The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 15

 

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 15: June 7th, 2026

States Hiked: Maryland (16 total so far)

Trails Hiked: Annapolis Rock via Appalachian Trail

Distance Hiked: 5.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 837 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 108.4 miles

Duration: 1h 51m

Day 14

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

The only reason I stayed at a hotel in West Virginia was proximity to seeing family in Maryland, and as soon as I got the opportunity, I yeeted myself far away from that state where only bad memories and fears remained. I don't know what was going on that weekend, but it was the closest reasonably-priced hotel in my network at a mere 90 minutes away, so I did what I had to. 

On the way to eastern Maryland though, a bridge crossing the 70 labeled Appalachian Trail caught my attention.

Immediately deciding I needed more miles on the AT to prepare for the inevitable thru-hike, my positive energy from Vermonters still brimming with delight, I saw the choices were Annapolis Rock or Washington Monument (would've done both had time permitted). Opting for Annapolis Rock, I broke out my sticks and joyfully approached the AT in a new state for the first time. 

Despite what I write about on here, there are times where I think I'm probably just an average hiker with an abundance of enthusiasm. 

Then, I get on a trail like this on a Sunday when it's swarming with trail tourists, and even when I tried to slow down as to not pass the groups, it was inevitable. I remembered where I was. 

This is not to bitch about people having the right to hike where they want to. Of course they do, and trail tourists are expected, particularly at easy grade rises with splendid views at the top. 

But also, I feel like if you're setting foot on one of the Triple Crown, maybe at least pretend to know trail code and etiquette, maybe? 

"Hey, maybe let's not all walk beside each other and not pay attention to people trying to get around us?" 

"Hey, let's not glare at people for having the nerve to be hiking past us?"

"Hey, let's not toss our trash on the trail?"

None of those ideas should be unreasonable on any trail, let alone the AT. But, I made the mistake of going on a Sunday with beautiful weather, so the joke's really on me for having expectations even remotely divergent from such. This is why I normally try to get on the trail early in the morning, because the tourists often don't get there until noon. I was also spoiled by the folx at Camel's Hump, so it was likely extra annoyance for that reason, which is nobody's fault entirely, but also... Stop being garbage and pick up your garbage, ya tourist fucks. 

Nothing about this hike felt like 837 ft. in elevation gain. The grade was mostly gentle, a lot of it aided by foundational steps, and the terrain was never even slightly terrible. The AT's standards don't allow for it, but I've been disappointed before. 

As for the view, it was a rock, it was apparently named Annapolis, and there were so many people on it that I snuck up for one aerial photograph and immediately departed. 

The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 14

 

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 14: June 6th, 2026

States Hiked: Maryland, West Virginia (16 total so far)

Trails Hiked: Snavely Ford Antietam National Battlefield Trail, Cornfield Trail, IDK around the hotel I guess?

Distance Hiked: 10.4 miles, 1.7 miles

Elevation Gain: 377 ft. elev. gain, 69 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 103 miles

Duration: 3h 38m, 33m

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

I am not used to the southern sun anymore.

Yes, I call Maryland "southern." It's south of the Mason-Dixon line, but it's also incredibly far south compared to Minnesota, and though I grew up in Southern Pennsylvania, I've been in Minnesota for a decade now, and it's so much hotter than I remember.

Though I've spent a lot of time at Gettysburg, I'd never made the trek down to Sharpsburg for the Antietam Battlefield. The 20-dollar admission fee was offset in my mind by the extensive trail network that they not only contained, but encouraged one to use. The lovely folx at the front desk even gave me a printed out guide for the occasion. I guess in my hat and pack, I must've been pretty obvious. 

Sharpsburg itself left a lot to be desired, especially with some of the grotesque signs I saw on front lawns (We encourage dehumanizing these people specifically and somehow we're so proud of that we're gonna print it on a sign because we're the good people!), but I wasn't there for the town. 

It was hot, it was insanely busy, and the longest trail in the park (because that's who I am as a person) went from the battlefield itself to some distant creek trail and underpass that seemingly had very little to do with the park or battlefield itself. I picked up some Adventure Labs along the way, but no AL has ever caused me more of a headache than the Antietam Adventure. 

I appreciate the Lab itself for the amount of detail they put into it, as well as having park rangers record videos with explanations to create an immersive experience. On the other side though, trying to figure out how to use that cipher cost me more brain cells than the time I got a concussion doing the dishes (Total concussions - Hiking 0, Doing the Dishes 1, ergo: Doing the Dishes is more dangerous than Hiking, these are my rules, I make them up). 

