After a cold rainy weekend in April, 1996, the sun finally came out on Tuesday, a day we had off from work together. We decided to drive out to the Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, MD, for some hiking. The Orioles Opening Day had been postponed from Monday, so Broken Claw took his radio along to listen to the game.
For our first week of vacation, we had some vague plans for an outdoor adventure, but nothing definite. On Sunday evening, Trailwalker packed the car with everything we might need for camping, hiking, packbacking, swimming, and generally having fun. We finally decided to head north toward the Poconos, with our first destination of Hickory Run State Park.
On a beautiful fall Tuesday, we jumped in the car and headed to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, the town played a major role in the history of the canal and railroad industries of the 19th century. During the Civil War years, the arsenal and the railroad bridges at Harpers Ferry were extremely important strategic centers. Today the historic town is maintained by the National Park Service. We drove into town and parked the car near the train station.
Trailwalker found a listing in one of her brochures for a place called Cowans Gap State Park near Mercersburg, PA. She called for information and confirmed that the park had camping, boating, a beach for swimming, and hiking. We were determined to get an early start on Saturday, so we were on the road by 7:00 AM. The weather forecast was for sunny, hot weather all weekend.