Date: 2003-06-04
From: Gathland State Park

To: SOBO back to Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: mist

(Note: my techno-photo wizard support guy Ken informs me that, YES! Clyde, there was a semblance of a BEAR in my Shenandoah photos. He promised to post it, so check back a few days for photographic PROOF!)My friends are surprised, I think. I am sure they expected to see an Amazon, sleek, muscled, with a lithe, catlike grace - someone in splendid shape. Instead, they find a gal who hobbles out of the car after sitting any length of time, someone who must walk to the bathroom on her knees first thing in the morning because she can't get to her feet without a dresser or wall upon which to brace."It's the chronic inflammation," I explain lamely (pun intended). "The rest at night isn't enough to heal the abuse from the day before."There are inner changes too. "You look vibrant," observes Sarah Jane... er, Treadmill.I don't know about that, but I HAVE wondered about a few new traits lately. The main one: I'm less likely to let other people define who I am. People do tell us who we are, you know, in a million subtle ways. I'm polite during the telling - no need to get defensive - but the stuff doesn't go in the way it used to. No need to accept an unwanted "gift." What freedom!Also getting a little better at hearing that "small still voice" inside.Catbert and I try a local cafe for breakfast; it is drizzling. "If the sun comes out, with all this rain, you'll steam like lobsters," said our waitress helpfully.David sends a 10-day forecast for our area - rain, thunderstorms and clouds. Tomorrow is supposed to be only partly cloudy though. Only partly! Thru-hikers will seize on any thread of hope.We had planned a 15-mile hike today, but it's pouring rain. I postpone the shuttle to 11 pm, and scale back to 10 miles. Even if its raining. Gotta keep walking!Skipper, the manager of Harpers Ferry Hostel, shuttles us out. Turns out he is a friend of Hammer's (who isn't?) I was sorry to miss his $5 AYCE pancake breakfast.He drops us off, snaps our picture and drives off. We're in Maryland now!!! Our sixth state! Knockin' 'em down!We see Itchy Foot and Just Do It, right off the bat. They were examining the empty tomb of John Gath, a wealthy man who had fallen on hard times and was buried elsewhere. He built an arched monument to war correspondents. Gathland is now a state park.We are starting to cross over marked Civil War battlefields. This area is very rich in American history. It is a field day for Civil War buffs. After a visit to the charming log "lodge" that is the Ed Garvey shelter, we hear feet running after us. "Jan Liteshoe? I have a message for you..." A message?He introduces himself as Fantasy Feet, southbounding from Massachusetts to Waynesboro, VA. He carried forward a hello from a fellow he met in a New York shelter, someone who's been reading my journal, Blue Jay Le Fey. Message delivered.We run into Commander in Chief, marching on. We tell her that Itchy Foot and Just Do It are ahead. She warns us that the water on the next few hundred yards of the Trail is deep.The trail has been very muddy, with pools of standing water. I have been rock-hopping, or dancing with the poison ivy. But it IS very deep, and I manage to totally soak my shoes and socks. Sigh. My right foot continues to zing, but only periodically. I consider that a good sign. Thru-hikers are nothing if not optimists.Treadmill is asking many questions about the Trail. I think she is getting a tiny case of AT fever. I can see the gleam starting in her eye. This is a Good Thing.We run into the ever-cheerful TurnAround, who got a late start. She tells us the Brit Tanglefoot is back in Harpers Ferry, but felt he didn't have enough time to finish the Trail in one whack. So he was thinking of getting an Amtrak pass and touring America.After a view from the Weverton Rocks, the AT switchbacks us down to the C&O Canal towpath. This canal once moved goods on barges to DC, and competed fiercely with the railroads. After the Civil War, the railroads gained dominance. Now, trees grow in the canal on the Harpers Ferry end of things, and turtles snooze on logs floating in duckweed slime.We finish through the historic district of this lovely old town on the bluffs, caught between two rivers.We shower to get ready for a special "Survivor" party hosted by The Outfitter at Harpers Ferry, great folks. The burgers, beans and beer are plentiful, and the Eric Clapton is cranked up loud. Wench, Hotdog, Mule, Noll and Field (still in town), The Honeymooners, Gonzo and Stitch, Space Monkey and others turn up to the tiki-torch-lit feast.The outfitters inform us that 2003 has just gone from the third wettest year to the second wettest... I don't know about that, but I can tell you that if it's true I personally have no desire to break the record.In the night, the skies break open and the rain pours down.