Date: 2014-05-19
From: Front Royal

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The SlumpI left Front Royal at noon on the 19th and headed north. I didn't set a destination for the day since I left so late and didn't feel motivated to get myself anywhere. Since I had jumped around on the trail a bit I didn't know where anyone was and I felt exceptionally alone. The trail was still muddy from the heavy rain a few days prior and I slipped and slid my way along until I finally toppled in. It was hot. I was tired, despite a few days of easy pace and low milage and I was increasingly aware that I was still Virginia, but I wasn't going to get to go home. And for some reason that was all I wanted: home. Time with family had only made me want to see family more. I missed my friends and my bed and home cooked food. Once I pulled myself out of the mud and scraped the worst of the muck off the back of my shorts I found a place to sit and called my parents. I talked to my mom and she was calm and supportive, but essentially said "Get over it. I love you, but I know you're going to push through. I'm proud of you... Now move." Good advice. I have a good mom. But, I still didn't want to move. I don't know how to explain this. I know how lucky I am to be here. I wake up everyday and thank heaven for this "trail-cation," as Wingin' It has dubbed this venture. And yet I have been finding more and more that I must convince myself to hoist my pack and put one foot in front of the other. And it's odd, because the trail is easier now than at any other point so far along my journey. I am fit, the climbs are short, the sun is out, and I generally know what I'm doing. How can it be that when I should be most comfortable I am instead at my least content. All I wanted as I talked to my mother was for her to be sitting next to me, hugging my shoulders and assuring me that, yes, she would certainly burn a grilled cheese sandwich for me and cut it into quarters just the way she used to when I was little. I also might have teared up like a grouchy 5 year old as we spoke on the phone and told my mother that I still refused to move. Then my dad popped on the phone and offered to come meet me down the trail. The trail immediately looked like a much more attractive place. We hung up with excited promises to meet in Harpers Ferry on Wednesday. I got myself 16 miles north of Front Royal and was surprised to find Senator and H2O eating dinner at the the shelter. It was so good to see them. I had caught up with them because they'd slowed up to hike with H2O's girl friend who had dropped in for a couple of weeks. They are two of my favorite people on the trail. They are cousins and seem to be completely comfortable with one another. They let frustration and difficulty roll off of them like water off plastic, and, although they work well as a team, they are not exclusive to outsiders. It makes them easy to be around. I've adopted them as trail brothers. Senator ended his service in the Navy in December and decided to join H2O who decided to do the hike in the interim between undergrad and grad school. They have good stories. We chatted until dark and then I scooted off to my tent with plans for an early day the following morning. I had my eyes set upon a hostel 20 miles up the trail that provided a bunk, shower, frozen pizza and pint of Ben&Jerry's ice cream for the low, low price of $30. But I had to survive "The Roller Coaster" first. The Roller Coaster is 13.5 mile series of straight up and down mini mountains. It's not crazy elevation climbs, but there are no switchbacks or recovery sections. It's unpleasant. I hiked alone all day in the heat and pulled into the hostel just after 6. I ate an entire pizza on my own, but was defeated by the ice cream. I couldn't make it more than an inch into the tub, so replaced it into the freezer for breakfast in the morning. It was a busy place for the evening. There were a bunch of section hikers in for the night, but Elusive, Lady Moose, Princess, Rocket Man and Ranger (old Ranger, not young Ranger of Black Rock Shelter) were also in residence. Lady Moose and I decided to slackpack together into Harpers Ferry the next day. She and I had met briefly while Dino and I were hiking together into Waynesboro, but hadn't had much of a chance to talk. She's a sweetheart. She's a couple of years older than me and spent the last year or two training service dogs full time. While we hiked the next day she was anxiously awaiting a call from AmeriCorp to offer her a team leader job for after the trail. She got it as we celebrated when we hit the West Virginia/Virginia border. It was a good day of hiking. We reached Harpers Ferry by 4:15 and went straight to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to have our pictures taken and sign in to get our official trail numbers (the conservancy tries to keep track of how many people make it to the halfway point). Dad showed up right at the conservancy's closing time (5) and the three of us headed over to a neighboring town for dinner.