This past weekend, I went with a couple of friends to Gathland State Park to hike part of the Appalachian Trail. My friend had a friend who’s hiking the whole entire trail from Georgia to Maine, and he knew his friend would be doing part of the Maryland section, so they arranged to meet up.
It was really cool hearing about his adventures–he’s been on the trail for almost three months and plans to be done by August, when he’ll start law school. It was inspiring to hear his stories. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a serious hike as I’m not very good with carrying weight, but it’s definitely something I’d consider if I had a few months free and the money to buy supplies.
We only hiked with him for four or five miles, so with the remainder of the afternoon we took the opportunity to go to the Washington Monument in Middletown, MD, which had an absolutely gorgeous view from the top. We also checked out one of the sites of the Civil War at Antietam and learned about some of the history there, which was also intriguing.
I knew it’d be my last big outing with my friend, who is a senior. He was actually my peer mentor freshman year and we’ve stayed close, and he’s been someone I can always talk with. I’m sad to leave, but glad that we got one last chance to hike!
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