Sweaty Mess

So, it’s Friday, June 21, and I am at the Pogo Memorial Campsite, at around mile marker 1,052. Or maybe 1,053. It’s just shy of 9 o’clock, and according to my phone, it's still 90 degrees out. I've been seriously roasting all day, but I did 16 miles. I actually meant to do a little more, but I had a very good reason not to — and was happy not to.

This morning, I woke up at Crampton Gap shortly after 5 o'clock, which is a new early time for me. I was hoping to get an early start to get ahead of the heat, but I also had another motivator. Last night, I got in touch with an old college friend that I hadn't seen for 30 years, named Brian. He had messaged S. via Facebook when we were in Harpers Ferry, asking how I was doing in the heat and saying he’d like to get in touch, so S. got his number and passed it along to me. And he and I had discussed possibly meeting up today.

So I hit the trail at about 6:30, and it was already pretty humid, but not too hot yet. Still, humidity for me equals sweating. A lot. So even though things hadn’t heated up all that much, it didn’t take long for me to become a sweaty mess, which was ultimately the theme of the day. Thankfully, in Maryland, at least the terrain isn't too bad. Definitely some climbs, but they're not too long or too steep. So that part’s definitely welcome amid the unwelcome temperatures.

The first couple miles of the day were not very noteworthy, and about six miles in, I stopped to have a quick snack and to check in with Brian via text. As I was sitting on a rock by the side of the trail, Sings with the Pines showed up. I hadn't seen him since The Priest, back in Virginia, probably around mile 850 or something. S. and I had seen his picture at the ATC in Harpers Ferry, and I think he got there a day before I did. I was glad to cross paths with him again. 

Brian texted me back that he’d already made it to Washington Monument State Park, so he started hiking south on the AT toward me. We met about a mile from the park and then hiked back together from there.

[Wife note: Washington Monument State Park is the location of the original Washington Monument, the predecessor of the much more famous one in D.C., and the AT goes right by it.]

Brian is a high school physics teacher, and he had a little time off before summer school starts next week. He’d kindly brought a stocked cooler with him, as well as some chairs, which we set up next to his car. I think this was around 10:45. My first order of business was to immediately inhale a couple of Gatorades. But Brian, being the excellent person he is, had also brought some beers with him, so — don't judge — we cracked a couple of those while we caught up for a bit, which was great.

I eventually decided I needed to get back on the trail, and Brian joined me for the next 3.5 miles or so. He turned around at about 2:30 to head back home. I really appreciated his making the trip to see me and taking the time to hang out.  

I continued on, of course, and about a tenth of a mile after Brian turned around, the trail went right over Interstate 70 and then took a left-hand turn, so I was kind of walking alongside 70 but above it maybe 25 feet. So that was interesting. Now that the trail is kind of moving into more densely populated areas, there are a lot more neighborhoods and parks and highways and things like that along the route, which I don't particularly mind. It sort of breaks things up a bit.

But today was in the 90s, I think, so it was just really hot all day. I was completely drenched with sweat. I probably could have jumped in a river, and it would have made zero difference. I couldn’t possibly have gotten any more soaked. Really attractive, I know. I took a lot of breaks along the way to cool down and make sure I wasn't going to overheat. But the thing that was really slowing me down, actually, was that the arch of my right foot was starting to hurt quite a bit. It kind of felt like it was ripping.

So I’d originally been planning on trying to get about 20 miles in today, but between my foot and hanging out with Brian and having some beers, I decided to cut things short at the Pogo campsite. Don’t get me wrong — the hanging out had been totally worth it. If given the opportunity, I'd do that 10 times out of 10. All in all, it was a pretty good hiking day, and a great day to see old friends.

I have maybe 14 or 15 miles left in Maryland, which is kind of funny, because some people get through Maryland in a day, and here I am, going on my third day in Maryland. But I'll be in Pennsylvania, if not tomorrow, then the day after. There's a hostel right on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland on the Maryland side, so if the weather turns out to be unbearable, I can cut things short and seek refuge at the hostel. We'll see how that goes.