We had a few cooler days awhile back here in Western Maryland, so I took advantage of those 75 degrees and tackled Bartman Hill Trail.
Bartman Hill tops out at just a shade over 1400 feet. It’s the 147th highest peak in MD, which sounds a little impressive until you realize that it’s the 147th highest peak in MD. Once the giggling stops, you realize that you just climbed to an elevation that’s akin to the square footage of a nice banquet hall.
Still, I was huffing when I reached the top. The Bartman Hill Trail, itself is only about one-sixth of a mile long, but it feels pretty much straight up, at least for someone like myself who’s spent the last ten years playing Hello Kitty Trouble and pretending to enjoy Minecraft. It’s classified as a challenging trail, which mostly means there are rocks.
Rocks EVERYWHERE. 
And I recklessly flaunted the rules of responsible scouting by bringing along only one pair of socks and leaving the compass in the dash of the car.
I’m not sure what got into me.
A seasoned hiker would find it funny, I’m sure, that Bartman Hill got the best of me, but that’s pretty much what happened. By the time I reached the top of the hill where the trail intercepted the AT, I was useless. I found a log, sat down, and tried to restart my heart.
The sky was amazing. The woods were quiet. There was no hum of an air conditioner or the ping of a pushed post. There was just me and my erratic breathing and my screaming knees.
It was lovely.
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