That's right West Virginia. Coming into Harpers Ferry means that I am finally done with Virginia. More then a quarter of the AT is in Virginia and it has taken more then a month to complete so getting through the state feels like a major accomplishment in itself. Many hikers talk about getting the Virginia blues just from not seeing any state changes and the increasingly monotonous terrian.
Harpers is important for more reasons then just the end of Virginia though. To begin with it is the spiritual midpoint of the trail ( the actual midpoint is in another 70 miles or so at a random stream crossing in pa). The two traditional through hikes are either north bound or south bound but every year there are also a few people who flip flop at Harpers ferry. This can be done in several ways but an example would be starting at springer hiking to Harpers driving to Katadhin and then hiking to harpers. Additionally Harpers ferry is home to the headquarters of the Appalachian trail conservency (ATC). The ATC and it's regional chapters is in charge of maintaining the entire trail.
There have been several major events since my last blog post. The first of which was trail days. Trail days is a giant gathering of current and previous thru hikers who come to see old friends and check out the dozens of gear manufacturers that set up around town. Every year tens of thousands of people invade the small town of Damascus Virginia and basically have a giant party. Since we had passed Damascus by more then 200 miles we had to hitch hike all the way back. It took us 10 hours, 5 separate hithes, and several real scares of getting stranded but we finally made it down there. Once there a friend of ours new some people in town who let us set up tents in their lawn just across from "tent city". Tent city is a large area including several sports fields and a large portion of woods where the vast majority of people camp. As you would suspect this is where the majority of the partying goes on and is very loud all night long so it was nice to be close enough to walk to the giant bonfires and drum circles but still be able to sleep when we were done with them. I also got a new backpack at one of the gear vendors as my old one was heavy too big for all my things and had some slipping straps, but mostly heavy. The new pack is a hyperlite mountian gear windrider 2400. After trail days we participated in Hard Core, a two day event dedicated to Appalachian trail maintenence in Tennessee. A group of about 75 people spent two days building a half mile of new trail. I spent all day moving giant boulders into just the right place to act as steps or water bars. Others hacked at thick rhododendron roots or shoveled dirt. At the end though, as thanks for the help from current thru hikers, the organizers connected us with rides all the way back to where we were so we wouldn't have to worry about hitching again.
Another major part of this section was shannendoah national park(SNP) My feelings toward SNP are somewhat mixed. On the positive side I saw plenty of breathtaking views and for the most part had great weather. I also saw 8 bears, which is a first for this trip. On top of that we were able to stop at a wayside (a kind of convince store/gift shop) every day of the 4 days we were in the park, and buy blackberry ice cream burgers and beer. On the negative side the AT follows pretty closely skyline drive all through the park and so it wasn't often that 30 minutes would go by without hearing an engine. The AT also crosses skyline dive several times a day and that bring loads of day hikers to the trail. Normally we don't mind day hikers but sometimes in SNP the trail felt almost crowded. All in all I was glad the trail went through SNP but I was glad to be out.
Finally we've had some great trail magic. The best of which, as an anecdote, was minty. Full Minty was the name (hash house harrier name....Google it if you dare) of the first driver to stop for us hitch hikers after a 35 mile dash in the rain to Waynesboro virginia, right before SNP( day before we had done 30 and 28 the day before that so we were quite tired). All we had been talking about for several days were margatitas and Minty takes us right to an authentic Mexican place we unwisely gulp down margaritas in our dehydration. He then invites us to stay at his house where he has two extra bedrooms and a shower, we later find out that he even has a sauna in the basement. We decide to take a zero (or two) and he ends up letting us use his car while he is at work (message therapist) to drive to nearby Charlottesville (home of UVA) where we would have access to all the fun activities of a college town. Thanks minty!!!
During this time we've also passed dozens of milestone and famous landmarks such as McAfee's knob, the most photographed spot on the Appalachian trial and spy rock, a large dome to know on top of a mountain offering 360 degree views. We've also had personal accomplishments such as doing our first 35 mile day (and before dark so we could hitch into town).
Post script:
I'm actually finishing this post in Pennsylvania, just past Waynesboro, but I'll have another post on that in a few days.
