Date: 2003-06-02
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: clear sky

The morning begins with Itchy Foot speaking loudly: "You said you wanted to get up early."I start up, mid-dream, then fall back into a dazed state that would be interesting to observe on an EKG. Surely, it wouldn't show healthy brain waves.Ben and Itchy Foot are already packed, and they get off without me. Notes and I leave at the late hour of 6:30, after civilized coffee.We are finishing up the dregs of VA today! I am glad to be done with this lovely but long state. We must walk along a highway, VA 7, Snickers Gap, right toward the rush hour traffic zooming towards us, inches from our tender flesh. Hot puffs of auto fumes assault us with each passing bullet, er, car.Back into the quiet of the woods, we walk. Eventually, we come to the last little bit of Virginia. Notes and I highfive our entry into West Virginia. We crossed into Virginia together, and we crossed the 1/4-way mark together. It seemed right as campaneros that we should also put the endless state of Virginia behind us.This is the spot some of the thru-hikers take up the 40-mile challenge. The Trail here crosses through four states in 40 miles. There is Virginia, then about 17 miles of WV, then a goodly dash of Maryland, then we are in Pennsylvania. At this point, I know I can't do that to my body. Leave it for the college kids.We cross over The Devil's Racecourse, a rock jumble with a stream running beneath. We can hear running water plainly, but it remains unseen.We needed to eat lunch. It was a long way down to the PATC Blackburn Center, an old log structure. The hand-hewn logs bear the marks of the adze. A beautiful, screened-in wraparound porch protects this lovely old cabin. The monuments of Washington DC are said to be viewable from the groomed front lawn, but we couldn't see them.The PATC offers a free hostel with a solar shower on the grounds. The caretaker was gone and we had miles yet to cover, so we just cooked our lunch on the porch, ate it on the SUNNY lawn and filled our bottles with icy water from the outdoor spigot.It's a perfect hiking day. Yesterday's heavy winds DID blow in pretty weather: low humidity, sparkling clarity, pleasant temps. We sit on a log at one point and get a snack. We've just passed David Lesser shelter, and a old woods road. Something tugs at my memory..."Notes," I said. "I do believe we are sitting on the 1,000-mile mark." We high-fived each other again. A day of celebrations. I walk off while he is replacing his shoes. The impact of that simple statement suddenly hits me. I feel a yelp coming on..."I've walked 1,000 MILES!" I shout to the woods. It feels good. Really good.Still in the game...It's a big walking day, and my feet are weary. But spirits are high. I will have visitors from home today. Two buddies from my "Adventure Club" back home in NC are coming up to Harper's Ferry for a few days to visit me.I know they will start down the AT towards me, and I guesstimate we will connect about 4 pm. Sure enough, here come Nancy and Sarah Jane. I can't wipe the grin off my face. Bravely, they hug me. There's a friend for you!"You need trail names out here on the AT," I informed them. Nancy is christened Catbert, after the evil HR director in Dilbert, and Sarah Jane becomes Treadmill, since she's been active in that venue lately.The four of us cross over the busy Shenandoah Bridge. For the second time today, we experience cars zooming by with a visceral force. "They sound like the jet fighters on Star Wars," said Notes. Catbert and Treadmill were finding young Notes adorable. Up the bluffs and into the old bluff town Harpers Ferry, pinned as it is between the Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers. This is the "psychological halfway point" for thru-hikers, though the real half point won't be for a week or so.In town, there is a reunion with Itchy Feet and Just Do It, also staying at the Hilltop Hotel, with it's fine river views. We all went for pizza and picked up a section hiker, Windy, along the way.At King's Pizza, we ran into Noll, Field and Space Monkey. We all sat chatting for awhile since the pizza place was closed. A thru-hiker gathering on the streets of Harpers Ferry.In the early days of my hike, the young people were polite but somewhat distant, talking among themselves. Lately, it seems as if a group energy is shaping up - "the thru-hikers." We are the survivors so far, peers, and we know what it took to get here. There is shared experience, and mutual respect.Kings is closed, so Noll & Co. move on with their beer. Catbert crams the rest of us into her small car and carts us of for steak dinners. Notes and I embarrass ourselves by eating great quantities. I notice I must make an effort to recall my town manners.