It was mid-afternoon Friday when we got done at the Ed Garvey shelter so we had plenty of time to put some miles behind us before it got dark. We had climbed to about 1100 ft and now leveled off so the next 3 miles clipped by until hitting the slight decline 200 feet to Gathland State Park. You first notice it by the stone walls, arch and buildings making up the South end.

We had been on the trail for a few hours, we welcomed the break, fresh water, vending machines and restrooms. Cross the road and a hugestone arch for the war correspondents was built.

if you have a historic bug in you here's links to more detailed pics of the arch and park

It was getting late by the time we peaked Lamb's Knoll. We now had to decide if we would throw the tent up here or hike for another 2 miles to reach a shelter. After seeing the previous "Ed Garvey" shelter we figured they would all be that nice so we decided to roll on and head for the Rocky Run Shelter. The trail shelter's are soo well marked that even as light was fading one could easily find the way:

As we got there the "inn was full" a group of 6 or so had taken the brand new shelter and porch. There were plenty of spots to throw a tent up. But before picking a spot we headed for the spring to clean up and get some water before crashing out. It was a good choice as just passed the creek there was a swinging bench

Just beyond that was the "closed for repairs" original Rocky Run Shelter.

These shelters we constructed around the time of the second world war by CCC groups. Some of you may have more knowledge on these CCC projects. The only other I know is a Stone cabin built around the same time in Central PA. which stood as a home for the fire tower. Although the shelter was "closed" we decided to camp near it as the weather was calling for possible thunderstorms It looked like a good place in case we needed the overhang of the porch to avoid a down pour. All for nothing as it was a rainless night with not even dew in the morning. The fire pit was in good shape as we used it cook a can of spam and a can of chili which was a good thing since it lightened the load for the rest of the trip:

and the Spring was only a deer's leap away.

We didn't even setup the tent and crashed out... Low temp was about 54 that night just enough to appreciate the sleeping bag. Although I would learn in the morning that a pad to sleep on would have been well worth the weight and bulk...

I was happy to see the sign for the next shelter "Pine Knob" to rest my knee

Then a short 200 yards and there was "Pine Knob"

Even though we had stayed mostly dry in the pavilion at the Washington Monument the boots were a little wet and and the damp air felt a lot better once we got a fire goin in the wheel, fire ring. Funny how a fire brings people together. In this case it made sense as two others had decided to rest at the same shelter and they had been caught out in the full downpour without a pavilion to hide in. They were glad to see us shaving sticks to get to the dry centers and had a fire stick (which is a miniature "fire logs" you can buy a starter log for the fire place. This catches and burns well enough to get the wood goin.
Wasn't long before people came out of the shelter and tents and started stringin "clothes lines" pretty soon everyone's stuff was pretty dry.
Everyone shared their stories of why they were on the trail. One had just received his commission from the Naval Academy and wanted to spend 5 days on the trail relaxing from the stress of soo much study. The other was a thru hiker so we got stories of trip last year from GA to Maine. He plans this time to catch a friend who is 10 days ahead of him. No easy feat as a 10 day head start is huge but weather or aching muscles may give him time to catch up.
I headed over to check the spring. I figured the amount of rain we had the spring would be good, and it was...

It doesn't look like much flow but it was good and clean. I dropped in a single water treatment tablet and was good for the night and prepared for the walk in the morning. We laughed at each others stories of the trail and what we were planning after we got done and headed back to civilization. Last things drying on the fire was a pair of shoes and socks as night rolled in:

With the sun down, dry clothes and sore muscles we piled into the shelter while the thru hiker (happy with his smoky dried clothes) headed for his tent. I made mention of the shoes left out my the almost dead fire and asked how pissed would they be if it poured again overnight???? Everyone laughed and shrugged it off. It wasn't so funny an hour later when two loud cracks of thunder had guys out of their sleeping bags grabbin shoes and tucking them under the shelter overhang. a few seconds after that the thru hiker came over and threw his entire tent (along with everything else) inside the shelter hoping to keep everything dry for an early start in the AM. We all laughed at his wild scramble in the shelter. It never did rain that night... Just the thunder... which made his mad scurry into the shelter even funnier. I can see why people bring a tent and choose to camp rather than the shelters since the snoring and sounds of crackling bags and snacking in the middle of the night cuts into one's sleep cycle. I wondered how long it would take to get into the rhythm of hiking, spring water, sleeping, eating in the wild. I can say it isn't 3 days and 2 nights for me.

Another weekend of insanity is in the works to walk the rest of the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail. Plan on learning from the past trip and carry a lot less and taking it at the same pace but a bit shorter daily length. Reading the maps are a bit easier with a bit of experience. Which really helps on getting a feeling for the effort that comes with a given elevation change (up or down) I read a few trail logs and learned quite a bit. Probably the best tip (both easy and simple) is to order food to the trail! Seems people have the local pizza and sub shop numbers then they lay out the time and place where they will intersect a main road and call it in. Suppose you are at the mercy of cell phone coverage (and battery life) but one could also walk to a local phone. Seems a lot of people are very nice and helpful so long as you're nice "with hat in hand" when asking... Kinda nice to call in big ole PIZZA after a few days on the trail. Hoping that the weather, (both water and temp) will play along.... Also need to walk some hills with the pack a little every night to see how the knee will work and to build the muscles. Amazing how different tasks use completely different muscles. And need to hydrate much better this time even if I'm not thirsty.
A few friends have contacted and are making plans for coming up the nights just for the camping portion along with my pup. This should be very helpful in the amount to carry and the fun of telling the days stories around the campfires.