Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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June 29, Sandy Hook AYH Hostel - mile 1006.9

What a day! I started hiking in Virginia this morning, entered West Virginia by 9 A.M. & left WV for Maryland by 4 P.M. I also passed the 1,000 mile mark & reached historic Harpers Ferry, known both as the home of the Appalachian Trail conference headquarters and the "psychological half-way point" of the trail.

The first thing I did upon arriving in Harpers Ferry was to visit ATC, with the biggest, dumbest grin in the world on my face when I walked in the door. What a thrill to be there! What an incredible feeling to have a Polaroid snapped of me in front of the ATC sign & logged into the book as number 476 northbound this year. What fun to look at the photos of friends already in the book & pick up messages they've left for me & drink a cold Coke & use a flush toilet! There was even a machine that does foot massaging but I knew taking off my shoes to use it would invoke an odor to send everyone running for cover.

After an hour of reveling in the glory of being there, I pulled myself together & got my chores done in town: call Tony, pick up mail drop, send home excess stuff, eat lunch, visit the outfitter, get some ice cream. Check all that, although the outfitter visit cost me far less than I expected. I had a list of several things I needed, none of which they had. However, I also brought in my filter for them to look at, since it hasn't worked correctly in weeks. For a while, they were as baffled as I was, & then we just started replacing every piece, until we solved the problem. I now have an entirely new casing, pump & o-rings on my filter, & only the hoses & filter itself are my own! Best of all, it works & they did not charge me anything to fix it.

Eventually, I was finished in town, so I got back on the trail for another 3 miles or so to come to the hostel. One of the fascinating things about Harpers Ferry is that the AT follows the old C&O Canal towpath for 2 miles as you head north of the town, so the trail is perfectly flat. I shifted my brain into neutral & started down the path, knowing I would need to walk an hour before the hostel turn-off, according to their directions.

Unfortunately, I have never been so wrong in my life. My directions said I was to cross under an overpass & then watch for a blue-blaze trail on the left. After an hour of hiking, I heard the rush of traffic ahead, so I knew the overpass was coming. I crossed under, went the additional .3 mile as instructed, & went some more & more & more without finding a trail. By this time, it was a billion degrees, I was out of water, drenched in sweat, tired & ready to scream. To make a long story short, I ended up back tracking just over a mile before I found a small break in the weeds that finally led me straight up the side of the mountain to the hostel.

Two families were already waiting on the porch for it to open & they felt sorry for me when they heard my story & saw my condition & offered me a soda. Needless to say, it greatly improved my outlook on life & now I am happily showered & fed with clean laundry & ready for a good night's sleep. Again I have one "roomie" but she's across the room from me, so let's hope it's nothing like my roomie of the other evening!