START TIME: 5:05 AM 
END TIME: 9:35 PM
This was the third monster day in a row for Little Jen. She had been hoping to take advantage of these relatively flat miles in the Mid-Atlantic States and so far she’s done exactly that. She left Sandy Sod Junction around 5 AM. I met her at US 30 near Caledonia State Park a little after 6 with a big cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito. The coffee and some sort of breakfast protein have become a routine the past week. Those and the protein shakes seem to help her get going in the early morning hours.
Rambler and Dutch met me at US 30 and Rambler hiked the next 4.7 miles with Jen. Steve got a cheap hotel just west of the state park and met up with us at PA 233 where he covered the next 10.6 miles with her. We met them a couple of times on some back roads before they came out on PA 16. Jen hiked the next 2.8 with Dutch and reached Pen-Mar Park on the Pennsylvania-Maryland border around noon.
Jen’s Aunt Vee and Uncle Dudley had driven over from Leesburg, Virginia, for a special visit. Aunt Vee went running down the trail to give Jen a big hug when she saw her. They brought lots of treats for Jen and the Pit Crew: guacamole, tortilla chips, smoothies, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and brownies. Jen was really encouraged by the visit. We had a perfect lunch looking out over the valley toward Hagerstown.
From Pen-Mar Park, Jen and Jim hiked 5.7 miles to Raven Rock Hollow, and Jen and Dutch hiked to MD 17. Steve drove home to New York from there after spending the better part of a week with us.
At MD 17, Jim joined her again for an 8.6-mile stretch to the I-70 footbridge, where I got to hike the last 3/10 of a mile with her. She reached the Dahlgren Backpack Campground around 7 PM. I think Dahlgren is the only campground on the trail that has a free HOT shower. Jen had been looking forward to it for days.
After the shower, she and Dutch night-hiked the final 7.4-mile stretch to Gathland State Park.
For the record, Jen has hiked 158.7 miles in the past three days. That’s over two marathons a day . . . for three days straight . . . on 6 hours of sleep a night. As Vizzini would say in The Princess Bride, “Inconceivable!” (Did I just quote The Princess Bride? You’re darn right I did.)
SUPER POWERS: At one of the road crossings today, Jen was explaining to the guys that she hikes best when she’s had at least 7 hours of sleep or when she has a shower to look forward to at the end of the day (like today). She decided she’d start referring to these secret weapons as “7-hour power” and “shower power.”