Darlington Shelter

17-May-2000 Darlington Shelter (4.3 miles from Scott Farm)

14.3 miles hiked today. I forgot how hard this is (that last hill is a doozy, as the saying goes). Still, a good day out here is like nothing else.

I'm pleased that I made 14 miles my first day out. While I didn't really have a choice (the whole Cumberland Valley is a no-camp zone), I'd have preferred not to start out with this many miles. The pack is doing really well. The lack of a hipbelt is no big deal. I did feel the need to improvise a sternum strap, and it did help, but it is also a bit restrictive. Part of the benefit of no hip belt or sternum strap is the ability to move the pack around freely to access pockets, sling it over one shoulder, whatever.

I crossed the north terminus of the Tuscarora (Big Blue) Trail right before the shelter. It's my understanding that the Big Blue used to be the AT path for many miles through Northern VA, MD and part of PA. Another part of the trail is in one of my favorite George Washington National Forest areas, Big Schloss.