Date: 2015-06-27
From: Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 82 - I was uncertain if I was going to take a zero today and was especially conflicted when the rain stopped around 3:00 pm. By then, however, I had just successfully completed a practice 1/2 gal ice cream challenge (the secret is to let it soften out of the freezer for about an hour before eating it) and was unsure how my system would react. At the time of this writing, I am feeling no ill effects and hence feel fully qualified to participate in this upcoming official event on my journey north. I've already paid my hostel bill and will be leaving very early in the morning with a forecast of sunny skies and temps in the 70's to look forward to. At this point, I expect to be at Rt. 7 in Northern Virginia by Tuesday evening. My friends, Ellen and Dan from the RUFF Flying Club, have a daughter and her husband who live near there. I plan to head there just before getting into Harpers Ferry. I really appreciate their kindness!! Things we tend to take for granted - like a shower, laundry, a real meal and an actual bed - are great luxuries to a long distance hiker. Here's an idea - The owner of this hostel has suggested that when I get to Harpers Ferry, I jump up to Katadin and head south. The advantage of this is that the need to finish by October 15th - when Baxter State Park closes - ceases to be an issue. Also, the hot summer months of July and August would be spent further north where one presumes it might be cooler. The downsides of doing a flip-flop hike like this are the cost (I've got to get to Maine somehow), hiking against the tide of northbounders, and a disruption of my hiking flow once again. I will be thinking about this between now and Harpers Ferry, but my inclination is to continue northbound. Until tomorrow.....Here's a P.S. from Mrs. Pockets - I just noticed in Pockets' guest book that someone asked about how I, Mrs. Pockets, was planning to pick up the trail magic coolers I left in PA. I didn't include this information in the last TJ entry I did for Pockets and probably should have! When I returned to Miller's Gap after our Outer Banks trip, I found one of the styrofoam coolers smashed in, but empty- like someone had set their pack on it or had tried to sit on it and it broke. They just don't make them like they used to, I guess! The other cooler was filled with spent drink bottles and food wrappers, which I was pleased to see. That meant that not only had the trail magic been enjoyed, but hikers were depositing trash appropriately. I brought the trash and broken cooler back to our home in Upstate NY and that cooler was taken to our local recycling center yesterday. I almost brought the other cooler back too, but decided to refill it as it was mighty hot there and the forecast was for continued heat. TJ entries had indicated water was a problem there at that time. I knew I was planning to return to that area within a couple of weeks. That would allow me to again check on the remaining cooler, empty any trash in it, and refill it for any hikers to enjoy for the couple of days I plan to stay nearby. Then I'll bring that cooler home with me when I leave. Thanks so much for your concern and interest!