The site is beautiful, well-traveled, well-maintained, and goes to great lengths to preserve the battlefield itself. It wouldn't be fair to judge it for not having the same aura and awe-factor as Gettysburg, because even for someone who knows more about the Civil War than they appear to (yes, it's a thing, and a delightful subversion of expectations when someone tries to call me on it), Gettysburg National Military Park cannot be matched. 

All the famous places I wanted to visit, I did. Though the huge group on the stone bridge dissuaded me from spending any time there, I still managed the shot above. But, in 90+ degrees and humidity, when the end of the trail was heading uphill, I opted to take the road back to the visitor center. Verified complete though, so I did enough of the percentage at least. 

Then, I also walked around town in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Checked off the state list, and my goodness, it certainly is a place that exists. 

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 13

 

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 13: June 5th, 2026

States Hiked: Virginia (14 total so far)

Trails Hiked: Third Winchester Battlefield Red Bud Run Trail, Confederate Flank Trail 

Distance Hiked: 4.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 233 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 90.9 miles

Duration: 1h 31m

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

The difficulties of travel nearly led me to taking a zero day for this one. Getting from Mystic to Martinsburg, West Virginia (the location of the only hotel within a reasonable distance of Laurel, Maryland in my network with even a remotely reasonable price) was such an epic disaster of traffic stoppage that I lost count after nine different times (they write as the principal and mother from Ferris Bueller's Day Off repeat "nine times" with varying levels of snark.) 

Weirdly enough, once I actually ate for the first time that day, I had this odd sensation called "energy to human again," and I noticed just how close I was to multiple Civil War battlefields, including Winchester and Antietam. I knew what I'd be doing for two of my state counts! 

Antietam had an admission fee to go along with its surprisingly extended network of hiking trails, and with the hour already entering dusk proximity, I opted to pop down to the Third Winchester Battlefield, as it was the closest. 

Most people who look at me or know me longer than eight seconds are surprised to hear about my interest in the Civil War. It doesn't really make sense to me either, but growing up near Gettysburg gave me an appreciation for studying the time period specifically, but I hadn't gotten much of a chance to see other preserved battlefields for varying reasons. Gettysburg also casts a long shadow in terms of grandeur and commitment to the aforementioned preservation, so I was curious to see what a lesser-known location would be like. 

Third Winchester Battlefield Park felt a lot more rustic and simple than Gettysburg, but that's to be expected on some level. But that's not inherently a bad thing, and in this case, it was combined with a gorgeous sunset over the hills which minimized the godsawful intrusion of ugly industrial buildings along the horizon. 

Although upon first entrance I got a staredown from a couple that implied I'd offended their sensibilities by existing in the same place as they did without asking them first, I slowly settled into a stroll throughout fenceposts and cannons with the unique addition of hiking late in the day as opposed to my norm of the "early to start, early to end" method of avoiding as many trail tourists as possible. 

Once I was alone, following a path with multiple complete ovals that AllTrails somehow managed to make into a single trail (was I supposed to figure-8 it?), I was joined by hundreds of lightning bugs dotting the landscape with yellow beacons I hadn't seen in quite a long time. I forgot how common they were back east, and maybe that Owl City was onto something back in the day.

Thank the gods for headlamps, because I definitely didn't make it back to the trailhead in time, and preserved battlefields are notorious for their lack of artificial light. It almost made the idea of returning to West Virginia slightly less intolerable. 

Emphasis: Almost. 

The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 12

 

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 12: June 4th, 2026

States Hiked: Connecticut, Rhode Island (13 total so far)

Trails Hiked: Stone Bridges Trail, Fort Adams Loop

Distance Hiked: 5.3 miles, 5.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 62 ft. elev. gain, 236 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 86.1 miles

Duration: 1h 46m, 1h 46m

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

Getting around tolls in New England isn't easy when the alternative is driving down 30mph speed limit roads that even time and space forgot in the dustbin, but alas, what is a wander if not finding strange, unusual, and less-traveled places? 

A pain in the ass, but in this case, at least the hotel was close to something that would allow me to check another state off the list before I traveled to the one I was excited about.

Turns out, even walking under a highway bridge was set to be the pain of the ass variety that day, a fitting omen for what was to come. 

After having to cross the street twice to avoid highway ramps and sidewalk construction, I meandered through the "olde village" of Mystic, which looked pretty neat, truthfully. With more time and less urgency, I might've made some stops along the way. It reminded me of Renfaire but with a latter century twist, and there was also a giant-ass aquarium. Had it not been a perfect weather day in early June, I would've partaken, but the ass-draggingly slow drive through the town later made me glad I didn't opt for that. 

