Maryland

"Deep down inside I'm really a nice girl. But, certainly, I can be a bitch. I'm a perfectionist, and I'm under lots of pressure. Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done."

Journal Entry 5.24.00
"6:30pm at Dahlgren Campground. 17.5 miles out of Harper's Ferry today. I had lunch at a state park with a soda machine - woo hoo! Better yet, there are HOT showers here - for free! What a treat. I'm camping here; hoping for no rain tonight. There are other hikers here but none of them are thru-hikers."

Journal Entry 5.25.00
"In my tent just above Devil's Racecourse Shelter. 18.1 miles today. Allergies bad, bad, bad. All morning - itchy, swollen, sneezy mess. Got a little better in the afternoon but I'm still stuffed up. There's no escape from the pollen out here. Only section hikers here again - no thru-hikers to be found. Tomorrow I'm on to hit the Penn-Mar state line. Hoping to do 20+ miles tomorrow..."

Journal Entry 5.27.00
"Never did the 20+. I spent all day yesterday at the Penn Mar Park with Munch, Manhattan, Green Jeans, Booger, and No Whey. What a blast! We ordered pizza to be delivered and somehow we got the pizza man to deliver a 12-pack with our food. When the 12-pack was gone someone hitched into town for more beer and we wound up drinking all day in the park and taking turns hitching to get more and more beer. I got picked up by a school teacher (who had never picked up a hitch-hiker before in her life) and she was kind enough to drive me to the beer store and the convenience store to get ice cream, and then she even drove me back to the park. Finally around 6pm the little old park security man approached us and said "Y'all done drank enough beer now." So we hiked for about 1/2 mile and then camped. During the day I was renamed. My trail name "Gimpy" just didn't fit my style anymore. I wasn't limping and was easily hiking strong and doing bigger miles and I wanted a name that represented the pain I had overcome and the strength I felt I had found. So we decided together to change my name to "Wondergimp." I am here today at Quarry Gap Shelter with Makeshift. I did 20 miles and got here by 4pm, even in the rain. It's VERY chilly here. Dad is meeting me tomorrow at Pine Grove Furnace State Park to celebrate the half-way point. 1080 miles to Maine!"

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