We had our first gear blowout today. This hike will wear out some shoes!

Day 6
3/12/2006
Started: Intersection of MD 450 and MD 197 Bowie, MD
Finished: National Agricultural Visitors Center outside of Greenbelt, MD
Todays ADT Miles: 11.2
Total ADT Miles: 129.8

When the Watch alarm went off this morning it felt like we had just closed our eyes the night before, but morning was here. The night went by so quickly for a couple of reasons. One, our bodies were tired and we needed the sleep. Two, we were in John and Janet's guest room and the bed was comfy. When we woke up Janet was already awake and when we came downstairs eggs and toast were waiting. After breakfast Janet took us back to the intersection of MD 450 and MD 197 where we were picked up yesterday. We put our shoes on and headed west (well south actually, but only until the next turn). About a half a mile into our hike Randy began to feel a new hot spot on his right heel. He didn't think much of it so after a few pulls on his sock we continued on. By the time we reached the Market, another half mile or so down MD 197, his discomfort required further investigation. When he took off his shoe the problem was immediately evident. The material in the heel of his shoe had split wide open and exposed the rough stitching and stiff reinforcement of the heel support. The stiff material had been clawing into Randy's heel right where the bone and achillies tendon meet. Using the duct tape and ace bandage from our medical kit, Randy patched his shoe and wrapped up his heel and we continued on. Our route from there put us on the WB&A Trail for a short while and then led us through the neighborhoods on the way to Old Bowie. We shared a laugh as we rolled by the Rolling Hills Estates, John and Janet's neighborhood, where we had stayed the night before. If we had paid closer attention to our maps we could have come this far yesterday and we wouldn't have had to make Janet come pick us up. After passing through Old Bowie we walked by a number of large houses with well dressed folks all in their Sunday best, getting ready for church. The neighborhoods slowly yielded to the wide open spaces bordering the Goddard Facilities of NASA. At this point Sheri was questioning Randy's honesty concerning his heel pain. The slight limp might have given him away. He said he was ok, but it was later revealed that during this stretch every step felt like he was being hit with a hammer directly on the heel. After passing under 295(Baltimore/Washington Parkway) we came upon the National Agricultural Visitors Center. At this point we were 11.2 miles in and we decided to sit and rest in front of the cool looking log cabin that had been built in the 1930s. We had previously decided that when it came Sheri's body, Sheri would decide when to say when and when it came to Randy's body, Randy would decide. Randy was overruled. Sheri reminded Randy that this was a long journey and stopping before injury would be the best thing in the long run. She was right (Naturally!). We put a call in to our home base in Virginia Beach and Pops immediately got the ball rolling. He put a call in to John and Janet who instantly headed our way and he went on the internet and found an REI Outfitters that was nearby. A few minutes later Janet easily found us and we not so easily found the REI, but we still found it. While there Sheri and Randy both took advantage of the opportunity to get some new shoes. This trail will wear out some shoes. We decided that 130 miles in 6 days was plenty, so we went back to John and Janet's where Janet prepared a fabulous pasta dinner. It was nice to be around a TV to see Duke win the ACC basketball tournament (Sorry tar Fans). Thanks Pops for the great trail support today, we couldn't do this without you. All that John and Janet have offered us has been incredible. We are so glad that they have been part of our journey. We hope to make it across DC to Georgetown tomorrow, so we're off to our nation's capital...

Your Friends on the ADT,
Sheri and Randy

P.S.- Carolina will win the NCAA Championship!!!!
P.S.S- Go Blue Devils!!!!