Date: 2012-06-04
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Pancakes for breakfast at our hostel! One of the hikers was acting as chef and another was doing everyone's dishes...such a deal! We had a call from Tom/Phyllis, friends from Ft. Wayne, who said they were going to be in Harper's Ferry with 2 of our favorite kids (we have lots!) from Open Arms days, Imani and Rashad. So we headed for Harper's Ferry to see them. We had a wonderful nonstop talking reunion while touring the town and eating lunch. SOS wanted to hike a short day so back we went to Bear's Den to get his things and off he went from there down the trail. I drove to Bluemont, a small town nearby with a great general store, postoffice, antique store and a little stone UM church. Back to the hostel to hang out until time to get SOS. Four Spoke wanted a ride to get cigarettes so after a short speech by me (my mom instincts kicked in) about how much easier it would be to breathe if he quit smoking, he smiled and got in the car with me and we headed to Round Hill...another small town but one that sold cigarettes. He got what he wanted and then on we went on a number 1 (not maintained by the state, narrow and dirt) road that had a Private Road Do Not Enter sign. Thank goodness I had talked to Amy and she told me about this road and that it was the one I needed to be on. We had called to get an address of the place we needed to pick up SOS so set the GPS. It was wrong and much farther down the road than Edith Chloe thought...but since there was no where else to go and no where to turn around we kept on going and finally came to the right spot. There were two young ladies sitting under a tree waiting on their ride. I heard them say how hungry they were...so Trail Mama sprang into action. I supplied them with drinks and 2 snacks each...they were grateful and I was happy since I haven't had much "business" lately. SOS came shortly after that and we drove back to Bear's Den. After dinner, we talked to other hikers and finally got an internet connection. However we can not download pictures here so we will have to wait for a McDonald's down the road.SOS here:It was great to spend time with the Agness' and the kids. We saw a movie about the history of Harpers Ferry - it was good. I was struggling to stay awake and felt guilty about not being on the trail.We arrived back at the Bears Den Hostel at 2:45. I put on my day pack, picked up my trekking poles, and headed out. It was a stressful hike because I had left my guide pages for the hike in the hostel and could not get in to retrieve them before I left, because the area we were staying in is locked during the day.The 1,000 mile marker was SUPPOSED to be at the Virginia - West Virginia border. It was not and I went over at least another two miles before I reached it. This perplexed me because if it was right I still had 4+ miles to hike and my pickup time I had given Trail Mama was wrong. I learned later that they had not moved the 1,000 mile marker from where it was last year. It was off by 2.3 miles. Tomorrow I will hike to Harpers Ferry, WV and will hike in Virginia the last time. Road Name of the Day: GOOD SHEPHERD ROAD This road was on the way to SOS' start spot and is an obvious choice since Good Shepherd is our home church. (We would LOVE to hear from more of our Good Shepherd friends...a few are faithful to send encouraging notes but we would love for others to sign the guest book also...hint, hint!)