Sunday, May 15, 2011

Building Block of A Nation


May 13: We finally escaped Hancock's gravity this morning, leaving the town's environs about 8:30. The weather was dull, gray, and rainy. The mosquitoes circled us in hordes like beggars in a bread line waiting for their Deet sandwich. Those that made it through my chemical Maginot Line met their end with a swat of my hand. I won't say I killed seven with one blow for that got Mickey in no end of trouble, or so the story goes.
The monotony of our hike was broken when we came upon an interesting geological formation. The "Devil's Eyebrow" (which looks more like the devil's eye socket in my opinion) was created when during the canal's construction in the 1830s the builders discovered and extracted limestone from the rock, leaving an empty cavity eerily reminiscent of an eyebrow (socket).
Limestone is used to make lime, an ingredient in cement. The mineral's abundance led to the erection of the Rock Top Cement factory adjacent to the Eyebrow. Most notably, Rock Top's product was used in the building of the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.
The rain tapered off in the early afternoon, but John insisted he was in no shape to make the additional seven miles to Little Orleans, so we stopped at Capacon Junction to camp for the evening. Capacon has all the amenities that should lead to a sleepless night: a railroad and highway across the river in addition to the nearby fire station, which utilizes an old air raid siren from WW II every time they are summoned to get Muffy's cat out of a tree.
We put 9.7 miles behind us today and I am only 35 miles from finishing Maryland.

9 miles/241 total miles

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoying your posts!

Love, Dad

R. Mera Velásquez said...

There's a devil's face on the highway from Guayaquil to Quito. Haven't seen it for a couple of decades, though.

Glad you're making progress! Enjoy WVA!

Beth Murphy at CofC said...

Enjoying your blog! It makes me smile!

Alastair McCandless said...

Thanks to all of you for your comments, you make me smile as well after a long day on the trail. I wish I could respond more but my computer time at the libraries is limited. Please keep em coming. Thanks, Alastair!