The Half HAM is a 21 mile hike from Pen Mar to Washington Monument on the Appalachian Trail. The Half HAM will be held on September 30, 2023. Hikers will meet at Pen Mar between 6:30 and 7:45 AM to sign-in and pick up their bib number. The Hike will start at 8:00 am. Rest rooms at Pen Mar will be opened for your use at 7:00 am. Those walking at a pace of 4 mile/hr. will finish by 1:30 pm. Those walking at a pace of 2 miles/hr. will arrive by 6:00 p.m. Space is limited to first 75 hikers that signup, but we will have a waiting list.
The cost will be $20/person which includes all fees. This hike is open to MCM members ONLY!
Registration / Cancelation
Registration will be open by July 14th and will close September 14, 2023. You can cancel with a refund by September 14th. No refunds will be issued after September 14.
ADVANCED REGISTRATION will be required – Email Invitations will be sent out to all MCM members around July 14, 2023 and will include a link for them to register for the hike. If you do not receive the invite by late July and would like to attend the hike please contact ham@mcomd.org.
Extreme weather policy: If we have to cancel the event due to extreme weather there will be no refunds. This will be decided the night before the hike.
There will be five checkpoints.
Checkpoints
- High Rock – no food or water
- Raven Rock Road – water only
- Cowall Shelter – snacks and water
- Boonsboro Road – snacks and water
- Washington Monument – Lunch food and water
What to expect on the hike
There are numerous long steep climbs on this section of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), several of them involve nearly a mile of steady climbing. In addition, many trail sections are very rocky.
It would be helpful if you have some experience hiking on the A.T. On the other hand, if you are already a strong hiker capable of 20 miles, you could register for the hike and join up for some of MCM hikes on the A.T. to get experience between now and then. MCM’s monthly “first Saturday” hikes on the A.T. are one opportunity to do that.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Appalachian terrain you can check out the Appalachian Interactive Map provided by the A.T. Conservancy.
Getting to Pen Mar/parking
It is preferred that you have someone drop you off at Pen Mar Park and pick you up at Washington Monument State Park. However, if you need to leave your car at Pen Mar you can leave it in the gravel parking lot across from the park. Please note: overnight parking requires a permit.
We encourage you to car pool if possible. Washington Monument allows overnight parking for the Appalachian Trail in the lower parking lot near the youth group camping area. You would just need to register your car in the hikers’ log near the bulletin board. You can leave one car there Friday night, then car pool to Pen Mar Saturday morning.
We will have volunteers to drive hikers back to Pen Mar, however trips will be limited and you might have to wait a while to catch a ride. You can sign-up for this service when you register for the hike.
Volunteers
A separate Volunteer e-mail will be sent out in July. We will need Sweeps, Check-point staff, and members to pick up those that need to drop-out and bring them to Washington Monument. We will also need several volunteers to take hikers back to their car at Pen Mar. All Volunteers should have a working cell phone.