Day 6. Journey to Salem! Hanover, PA to Westminster, MD. Almost 21 miles. 55,000 steps. Today was tough. Just no way around it. 81 degrees. VERY hilly. No shade in sight. VERY narrow road shoulders for walking. Heavy traffic. We are all exhausted this evening. But, relative to our predecessors’ challenges, small inconveniences! We said goodbye to Dail Ritchie today, our guide through PA. We will miss her terribly and thank her beyond words. The day started with 4 through walkers and ended with 5!! Marcia Wood Shawler A‘75 has been with us since day one and made the decision today to continue the whole journey with us!! We are thrilled! Kendra and Ann (see yesterday’s post)drove by to check on us and briefly visit. They made our day!! Thank you!! AND, we completed our PA journey today and headed into Maryland!! One down, 3 to go!! We met the man who lives on the actual state line – a gorgeous farm. He brought out flags for both states and allowed us to take a photo on the state line. What a memorable experience!! We passed the UTZ potato chip headquarters, the “headless horseman,” lots of Halloween decorations, cows, beautiful barns, and gorgeous scenery. We took several needed breaks this afternoon, with our leadership team in the van monitoring us closely and providing everything we needed for a successful day – food, lots of water, and TLC!! We arrived at the hotel ahead of schedule due to walking faster than usual and shortened breaks! We were all ready for AC and a shower!! For dinner – some in room, some Asian (see photo!) some Italian, and some probably just went straight to bed! Thanks to all for another incredible day!! And, thanks to you readers for following our journey!!
– Lucy Rose C’76
Day 6: Welcome to Maryland! Today we walked from Hanover, PA to Westminster, Maryland. We started out the day strong and well rested. We tearfully said goodbye to Dail Richie @salemcollege Class of ‘72 who is a PA resident and our daily guide this entire journey so far. Along the first mile, Marcia, @salemacademy Class of ‘75, announced that she *is* staying with us Fab Four thru-walkers all the way to Winston-Salem! Woohoo! We are now the Fab Five thru walkers. We’ve been benefiting from her extensive hiking experience since day one and so glad she decided she just *had* to keep leading our pack each day. Within a mile of the Maryland border I found a #bluecrabclaw on the side of the road. The Old Bay State was so close I could almost taste it! We reached the Maryland border by noon and the farmer whose property is split between Pennsylvania and Maryland invited us to take our picture on his border flag display. We cheerfully accepted! Our joy soon melted as the hills kicked in, heat turned up to 80, traffic sped up and all tree shade disappeared. I myself struggled with a heat fever and sat out 3 miles of our 20 mile course. I even napped in the wagon (van) for 30 minutes! I did finish the day strong and returned to the course for the last two miles. Overall it was 17 miles for my feet today.
– Frances Cronlund C’98
