough…much tougher than I had anticipated. Within the first five minutes of the hike, we came upon the Mason-Dixon Line.

We hiked for what seemed like an eternity, even being warned by one of the first passers-by to look out for swarms of hornets up ahead. We never did come across any until we were almost to our campsite, when out of the blue, my husband was stung in the back of the knee; despite not having seen a swarm or a nest anywhere. That made the rest of the hike uncomfortable for him, but thankfully, the swelling was minimal.

We ended up losing our daylight and had to resort to using our lighted hats and headlamps to complete this segment and arrive at our shelter/campsite. There was no “room at the inn” as the shelter was full, so we pitched our tent, which is our preference anyway, as sleeping communally does not sound appealing in the least and especially being in the open and exposed to critters. This was a wise move because one of the hikers had his brand new wool socks destroyed by some kind of rodent. (They had been stuffed inside his boots).

This was also our first experience with using the “bear pole,”, a sturdy metal post with hooks and a long, heavy pole used to hike your food bag up high and out of reach from the wildlife.

The second day, we lollygagged a bit too long in the morning and ended up getting a very late start (10:30) and still needed to replenish our water from the day before. This took about a half hour to complete. With a 14 mile day ahead of us, we knew we didn’t have much time to waste.

A few miles in, we happened upon a huge black snake laying across the trail, which of course, freaked me out. This kind of thing is why I always let Jamison lead our hikes. After about five miles, we stopped to have lunch and met a couple of hikers named Joe and Andrew. Joe was eating a military MRE and gave us one to try later. They are heavy, so I'm sure it also helped to lighten his load by at least a pound! We chatted with some other folks who were from Ohio also, and then as we were about to head out again, we saw some Ohio people (two young couples) looking at something on the trail’s edge. That “something” turned out to be a rattlesnake! I hate snakes, but I have to admit, this picture is pretty cool. It was the second snake of the day and I was done with seeing them!

Campsite #2 ended up being the best! This backpacker’s camp was called “Dahlgren” and was an official campsite, complete with fire rings, flattened and segregated tent sites, picnic tables, free firewood, and showers and bathrooms. We are told this is a very rare find on the AT. We got there just in time to secure a site before the rest of the hikers got there, as some had to use the grassy areas to set up their tents.

We got showers and walked up to this quaint mid-1700’s Inn, called The Old South Mountain Inn. It is situated just at the top of the hill by the campground. The staff was fine allowing the hikers to dine in very casual clothing, as long as we were clean! We certainly did not expect to find such a great meal (for the mere cost of $90 with tip) on the AT! We had the best French onion soup, Jamion had steak, and I had chicken Marsala and many glasses of awesome sweet tea.

With our bellies full, we headed back to our site where we again, saw Joe and Andrew and met a young school teacher from Dayton, OH, named Molly, who was out on a solo 30-day trek. She admitted that this was day #3 for her and it was starting to get a bit lonely, which I could only imagine.

We were a bit more successful at getting up earlier on day #3 and were out on the trail by 8:30. With wicked blisters and nearly 18 miles ahead of us to get to Harper’s Ferry and our car, I knew it was going to be a tough day. I added a second pair of socks and padded up my toes with band-aids in hopes of not making the blisters worse than they were. We had already filled our water bladders with water from the pump at the campsite, so we were good to go.

One of our stops was at a park where we met a young fellow named Skye, who was from Canada. He had started his hike with his brother, but he was several hundred miles ahead of him by this point, so he was now alone. Along with Skye came along another young couple who had actually met while on the trail and had learned that they resided just an hour apart from one another. They are now a couple, finishing the thru-hike together.

We decided to break out the MRE that Joe had given us and give it a shot. It was kind of gross. It had some kind of meat and pepper jack cheese, blueberry cobbler, a powdered chocolate drink, cheese spread and bread. I feel bad that our military in the field have to consume these on a regular basis because they are heavy and very salty! It was an experience and I can definitely say that I will not be eating those again.

Our next stop took us to the “Ed Garvey Shelter," where we ate a snack and took off our shoes for a spell. This was a nicer, two-story shelter with a back entry leading up to a second floor loft, bear boxes (instead of the poles), a nice big fire ring and an actual privy.

Our last trek took us to one of the highest points that we had seen since we started, as well as a bridge that took us over I-70. This felt a bit odd considering we are supposed to be out in the middle of nowhere! The final three-mile stretch was a welcome relief as we finally left the intense hills and rocky terrain to finish on a pea gravel bike trail with a river on one side and a canal on the other. We saw lots of people in rafts, kayaks, canoes and inner tubes enjoying the rapids on one side and green, murky water with passing trains above the canal on the other side. By this point, I was limping pretty badly from my blisters, so I completed the last few miles in my flip-flops with my boots in tote.

This was a very fun weekend, full of adventure and loads of learning. We met some very friendly and interesting people along the way as well. Everyone out there has a unique story. This was a great spur-of-the-moment adventure…which generally end up being the best kind!