Instead, I crossed the street to a hotel where the trailhead supposedly was, and the difficulty I had finding the access point should've been an omen in and of itself. 

Maybe I'm just a nitpicky trail snob, but I enjoy things like being able to see the trail, not having vines and thorns crossing the trail, and knowing where the hell it's actually going, also with a dash of "that's not a trail, that's a field with no path." 

I also didn't see any stone bridges on the Stone Bridges trail. 

The latter half was somewhat better in terms of being able to walk through it without bushwhacking with a katana, but that's not saying much. 

Heading to Newport while once again trying to avoid tolls added an hour to the commute, and that was before there were multiple accidents getting through Providence. Then I tried parking next to what looked like a bike trail, but the limo drivers and bus presence alerted me that it might not be zoned for my type of activity. 

Once upon a time, I lived in Newport for a hot minute, and I thought it'd be cool to return 20 years later and check out what I couldn't appreciate at the time. I now understand why Dad wouldn't drive except to work in Fall River, because I could've walked through town faster than I drove. I eventually found free parking next to the shore, but saw no trail or even a sidewalk. This led to traversing the road to Fort Adams on very narrow roads, and by the time I looped around said fort while unsuccessfully finding a loo, I gave up on eating in town as well as trying to find the statue of my famous ancestor in the square.

This day was made of nope. 

The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 11

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 11: June 3rd, 2026

States Hiked: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts (11 total so far)

Trails Hiked: Two Lights State Park, Methuen Trail

Distance Hiked: 2.2 miles, 4.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 161 ft. elev. gain, 49 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 75 miles

Duration: 48m, 1h 22m

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

In retrospect, doing Vermont and Maine this early in the Wander was a mistake. 

I've probably said that already, but I wrote those other posts, like, days ago. And when someone quotes something I said back at me, I'm always like, "who said that? Where'd you get that from?" By then, I've hiked another seventeen trails already and forgotten where I was.

Other states just gotta suffer in the ratings as a consequence. I'm sure they're devastated that some meandering queer that made a ranking system of the Sparks they stayed in didn't regard their states as highly as others. A wanderloon's gotta dream...

Two Lights State Park, once again reminding me that Maine is wonderful but Minnesota trounces it in the State Parks department (if only I'd made a ranking system of those...), was perfectly adequate for a park equal to the size of a welcome center in one of ours. The ninth and penultimate Maine lighthouse on the tour gave as much room for hiking as it did idling in the parking lot and contemplating the difference between "sand roads" and "subtle vengeance on my ex that referred to my lifestyle as 'homeless lite' but that's not important right now." 

The lighthouse itself was separated from the hiking trail (all mile of it!), and like many New England hikes, I wandered up a narrow road and found out just how committed to "leave no trace" I was when another oversized SUV piloted by a texting driver came around a curve. 

Two Lights ended up being the last lighthouse at which I physically walked, because when I got to the town of the Nubble and saw that the population looked like Gooseberry Falls if July 4th fell on a Saturday and the weather was perfect, I opted to nope the fuck outta there and retain some semblance of my ability to Human. 

Then I dealt with the 495 on my way to Connecticut and realized my inner Sartre would never fully be silenced. 

But hey, there was a GeoArt stop on the 93, and it was only a six-mile divergence, so that's almost like hiking, right? 

After pacing at the rest stop while people sat in their camping chairs in a parking lot but looked at me like I was the weird one, I realized that this wouldn't count for Massachusetts because arbitrary colonial technicalities. The closest town in Massachusetts was Methuen, and there was a four-mile out-and-back rail trail. Perfect.

I swear, everyone on that trail looked at me like I offended their existence by daring to walk there while breathing. I've officially lived in Minnesota too long. It used to be "gods, everyone is so nice out here in Minnesota." Now it's "holy shit, everyone out here's such a dick!" It took a decade, but Minnesota Nice has become my new normal, whereas the angry collective yelling of the East Coast is now the new weird.

I'll turn in my "East Coast Gives No Fucks" card momentarily.

The Great Wander of 2026 - Day 10

 

The Great Wander of 2026

Day 10: June 2nd, 2026

States Hiked: Maine (10 total so far)

Trails Hiked: West Quoddy Coast Guard Loop, Green Point

Distance Hiked: 3.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 292 ft. elev. gain

Cumulative Wander: 68.4 miles

Duration: 1h 16m

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6, Part 2

Day 6, Part 1

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

I had a choice: Spend the day finding a more impressive hike in terms of miles and difficulty to counterbalance the amount of travel versus hiking miles from the previous day, or prepare to commute four-plus hours to the farthest stop on the Adventure Lab to be the annoying completionist you've grown to possibly tolerate at the best of times. 

