Fayetteville, PA (USA)

Being so near the trail this morning, I got a really early start - enough to see the remnants of the sunrise during my drive up South Mountain on a gravel road. My first few hours took me (and my bad knee) down a big hill to Caledonia State Park (where I left off yesterday). When I turned around, my knee felt much better - good thing, since the climb required it... When I reached the car again, I repositioned about three miles north and biked back to where I started. Hike...d all the way to Birch Run Shelter (and back) for a total of 16 miles. Felt really good - even with some challenging hill work. Just like yesterday, I rarely stopped and averaged 3 miles an hour - great stamina after this year of hiking! Saw lots of Boy Scouts today - not a surprise with the great weather (temps at 7:30 same as high all day yesterday...). [Ol' Reliable was almost stolen!] Finished at around 2:30, so took advantage of the remaining sunlight to ride 6 miles (and back) of the Western Maryland Rail Trail. Biked a total of 15 miles today. Saw the sun set over the Potomac before heading home. Bring on Turkey Day! Total AT today = 9.4 miles / G.T. = 257.03 (!!!!!)