Date: 2009-07-29
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Turner's Gap,Alternate Route 40
Miles today: 17.4

I'm hiking agin, so naturally it rained. Warm, humid, occasional rain all day, with raindrops so huge you wonder how they could have stayed up for so long. Up at 6:00 at Gordon's house, a bagel and coffee for breakfast, and off to hike. Gordon dropped me off at Route 40, close to the Smith Mountain Inn and just up the road from Boonesboro. Turner's Gap was the site of desperate fighting in September 1862, after the Union army discovered General Lee's secret orders. Union troops were quickly dispatched to meet the confederates that had invaded Maryland, and first came into contact with them at South Mountain at Turner's Gap. It was the scene of a vicious fight, where undermanned Southerners held off the Union troops long enough for Lee to consolidate his forces at Antietam. The following days were the bloodies of the war.   A little ways down, I came to the spot where Union General Reno was killed, the highest ranking officer to be killed in battle up to that point. And a bit further down, I came across Gapland, where someone had erected a large monument to honor the Civil War news correspondents. Gapland was also the site of major battles in the days preceding the Antietam battle, with one of the major southern units engaged being the 2nd S.C. Infantry and Kershaw's Brigade. This unit was based out of my hometown of Camden SC, and it was interesting to see names on a memorial that were familiar from childhood. I saw very few people on the trail. I crossed paths with maybe 10 hikers, only one of whom professed to be a thru-hiker. I'm assuming all the thru-hikers have already made it into New England by now, and it will be a relatively isolated hike, just me and the section hikers. I did cross paths with a guy from Ireland who had gotten bored with his vacation in New York City and decided to hike for a while. He was horribly ill-equipped, having borrowed equipment where he could. He'd started in Harper's Ferry, and was still carrying his sleeping bag in his hands. Together, we tied it to the back of his pack, so at least he could have his hands free. I also assured him that black bears are unlikely to attack, s he had been warned that bears kill and eat large numbers of hikers on the AT every year. Getting close to Harper's Ferry, I did run into father-son section hikers, who had a lot of questions about my Go-Lite pack and my hiking shoes. SInce they were both new and I hadn't hiked in them more than 15 miles, there wasn't much I could share. Still, it was nice to get back into gear-talk mode again.   Last night, I'd frozen a couple quarts of gatorade in Gordon and Theresa's freezer, and put carried these blacks of ice for cold refreshment during the day. Good Idea. The bottle that was in my pack a wrapped in a shirt stayed cold all day. The bottle that I carried on the outside stayed cold in the morning. I plan to repeat the process tomorrow.Reaching my car at Harper's Ferry, I was completely exhausted.   17 miles was the limit of what I could do after 3 weeks off, even with the much lighter pack and lightweight shoes. I drove to Gordon's House, traveling 55 mph when the speed limit was 70 -- I was just to tired and wasn't alert enough to drive at the normal speed. At dinner, Edward and Robin Thompson, also friends from college who now live in the area, came over. Pork BBQ, corn on the cob, and good company. Because Gordon has an appointment early in the morning, and because Edward and Robin live much closer to the AT, it was agreed I'd spend the night with Edward and Robin, and that Robin would drop me off tomorrow morning.