Date: 2015-05-08
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: few clouds

I woke up at 6am to voices coming from the kitchen. I packed up my gear and headed downstairs, where Trailboss was putting the kettle on. Everyone else was awake and already having breakfast. I said good morning , and immediately asked about the election that had taken place in Britain whilst I was in bed. Unfortunately, Britain has another five years ahead of Conservatives and austerity (which generally means even more budget cuts for the public sector). Although I started the day with this unfortunate news, I set off in high spirits, knowing that I was heading into town again. The past few and next nights will have spoiled me for when I return to my roll mat. The steepest part of the day was the 0.2 miles out of the Blackburn center. The trail was lovely from then on, with hardly any inclines and I was just flying through the green forest. About 8.30, I passed Bearbait who told me that he had seen a bear as he was leaving the Blackburn center. It feels like everyone else has now had a bear experience except for me. I am fine with this status. I breezed through the trail, which was still hot despite the early hour and some of the shade from the trees. The bugs were also out in full force, and I was continually batting at my own arms and legs to wipe off bugs and spider webs. There were some flying bugs that looked like dandelions and kept flying straight in my face. The worse was still yet to come. As I was about 2 miles from Harpers Ferry, I noticed that the amount of webs I was walking through had dramatically increased. I was constantly wiping them off. Then, I noticed these were not spider webs, but had small worms on them. I later learned that these are called inchworms. They dangle from a silk string attached to a branch and cling to whatever walks through them, sticking and wriggling. And there were millions of them. Literally, millions. On the trail I had to constantly wipe down my skin and I used my trekking pole to try to catch the webs before I walked into them. But I soon noticed a strange noise on the trail that sounded a bit like crackling. These inchworms covered the forest floor and in their writhing masses were making this noise. It was horrifying. I tried to go as quickly as I could without walking into more of them. It was such an incredible relief when the trail fell onto the pavement and out of the forest. From there, I made my way to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I had my photo taken (I am NOBO #84), and used the wifi for a while. I met some other hikers, and answered the usual sort of questions. From there I followed the trail into Harpers Ferry proper. Harpers Ferry is a much larger town than I expected. It has many historical sites with accompanying signs. The high street has some older style shops and restaurants, and it is definitely a tourist trap (though nowhere near on the scale of Gatlinburg). I stopped by the outfitters and got myself a luminous green "cool tech" t-shirt. It was the only colour they had in my size. Then, I made the trek all the way back up the high street to the Teahorse Hostel. The hostel was closed until 3pm, so I went to a nearby restaurant to get lunch and steal the wifi. To my surprise, the restaurant (Canal) is run by an Englishman and his American wife, so the menu has some traditional English foods. It is also quite pricey (though on par for a tourist town), so I looked very out of place with my pack, poles, and reeking of sweat. I ordered the ploughmans with a side of pasta (the pasta was better than the main), whilst an older American woman asked me if I was a thru-hiker, and then the usual questions. She left, wishing me luck, and I continued my lunch. For dessert, I decided to treat myself to banoffee pie. It was delicious. Everything was delicious. When I went to pay, I learned that the older American woman had already paid for my meal, leaving nearly double the amount it had actually cost. I was gobsmacked by the generosity of a random stranger who didn't even know my name and I sat at my table for a bit longer, stunned. I have experienced a lot of trail magic, but this was definitely the most expensive and surprising. It is also the first time I have ever left a restaurant with more money than I went in with. So thank you, extremely generous American woman, whoever and wherever you are. When I finally left the restaurant, it was time to check in at the hostel. This time, the bunks are upstairs (rather than the usual basement). The hostel is clean and comfortable, with a full kitchen for hiker use. The hiker boxes and free food cupboard are also loaded with goodies (I found hundreds of mini toothpastes). The hostel is more expensive than any other (except Woods Hole), but as this is a tourist town, I am not surprised. Everywhere else in Harpers Ferry is the same price or even more expensive. In that sense, it is not really hiker friendly. Unlike in Hot Springs or Damascus, I felt out of place in the town proper, and spent most of my time in the hostel making gratuitous use of the wifi. The next few days I am taking a break from the trail, and I will hopefully return to it on Tuesday. I really hope that all the inchworms are gone by then, but if not then at least now I have a new bug net to look ridiculous in. I hope that these next few days will finally allow my blisters and various foot pains some relief and ability to heal. I hope I won't forget how to hike whilst I'm away from the trail.