For unsupported style, I packed all my food for the trip and only obtained water from creeks and streams along the route. No pacers. Only interactions with people were conversations along the route--no aid received. Allowed facilities/exceptions: I stopped at a few bathrooms along the route and hitched a ride from a vehicle across the 40 bridge near Havre de Grace, MD (because there is no shoulder for pedestrians).
Narrative:
Took Amtrak to Harrisburg, PA, then "C" bus to Carlisle, PA. Hiked in ~10 miles to western terminus of Mason Dixon Trail.
Started at 2:57pm on Thursday, August 24th. Had a good start but got rained on while trying to sleep the first night. Weather was warm but mostly clear for the rest of the trip.
I navigated the route using the following precedence:
1) blue markings on the trail
2) 2020 MDT map set (Maps 1 - 10)
3) .gpx file from fastestknowntime.com
There are some inconsistencies between the blue markings, map sets, and .gpx file, but I did my best to honor the route using the precedence I listed above.
In general, the route is well marked with blue blazes. There are spots/sections where markings are sparse and the map or .gpx becomes a big help--if not necessary. The route got confusing in a few places where old route markings were left up and I backtracked or veered along these outdated routes. Where I caught it, I reset back to the main route. Another route near Iron Mountain had a "no public access," and I ended up running through thorns and stinging nettle fields (while trying to follow the gpx). I got out of there as quick as possible. I'm hoping there is a new, better trail that's marked, and I just missed it in the dark despite searching for a while.
Looking back, the worst section was grassy fields that paralleled power lines (I think that was in Delaware). I got over 500 chigger bites in that process.
Highlights were view on Map 4 (park near Knights Road or something like that), waterfall swimming spot on Map 5, and taking an engagement photo for a couple.
My Garmin told me I got ~63 miles in the first 24 hours, but my Garmin mileage was recording higher than the map mileage (in excess of my detours and backtracks). If I remember right, when I hit 200 miles on my Garmin, the MDT maps told me I still had 20 miles to go.
Finished at 6:33am and some seconds on Tuesday, August 29th.
Took rideshare to Wilmington, DE Amtrak. *Did not turn off my GPS until part way into the ride, so ignore the latter part of the .gpx data.
Overall take: Lots of asphalt on the MDT. I spent a lot of time on the edge of roads without shoulders, being ready to jump to the side if the approaching car did not see me. Thankfully, drivers were all courteous and alert. I would not do the whole route again, but I really liked Maps 4-6. That's where most of the vertical gain was, and it had some great views along the Susquehanna. Note that the trail gets much more technical here too (including some rock scrambles).