Greenbrier State Park is about 15 min from home; it has a pretty lake loop with a “beach”, intermediate to advanced MTB trails, and a connector trail to the Appalachian Trail. During the winter of 2020, my job at the time did a steps contest that I was bent on winning. My closest competition was a coworker with 2 young malinois that she *worked.* I spent every day off hiking regardless of weather. This is when I got to intimately know the Watershed, Gambrill, and Catoctin Mountain Park, as well as various portions of the AT.

Greenbrier was the choice for shorter trails. During the chaos that was 2020, I found immense peace walking along the path bordering that lake.

I ultimately won the contest by a landslide, after a month of clocking 17,000-35,000 steps/day.

Today I wanted a 7+ mile trail with climbing. This trail, Washington Monument via Bartman Hill Trail to Appalachian Trail, fit the bill perfectly, plus it connected to a portion of the AT we had not seen before.

One thing I loved about winter hiking in 2020 was the people you encounter. It’s a special breed of people that will still go out to hike technical trails like this when the world is cold and brown…these people are magical. They have a unique peace about them. It’s…a whole other vibe.

Bartman Hill Trail included a 22% grade that was easier to crawl than walk, it was so steep, and was much more fun going UP than down!

The turnaround point for this loop is at the Washington Monument, a tower overlooking all of Middletown, Frederick, Hagerstown and Harpers Ferry. In typical me fashion, I was pretty much hopping from step to step (see photo of stone steps) at full speed up the last leg of the trail towards the tower, right past an older gentleman who was working his way up methodically with walking sticks and a big hiking backpack.

"That one has a lot of energy, huh?" he said to my partner, who was a ways behind me.
"You have no idea," he responded.
"Good luck keeping up!" the older hiker replied.

They got to talking as they made the rest of their way up to the tower. By that point I had already taken photos of the view. It was TRULY breathtaking. I was included in the conversation when they caught up to me.

This guy had a STORY. He was 70, and had hiked 2100 miles of the AT last year. Up until 4 years ago, he had led a pretty sedentary lifestyle until he was diagnosed with blood clots in his legs and lungs. He almost died. He decided to turn his life around. He started walking. Walking led to hiking, and hiking led to HIKING, with capital letters. His cardiologist is in ongoing disbelief of what he has done with his body. A true living testimonial to what movement does for us as we age, and the fact that it's never too late to start.

This guy is like the top 1% of the 1%.

The three of us were standing there admiring the view while we talked about our favorite local trails (he loves Harpers Ferry, especially), when he said, "Would you like to go to the top of this tower?"

"We'd love to, but it's closed," my partner said.

"I have keys..." the gentleman said with a smile.

My partner and I lit up like little kids on Christmas morning. Like holy shit what are the odds of something like that happening? We happen to just meet this random individual in the forest, who has this incredible story of perseverance and survival, who ALSO happens to have the keys to the tower that overlooks his entire kingdom. It's...magic. Like, what else can you possibly call it?? This is the kind of thing I'm talking about when I say that magic is alive and well among us. You just have to be paying attention in order to see it.

The view from the top of that tower was even more breathtaking than what I'd taken photos of from its base. It was a full 360 degree view of the valley and mountains surrounding us. (Photo shown here) It was such a special gift. It instantly reminded me of one of my favorite songs from the BeeGees '97 Still Waters album, "I Surrender": (Do look it up; it's NOT disco at all!)

"From the highest tower
I will call you home
It's the same old story
Love will find its own
And I surrender, take me for all time
Love that lasts forever, I surrender
We are elite, prisoners of the night
We fight to the finish and savour the delights
It's your body that got me beat, as I'm crumbling at your feet
I surrender, I surrender
I will walk through fire, keep you safe and sound
In the final hour, turn my life around
I surrender, take me for all time
Love as warm as wine, and I surrender
Take me for all time, love that lasts forever
I surrender.”

We took a bazillion photos, then returned back down to reality. We chatted with the gentleman a little longer (I was highly amused when he was telling us about his girlfriends...this guy truly has not stopped!), until we started to get cold from standing still (I had paused my watch during all of this.) We thanked him profusely. I felt like I was shaking hands with a fairy king of some sort. Again: what are the odds?

We made our way back down the mountain mostly in silence, but grinning from ear to ear over this little bit of magic we had experienced thanks to being in the right place at the right time and speaking to the right stranger.

I then insisted on one lap around the lake. I think the last time we'd visited this park was in 2022, and I wanted to say hello to my old friend.

And that's it. That's the story of how I found a little bit of magic on a sunny cold January day while hiking on the Appalachian Trail.