Maple and I had done this 19-mile hike once before, nearly five years ago. (See our earlier post on this site: https://weekendjots.com/2015/05/25/appalachian-trail-pen-mar-to-caledonia-state-park/.) We have been exercising at the gym six days a week, preparing for our big hike in New Hampshire this coming June and July. But the best preparation for backpacking is backpacking, so we decided to revisit southern Pennsylvania. We began at Pen Mar Park, in Maryland, just south of the Mason-Dixon line, and ended at PA-30, where the AT enters Caledonia State Park.

Saturday morning began below freezing, and it would warm up only about 15 degrees during the day. We both started our hike wearing our fleece jackets, wool hats, and gloves. The sky, however, would clear up to a bright blue. The whole weekend would really be quite beautiful. Yet, we would see very few people on the trail.

We started our hike at 9:00 and arrived at Deer Lick Shelters at 11:30. There we had our lunch and rested awhile before continuing. Soon we were at Old Forge, close to where Antietam Shelter used to be, and in another mile we arrived at our camping location, Tumbling Run Shelters. The hike was very easy, mostly flat, and hardest in our first mile, coming out of Pen Mar, where one has to ascend a hill.

After enjoying a cup of coffee, we were greeted by caretakers Curt Finney and his wife, Tawnya. We had a nice discussion with them about the AT in New Hampshire. Once the sun set, the temperature quickly dropped, so after dinner we retired for the night. In the morning, I would find my dromedary half filled with ice.

On Sunday, Maple’s birthday, our hike was somewhat more challenging, as we had several hills covered with boulders to make our way over. During this hike, we met Sean Sullivan, otherwise known as “Just Sean,” a thru-hiker who is attempting a calendar-year Triple Crown—that is, he is attempting to hike not only the AT, but also the PCT and CDT, in 2020.

With PA-30 (and the end of our hike) in view, Maple tripped over a tree stump on the trail and fell face first, breaking her glasses and blackening her right eye. It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise wonderful trip.