When was I going to be this close comparatively to unlock this spot again? 

Gods, how often I've pushed myself to be extra and excessive by that simple question...

Also gods: Maine is really, really fucking remote. 

I reached the easternmost point of the United States after nearly five hours of driving, or as my standards would call it: a simple commute on the longer side of "barely counts as a road trip." The closer I got to West Quoddy however, the more "at home" I felt, as everything in the region reminded me so much of the North Shore, Superior National Forest, and the Minnesota northwoods. Moss, evergreens, jagged rock formations...

And once I stepped outside the car, wind that treated me like I'd made an offensive comment about its salinity odor. 

At least the hiking trails were legit. Scratch that: at least West Quoddy had hiking trails, and mercifully they were also legit. I would've done much more, but with how long it took to get there, it was going to be tough to also make it to the other lighthouse (Fort Point) that I needed to unlock before the sun went down, even in summer hours, so I turned back much sooner than I'd have preferred. 

This stripey boi of a lighthouse was quite a sight to behold, up there with Portland Head Light as opposed to some of the others on the Adventure Lab. The arbitrary points of colonialist lines and to where they extend weren't really relevant, but it was at least nice to see the preservation of historical markers nonetheless. 

The hiking trails traversed exceptionally rocky cliffs, extremely reminiscent of the Superior Hiking Trail when it's near lakeside. I spotted a loon down below diving into the waves, and that alone was worth the road trip. 

The fact that I only saw three other people total wandering about the state park? That was a lovely, unexpected side benefit after the crowded populations of some of the previous stops. West Quoddy itself feels like Dr. Sam Beckett made another leap and landed in the early 20th century with only a lighthouse, mercury poisoning, and their only friend: Dorkus Maximus, the jovial talking double crested cormorant. 

Oh boy, indeed. 

I wanted more time to enjoy the hiking trails of the state park, but I turned back halfway down the Green Point trail when considering how many deer I'd likely have to spot in the dark on the way back to South Portland, and if it seemed remote just driving, how would that factor into the duration of rescue from the impact? 

Fort Point was also there.

Epic Hikes of Washington State - Mt. Pleasant

Mount Pleasant

Date Hiked: August 10th, 2025

Trail Hiked: Mount Pleasant, Washington DNR Trail Systems

Distance Hiked: 8.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 1969 ft. 

Duration: 3h 22m

Mt. Sinai being the first mountain I truly ever hiked to the summit may have spoiled me in some ways.

Not that it was an easy haul to the top, it most certainly was not, even for someone in the shape for hiking such things as I was, but it's not readily apparent how much switchbacks and resting points make a difference in such a climb until one doesn't have them available. 

Mt. Sinai was a well-manicured and maintained trail that was easy to follow, meted out the elevation gain, and was clearly designed for hikers to traverse. 

Mt. Pleasant was a small mountain surrounded by the Olympics in their grandeur, it barely had a trail access point unless one specifically knew exactly where to look, and rather than a trail, it was more like a dirt road that happened to be on a mountain somewhere. 

In other words, it was designed for logging trucks to drive on, not so much for hikers to make an ascent, and good gods did it show. 

Up on the Olympic peninsula, it was easy to be intimidated by the rugged nature of the jagged peaks. While still confident from my Sinai hike that I was getting to the point that I could make these treks, I wanted to work myself up and keep trying to steadily improve, so when I saw Mt. Pleasant in the app being a solid 1900 feet rather than some that were in the 4 and 5k gains, I thought a steady climb with a good view at the end would be the kind of hike that might not be as impressive as others nearby, but a good stepping off point for future, more difficult journeys. 

Instead, I got a lesson on switchback efficacy, as ere stated.

Sometimes, solitude on the trail is a blessing for which I'm endlessly grateful, but others, it's an indicator of not doing enough research on my part. This was one of the latter examples, as looking into what others said about it would've given me enough information to reconsider. 

I still did it, but it was not as pleasant as the name would imply. 

The grade was intense, with nothing but my own switchback-ish abatement of the rise to lessen the impact on my knees. Even with much taller peaks surrounding me in several directions, this felt like getting my penance for making terrible decisions at a time in my life where my impulsivity was overriding my common sense and the pained soul in which I inhabited caused me to believe that opting out and trying something else was some indication of a character flaw and personal failure. 

I saw two other people the entire time, and they were on motorbikes. On a beautiful day like this, the lack of other hikers was not a coincidence or stroke of luck. This climbed sucked.

The view at the end was the only part that made this trek worth it. Otherwise, just pick another trail.