Crossing the line

I walked into Maryland today, crossing a train track and the Mason-Dixon Line.

There is a largish wood sign just north of the border that marks the location of the old trolley station, the city post office, and John's Store. The store, the sign said, sold ice cream, and also hot and cold sandwiches. This was in the 1900's ... disappointing, I could really have gone for an ice cream cone. Or three.

After a stiff climb back up to the Appalachian ridgeline, I climbed back down a few hundred feet of the "Devil's Racecourse", filtered four liters of water from a spring, and then climbed back up ten ponds heavier. Commiserating with the father of an unappreciative son doing the same, I suggested we should write a letter to the Management.

His son surfaced from his phone and said "You should just put in a motorized zipline - use solar panels to power it."

Okay, it's a solution, and it's more practical than mine. Advantage, youth.

I pushed on another seven miles carrying the water in my pack to camp at Ensign Cowall Shelter. Got lost along the way, and wound up bushwhacking up a boulder flow for two hours to regain the trail. GPS, very useful.

Very tired.