Jim's NC to PA Hike - Finale

Mon., Mar. 21 -  Jim's voice:   I woke up this morning with a bad head cold - stuffy nose, headache, the works.   I lost several hours of sleep early this morning because of it.  So early on today it looked like the planned 17 mile walk was questionable.  But a good breakfast of banana and blueberry crepes at the local French Twist Cafe helped revive my spirits.  By 8:30 I was feeling much better and decided to give it a go, over some objections from Jane.  By 9:30 we parted and I began today's hike on a dangerously narrow road barely wide enough for two cars, much less a hiker!  The car thermometer had read 37⁰ and the strong wind made it feel below freezing.  But I was bundled up and managed to stay comfortable.  For most of today I traveled along a large number of rural roads.  I observed in some of the wetter spots another sign of spring: skunk cabbage is poking up through the ground and now about 6 inches tall.  I was walking through some quite tony suburbs of Baltimore known as the Hunt Valley area.  We're only about 10 miles from downtown Baltimore, so this is an easy commute for those working in the city.  Some of the homes were magnificent and the cars passing me were far above my budget range, including several Teslas.  As I was approaching the 13 mile point I hear this car horn tooting that I recognized - Jane was passing me and letting me know that she was nearby, heading to our next hotel.  Several miles later I was on a busy highway, crossed by railroad tracks.  Baltimore Light Rail actually provides commuter service from here to center city - who knew?  I was getting excited at his point, for I knew I was about to finish today's hike and get on the rail trail that I will follow for 40 miles into PA.  I found the trail terminus and walked it for less than a mile to the parking lot where Jane was waiting for me. 

Miles Today - 16.5.....  Total Cumulative Miles - 364

Tues., Mar. 22 -  Jane's voice:  Today begins the final segment of Jim's 400 mile hike - a two day off-road stroll on a converted rail trail.  He has been looking forward to this all hike, having put up with a lot of unpleasant traffic for the last three weeks.  As we hit the trail head this morning it was 31⁰, but predicted to rise into the upper 50's as the day went on.  I was so impressed when I saw the trail yesterday that I decided to join Jim for the first half hour of his hike, yes, even at 31⁰.   So I was able to get in 3 miles this morning, 1.5 with Jim and then back to the car for me.  This trail is called the Torrey Brown Rail Trail.  Torrey Brown was a politician who served in the MD House of Delegates and was the Secretary of the MD Dept. of Natural Resources.

The Torrey Brown Rail Trail is the official name of the Northern Central Railroad Trail.  After 20 miles in MD, the trail name changes at the PA state line to York County Heritage Rail Trail for another 20 miles.  The Northern Central Railroad constructed this line in the early nineteenth century.  It ran north from Baltimore to York and Harrisburg, PA.   Before being made obsolete by highways and the automobile it was the life line for the many communities along its length, bringing manufactured goods to these towns and transporting their products to the cities.  Jim enjoyed the many historical markers along his route today that explained this history.  The trail is well used with many people biking, hiking, jogging and walking their dogs.  He even saw a classroom of grade school kids with their teachers.  And most spectacularly he saw a team of miniature huskies pulling a wheeled cart with a driver and rider.  There must be a story here but he didn't get it.  There were lots of benches and picnic tables along the way for the convenience of the users.  And there were porta-potties every 3 or 4 miles.  And Jim loved the mile markers which helped him understand that his pace today was slower than usual - not quite 20 minutes per mile.  He said he felt somewhat lethargic all day despite cool temperatures and a helpful tail wind much of the time.  Perhaps as he is nearing the 400 mile mark his body needs a rest.  Or perhaps it is the result of the pretty bad head cold that he is battling.  The trail crossed many roads today and at each one there was a sign indicating the name of the road and distances to the next road crossings - how civilized!  The trail ran close to the Little Gunpowder Falls River most of the day with many bridges taking him over the stream. The sound of the water running over the rocks reminded him of the similar streams we have in NH. 

We had arranged for a 3pm pickup at one of the trail-side parking lots.  Since it was such a beautiful day I decided to get there early and walk the trail to meet Jim.  By my figuring I should probably see him coming toward me at around the ten minute mark of my walk.  Ten minutes, no Jim - fifteen minutes, no Jim - twenty minutes - no Jim.  Since Jim is usually pretty accurate on his pickup time estimates, I got a funny feeling that I was walking in the wrong direction - heading north toward the PA line instead of south toward Hiker Jim.  So I turned around and when the next hiker walked toward me, I said I had a silly question and sure enough he confirmed that is what I did.  I couldn't reach Jim by phone but a few minutes after turning around, I did get a text saying that he was at the car and where was I?  I texted back that I was 10 minutes away.   So the good news is that I walked another two miles this afternoon for a total of five miles for me!  So my great plan to meet Jim on the trail was an abject failure - oh well....  When we first planned this hike we had arranged to spend two nights with Princeton classmate Peter and his wife Susan who live near here.  Unfortunately just before we left NH they emailed us that their house had been hit by that freak tornado that hit parts of MD in February.  A huge tree landed on their roof over the guest room that we would have stayed in.  There is a big hole in the roof at the moment.  We were very happy to still be able to spend a couple of hours with them over a great dinner tonight.  Sadly I forgot to get a picture of the classmates.

Miles Today - 18.....  Total Cumulative Miles - 382 

Wed., Mar. 23 -  Jim's voice:    Oh glorious day - the last one of this hike!  We drove to the trail-head parking lot where Jane met me yesterday.  From there I had less than 1.5 miles to reach the PA state line.  The Maryland rail trail ended there but continued on for the next 20 plus miles as the York County Heritage Rail Trail.  Unlike the case in MD where all the railroad tracks and ties had been removed, here in PA one set of tracks remained and the trail ran alongside them.  Early on this morning the trail took me through a series of small towns and I was never far from buildings and road crossings.  Later the trail wound through beautiful open farmland and followed (as it did in MD) a scenic waterway, which it crossed many times on bridges.  There were quite a few historic and informational signs along the trail, including one that pointed out the three distinct types of bridges I was walking on - arch, girder and truss.  In one of the towns there were the old railroad cars from the Northern Central Railroad that used to run through here.  In the town of Seven Valleys a marker told me that this was where ice cream was first made commercially and then shipped by rail to Baltimore.  I confirmed with Jane by phone (although reception was very spotty) that we would meet up at the parking lot near my 18 mile marker.  As the afternoon wore on temperatures rose into the low 70's - warm but not uncomfortably so.  As I neared the parking lot there on the trail ahead of me was Jane walking to meet me and take a couple of pictures of the hike completion.  One of these pictures displays the joy I felt at having successfully completed this 400 mile journey. 
Miles Today - 18.....  Final Total Cumulative Miles - 400

Pictures:

1 - Inn at Norwood B&B - Sykesville, MD

2 - Another Beautiful Sykesville Victorian

3 - Gilmor's Raid Sign - Capturing Cockeysville, MD in 1864

4 - Torrey Brown Rail Trail - 20 miles crossing into PA

5 - York Surrenders to Save the City

6 - Articles of Confederation in York County

7 - End of Hike Jubilation

8 - Heritage Rail Trail in York, PA