7/1/99 The Drive-By Hostel   Miles Today : 13.5 Miles to Katahdin : 1131.6

Today was absolutely the laziest day on the trail in quite some time! Sage, Colorado Kid, Drive-By and I left around 9am from the Dahlgreen and whiffleball park. We got to the first Washington Monument built by the local residents at Boonesboro. We had hiked only a mile or so and the four of us sat on top of the milk-bottle shaped structure taking in the view.

We were joined shortly by Katie and Karla, two girls from the area who had camped at Dahlgreen last night. They were only out for the night and planned on hitching into town at the next road crossing. After a few minutes, DB found out that Karla lives only 25 minutes form his house! She then offered us a ride to Baltimore if we waited at the road crossing! Quickly the thoughts of a 3 day weekend chez Drive-By got us off the monument and back on the trail.

Our second break of the day came only 2 miles later, however, at the footbridge over I-70 DB quickly came up with the idea to streak across the bridge. Yours truly did not participate in this exhibitionism, but DB, Colorado, and Sage stripped down, donned their backpacks and proceeded to get several honks from the passing traffic.

I was the designated picture taker and quickly snapped off 4 photos. We all were to the other side of the bridge and clothed just as Katie and Karla came rolling around the corner.

At this point, DB shared a joke about how to tell hikers apart. A day hiker walks down the trail sees an M+M on the ground and walks over it. A section hiker walks down the trail, sees an M+M on the trail, picks it up, brushes it off and eats it. A thru-hiker walks down the trail, sees an M+M on the ground, eats it and starts digging in the ground for more.

So we move on another whole mile before we hit a shelter, time for another break. The four of us filled up our water and snacked while talking to Sir-Pee-A lot and ____? They had spent the night camping out behind a local bar and were just getting a very late start.

Well, we get moving again and about 1/2 mile up the trail, we see M+Ms scattered all over the trail. True to form, we eat them and start digging. Yes, there were some buried on the trail. Just over a mile later we arrive to Annapolis Rocks, which offers views and is a popular rock climbing spot. There Katie and Karla took credit for planting the M+Ms and were glad to hear that we actually dug in the trail.

Also at Annapolis Rocks, I got talking to a camp leader and apparently last year a woman fell off of the rocks because she clipped into the wrong line. He was in the area and got involved in the rescue. While she had broken almost every bone in her body (it was a fall directly onto a group of rocks) she pulled through.

So now it's the afternoon and we have only gone 5 miles. To make matters worse, Black Rocks, another viewpoint, was only a mile away, so it was time for another break. We tried to make it a quick stop, but just behind the rocks were tons and tons of blackberries. We ended up picking berries for close to an hour. But they were so good and tasty on this hot day we didn't really care.

That turned out to be our last break for the day. We cruised the last six miles in less than two hours. We waited for the girls and managed to hitch a ride for all six of us in one big pick-up truck. Not only that, but he drops us off at the local ice-cream store. SCORE!

Karla got her car, not before we ordered ice cream, of course, and drove us all the way to Towson, MD home of Drive-By. Sage was not able to make the trip unfortunately, but Colorado and I were going to be the guests for the long weekend. We were introduced to Mama Drive-By and Papa Drive-By who were very welcoming and even more understanding of our terrible smell! Karla left and the three of us showered in the vain attempt to get rid of the smell. The night was topped off with giant ribs and a couple of beers.

We also met Drive-Byette (DB sister Megan). All of the DB family was very friendly and extremely gracious hosts. Because of the warm atmosphere, clean beds and cold beers ( Sam Adams, no less) we quickly dubbed this place the Drive-By Hiker hostel!

I actually have more to write by I have rambled enough for today.

-Chomp

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