5/19 Raven Rock Shelter

5/19 Raven Rock Hollow

5/19 Field Hiking

Hiking outside Ensign Cowall Shelter before Raven Rock Hollow. The only soft ground we got between the two areas.

5/19 Washington Monument

5/19 Day 63

Today we had beautiful weather, sunny with temps in the 60s. We hiked past several monuments and points of interest during our 25.6 mile day. We hiked past the Reno Monument that marks the spot where Union Maj. Gen. Jesse Lee Reno and Confederate Gen. Samuel Garland were mortally wounded in the Battle of South Mountain, antecedent to Antietam. We hiked past the Washington Monument, the first monument dedicated to George Washington in 1827. Between these two monuments and hiking by Annapolis Rock, we saw the most day hikers on the trail that we’ve seen thus far, well over 150. We also hit one of the rockiest sections of the trail so far. We hiked four miles over huge rocks before Ensign Cowall shelter and again for another mile up to Raven Rock Hollow. The rocks made hiking much slower and more tedious. We stayed the night at a brand new, two-story shelter that slept 16. There were only two other hikers that shared Raven Rock shelter with us.

5/18 Crampton Gap

Maryland had great tent pads and established camping areas with fire rings as you were only allowed to camp near shelters or in designated campgrounds.

5/18 Maryland Border

After crossing a footbridge over the Potomac, we would cross into Maryland for the first time!

5/18 Potomac River

5/18 Class of 2012

Our official photo for the ‘Class of 2012’ AT Thru Hiker book.

5/18 ATC

Appalachian Trail Conservancy