Date: 2014-06-19
To: A long hike into Harper's Ferry and beyond
Miles today: 0.0

Bears Den Hostel to Harper¢s Ferry and on to MarylandIt is still quite dark when we wake this morning. We get dressed, pack up the tent and head to the car to stow the tent, sleeping bags, extra clothes, cooking supplies and anything else we won¢t need on the trail today. The local weather forecast for today is ominous. While we¢re eating breakfast in the car, Suuz texts N Trovert, ¢80% chance of rain...morning showers and afternoon thunderstorms, some may be severe. Are we crazy?¢ He replies, ¢Only mildly deranged...¢We¢ve been getting our morning coffee jolt from sleeves of Starbucks in a home-packaged breakfast drink mix. We used the last of that yesterday, not planning on this additional day¢s hike into Harper¢s Ferry when we sent resupplies. Suuz realizes midway through breakfast that caffeine deprivation may make for a throbbing headache and an ugly disposition later today. X solves the problem with Coke from the hostel.Another thing we lacked when we added today¢s hike to our itinerary was AWOL's map section from beyond Bears Den into Harpers Ferry. Today we have the missing page thanks to X¢s phone photo of Cupcake and Sprinkleburst¢s AWOL, which they shared at the Rods Hollow Shelter pavilion two days ago.SOS¢s trail magic crew, who spent the night at Bears Den, are just getting set up in the hostel kitchen this morning, but we don¢t have time to stay for breakfast. After leaving the car keys with Big Hammer and making pit stops in the hostel bathroom, we are on the AT by 5:55. We have another four miles of the Roller Coaster this morning, but we are invigorated by today¢s slightly cooler temps, light packs and an adrenaline surge at the thought of hiking into Harper¢s Ferry. Or we may hike into Harper¢s Ferry and beyond. When we first mentioned adding this extra day onto our hike to N, he issued the 3-state challenge: start the day in Virginia, trek through West Virginia and cross the Potomac to Maryland. Suuz wants to see how she feels after reaching the ATC trail in 19.9 miles, her longest hiking day to date, before adding another two miles roundtrip to tag Maryland.Shortly after leaving Bears Den we reach Snickers Gap, where we risk life and limb crossing 4-lane VA 7 with morning commuter traffic speeding by in both directions. As we walk along in the center median, X stays as far off the highway as possible, hiking in the wet grass. Suuz, however, doesn¢t want to get her first blisters of this trip from wet shoes on the last day of the hike and opts to stay on the gravel shoulder closer to the road. After hiking less than a mile, we come to sticks laid out along the trail to form the numerals ¢1000.¢ We¢ve reached the thousand-mile mark for those who have hiked all the way from Springer Mountain. Though we¢ve come a mere 142.1 miles since we started in Waynesboro, this is a milestone, nonetheless. In another two miles we come to a VA/WV sign and pause to document this landmark with a picture. While we¢re posing, the unmistakeable sound of a weather alarm siren echoes up from a town in the valley below. The skies are a little overcast, but from our high vantage point we see no angry weather approaching. Still, with the earlier severe weather forecast and a second sounding of the siren, Suuz wonders if we¢ll be memorialized as ¢the AT hikers blown away while taking a selfie.¢Once we exit the roller coaster, the trail is fairly level with only gentle ups and downs. The hours and miles go by quickly until we come to a section where the trail is strewn with rocks demanding careful foot placement at a snail¢s pace. The treacherous rocks continue for miles. We stop at a tent site by the trail for a mid-afternoon break and celebrate a mile or so later at the sign telling us we¢re entering Harper¢s Ferry National Historic Park. It¢s all downhill from here as we begin a steep 800-foot descent with less than two miles to go to the ATC side trail.Crossing the Shenandoah River Bridge into Harper¢s Ferry is a classic AT milestone for Suuz, who is crossing for the first time, and X, who¢s done this before. Despite the ugly weather predictions this morning, we¢ve had a dry day until we reach the ATC path. A light rain begins to fall, but we¢re feeling good and continue on the AT another mile. We¢re wet but elated when we cross the Potomac, set foot in Maryland and head back though town.Rebecca greets us warmly when we reach the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. She takes our picture in front of the ATC sign and another one of Suuz for the hiker registry--2014 section hiker #249. We browse through the registry and see many familiar faces, hikers we¢ve met over the last couple of weeks who¢ve passed through recently. X finds the Troverts and other familiar faces in the 2012 registry.We are about to leave when Potato, one of the hikers we met yesterday, arrives. All day, we¢ve been expecting the young hikers who overnighted at Bears Den to overtake us, but it didn¢t happen. As much as we¢d like to think it was due to our superior hiking today, more likely they hiked shorter mileage or are taking zeros, having watched a Star Wars movie marathon into the wee hours this morning.We intend to retrieve our car, which Big Hammer has shuttled from Bears Den Hostel, and drive to a Winchester motel. Rebecca will not hear of it. Winchester is so close to Berryville, she insists we must spend the night, an offer two tired hikers cannot refuse. Rob welcomes us, and we are soon showered with our hiking clothes churning in the washer. When the ATC closes for the evening, Rebecca surprises us with another overnight guest. Potato, who was getting ready to hike off from the ATC in the rain, was happy to accept an offer of a roof overhead tonight, not to mention a bed, shower, laundry and delicious meal prepared by Rob on short notice. We enjoy the chance to visit with Potato, who we learn was given his trail name because he¢s from Idaho, famous for its spuds.After 20.8 miles on the AT today and another mile or more off it, we will sleep well tonight. It¢s been a grand hike with no injuries or setbacks. The knee injury that took Suuz off the trail last year is ancient history. We¢ve hiked 162 AT miles in 16 days. We¢ve made friends and met some interesting characters. We¢ve got a list of most of their trail names--94 hikers--and memories of the time we spent with them.Tomorrow we¢ll drive 765 miles home to Mississippi. But tonight we are dreaming of trails and tent sites, spectacular views and friends met along the way.-Dr. Suuz and X