Date: 2023-04-27
From: Front Royal

To: Waynesboro PA
Miles today: 89.6

On Thursday, April 20, we were dropped off by shuttle driver Bill at the Tuckers Lane parking area which is at approximately mile point 980.5. We hiked 16.9 miles to a point along the Appalachian trail that is about a mile and a half into the area known as the Virginia roller coaster. That evening we were guests in the home of Jane, a wonderful trail angel. She fed us a delicious meal that evening and sent us on our way the next morning with full bellies from a hardy breakfast.On Friday, April 21, we crossed the 1000 mile mark of the Appalachian Trail. We ended our hike that day by hiking all the way to the northern end of the Virginia roller coaster. That is at mile point 1010.2. This made for a 12.8 mile day. We were able to get off the trail at that location and hike down into a residential neighborhood and were shuttled by some really nice people named Scott and Marie Wheaton. They shuttled us to Bears Den Hostel, where we spent the night. We had a really good evening that day. There was a brewery called Bear Chase Brewery, which was within walking distance of the hostel, and we were able to go and enjoy a celebratory (for having crossed the 1000 mile mark) beer and a really good burger. We enjoyed the company of several fellow hikers both at the brewery and also back at the hostel. We made the acquaintance of a number of hikers, but there was one couple that stood out. Their names were Stephen and Rachelle Cox, from New Hampshire. We exchanged contact information with them, and they told us when we get up in New Hampshire to be sure and contact them. They said they would help us out up there.On Saturday, April 22, Scott Wheaton returned us to the same location from which we had gotten off the trail the previous evening. On that day, we hiked 15.2 miles into Harpers Ferry. We had a good hike that day, although the ground got very rocky about the last four miles into Harpers Ferry. That evening, we were able to briefly join back up with Wondering ¢Munk¢. (That¢s the way he spells it.) We had dinner at a restaurant called the Anvil along with fellow hikers Jeff and Maila, and Stumbledor and Bougieboss. We took a zero the next day in Harpers Ferry and spent quite a bit of time at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy office. That evening our new friends Stephen and Rachelle came up and visited us and brought my hiking partner Prepper, some capsicum knee patches to help with his knees.On Monday, April 24, we hiked out of Harpers Ferry, 18.2 miles to Dahlgren¢s backpacker campground. That morning, Prepper had decided to attempt to get an appointment with an orthopedist to get Cortizone shots for his knees. As it turned out, he was only able to get an appointment for Wednesday the 26th back in Harpers Ferry. So he was going to have to secure a shuttle ride back from Waynesboro PA to Harpers Ferry. Dahlgren¢s was a really nice campground along the Appalachian Trail. It is pretty much there exclusively for backpackers. There were places to pitch tents and hang hammocks. The place had a bath house with toilets, lavatories, and showers. Of course, there was hot water. There was also electricity inside the bathhouse to be able to charge electronics if needed. I think we encountered perhaps the most backpackers we had ever encountered, at this location. The previous weekend, the weekend we were in Harpers Ferry, there had been a flip flop festival. This festival was sort of a kick off for people, intending to flip-flop the Appalachian trail. For people who do not know, flipfloppers are people who start somewhere besides one of the terminuses and hike to a terminus, and then return to the same point, and go the opposite direction to the other terminus. Many people use Harpers Ferry as their flipflop starting point. So needless to say, heading north out of Harpers Ferry on Monday was slightly congested compared to the concentration of hikers we had been experiencing. But that is not to say that the trail was particularly congested. That evening, at Dahlgren¢s, we became acquainted with quite a number of other backpackers. Dahlgren¢s was close enough to a highway that many of us went in together and placed an order with Domino¢s Pizza for delivery to the campground. That evening, while we were at Dahlgren¢s, Prepper received a call from Stephen who was just calling to check on him. When Stephen found out about Prepper¢s appointment, he insisted on coming to Waynesboro on Wednesday and taking him to Harpers Ferry. We were both just blown away by Stephen¢s generosity.On Tuesday, April 25, we hiked 18.9 miles to Raven rock shelter. It was actually a pretty good hiking day, although it was hard on Prepper because he was in so much pain. That evening at the shelter, we were again among somewhat of a bubble of hikers, mostly flipfloppers.On Wednesday, April 26, we hiked 7.5 miles to PA route 16 near Waynesboro Pennsylvania. We had gotten an early start that morning, and we actually got on the trail at around 6:15 AM. So we made it to the end point by around 10 AM. At that point, we were picked up by the father of a friend of mine from Franklin. My friend's name is Joel and his fathers name is Charlie. Charlie transported us to the Cobblestone Inn in Waynesboro. A little while later, we were joined by Stephen and Rachelle. We went out to lunch together and then they took us back to Harpers Ferry for Prepper¢s doctor visit. We waited around in Harpers Ferry for Prepper¢s doctor visit, and then they returned us back to Waynesboro. At the time of this writing, it is Thursday, April 27, and we are taking another zero day in Waynesboro so that Prepper¢s knees can recover after the Cortizone shots.