Date: 2014-06-09
From: Big Meadows campground, central Shenandoah's

To: Harpers Ferry, WV.
Miles today: 101.8

I actually have been keeping up with daily journal updates, but they're boring and read something like this: Got up at the crack of dawn. Was miserably hot by 830am. By early afternoon I become concerned about passing out because of the heat. My clothes are soaked, and when I stop for a break, I can wring the sweat out of my shirt. The smell coming off of me is difficult describe, because it's so bad. By 5pm or somewhere in the range of 12-15 miles, we stop, get water, collect fire wood, and pitch tents. Why fire wood you ask? Because if we don't get some smoke in the air, the bugs, Mosquitos, and black flies will eat us alive. I eat dinner, and by 9, I'm sweating out the rest of the night in my tent. Rinse and repeat.Hiking in the cold weather can be difficult, and brings some unique challenges to the table. For example, my base weight with cold weather gear is something like 20 pounds, compared to a base weight of around 14 pounds in the summer. While feeling cold basically sucks, in the winter, the key to getting warm is hiking.Hiking in the heat is a whole new level of madness. I claim my base weight is lighter, but it's almost negated by the amount of water I have to carry. I can easily drink more than a gallon of water over 12-15 miles, and the water hasn't exactly been plentiful. And of course, you don't cool off while hiking. After we left the "Shenny's" (the Shenandoah's), we zero'd in Fort Royal as everyone was wiped out, and the idea of leaving the next day never received serious discussion. The day after our zero, Red and Kelsey decided they were going to "aqua-blaze" into Harpers Ferry, and split to head down the river. This left me, Barnacles, and SuperFeet tasked with getting the hell out of Front Royal and putting miles behind us. Believe me I say it was hard to leave air conditioning, food, and readily available supplies. Like cold beers. By late morning, we'd figured out a ride to the trail. It was already blazing hot, but our primary goal was to get out of town and start moving north.It was noon when we started hiking. We'd sat around at the trailhead for at least an hour, trying to come up with reasons to hike. I'm not sure what compelled us to start moving--probably the idea that we had no other choice. It was actually easy terrain, and we had one short, 900ft climb to deal with early in the hike. Right after that climb, I was sure I was going to pass out. Factoring in the humidity that day, the heat index was 110 degrees. Blah. Despite all that, we got the miles done quickly. I'm still not sure how.There haven't been too many scenic views on the trail. It's just as well, because I haven't been taking many pictures. I blame the heat. I will get around to posting pictures o Harpers Ferry, which is rich with Civil War history. And it's a cool little town. Expensive, but cool. For the record, we did make it to Harpers Ferry by the 4th of July. We left right after lunch, because it was expensive to stay in Harpers Ferry. We ended up hiking another few miles into Knoxville, MD., where we got one the nicest motel rooms on the trail (Knights Inn). While pondering our 4th of July options, we remembered our pal Tuna lives in Baltimore, and went home a few days ago to attend some family functions. We called Tuna up, he picked us up the next morning, and drove us back to his house in Baltimore. Worked out great. Tomorrow Tuna and I are taking the train back to Harpers Ferry. We'll probably spend the night there with someone he knows, and hike out the following day. SuperFeet and Barnacles are headed back to Atlanta tomorrow, and hopefully we'll see them back on the trail in a few weeks. There has been a lot of group discussion about skipping over Pennsylvania entirely, and until today I thought that was going to happen. A few boring logistics problems nixed that plan, though it may get revisited in the near future. Virginia is behind us, and I expect to be near the Pennsylvania border in a few days. 1,022 miles down, 1,162 to go!