Date: 2009-06-01
From: Town's Inn (Harper's Ferry, WV)

To: Town's Inn (Harper's Ferry, WV)
Miles today: 0.0

I am typing away under the cool, fluorescent lamps of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. For those of you know know about the trail, you already fathom what this means. For those that don't, you should understand this means two things: one, we have now walked over 1,000 miles and, two, we are at the half-way point! When last I wrote, we were in Waynesboro, enjoying the magic of a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet. The calories from said buffet launched us the next morning in Shenandoah National Park. We were off like a rocket. Twenty-six miles the first day (our longest day not counting slack-packing) and twenty miles the next. Now, for those of you who've never been the Shenandoah National Park (SNP), trust me when I say food is fairly easy to find. Usually we have to leave the trail every four or five days to get supplies. In the Shenandoahs you come to a general store and restaurant roughly every twenty-five miles! Yes, that's correct! You carry one or two days food at the most and you can load up on burgers, pancakes, milkshakes and all other heavenly joys at fairly regular intervals. Well, due to some strange timing, we found ourselves arriving at these little oasis-es (oasi?) after they had closed. As you can imagine, Amanda was having none of this. As we topped a hill we saw a mileage marker: five miles to the wayside. We look at the clock: 4:56 pm. A quick guidebook glance shows the wayside to be open until seven pm. Amanda turns with an intense look on her face and states that she is going to make it even if it means walking on bloody stumps. Keep in mind, we average about two miles per hour ... this would require a three miles per hour average over hills. My brain immediately flashes "Not Bloody Likely", but she's off before I can say anything. Normally I'm the faster hiker, but this day she leaves me in the dust. I can't even see her ahead of me. She's basically running to the ice cream that awaits. And hour and a half later I catch up to her. She is standing at the dark wayside, nearly in tears. It had closed at six o'clock. The next day we had a second wayside close before we could make it. Amanda's anger grew. Also, we were forced to move with great speed in order to get to the shelter before dark. Thus, two days in a row, Amanda left me walking alone on the trail while she ran ahead. The side effect of all this speed was a nice shin-splint. Luckily, we made it to Big Meadows campground where some absolutely wonderful trail angels (JoJo and Nomad) let us put up our tent next to their RV. Further, they let us slack-pack for the following two days, giving us rides to and from the campsite. They were unbelievably helpful and wonderful to spend time with and there generosity allowed Amanda's shin-splints to heal so we can get back to a more normal speed. Also, we procured new shoes. The books had reached the end of their life, so we found ourselves in an outfitter. Despite being a full-blown boot fan, we ended up getting trail runners. I've feel I may have gone over to the dark-side ... but so far so good. In fact, I have to say, I love them. Also of note: bears. Two of them actually. And we did get pictures. The weather through the Shenandoahs was wonderful, but, as usual, the rain eventually came. We had several days of rain and mud leading up to Front Royal. The resupply there brought more food and sunshine. However, once you're wet, the stink comes with a vengeance. The only time we smell ourselves is when it rains ... and when it rains a lot, you smell yourself a lot. Thus, we pulled into Bears Den Hostel (about 20 miles from Harpers Ferry) and dropped the money for a bed, shower, pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Also, while we were in Front Royal, we went to the post office to grab our mail drop. Upon exiting, we were waiting to cross the road when a white SUV pulled up and spooled down the window to reveal a middle-aged woman with her purse in hand. She asked if we were hikers, to which we replied in the affirmative. She pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to us. She said she wanted to buy our lunch because her son was into hiking and she missed him so much. She started crying and then speed away. We were left holding the bill, in a small state of shock. We'll never understand the depths that were below the event for that lady. She allowed us to sit in a coffee house and read the paper for several hours; to feel like sort of real people again. I can only imagine her feelings, but I hope she knows how much it meant to these two smelly little hikers. Showers are great time to check for ticks. Yes, small insects that attach to you and suck your blood. They are out with a vengeance and are doing their best to drain us. There are two types. One is the wood tick, which is larger (about the size of an eraser) and you can usually find very quickly. We've brushed off hundreds of these and Amanda has had two attached on the lower leg so far. I had one unfortunate morning when I awake, stretched, ran my fingers through my hair only to discover a lovely little friend nestled in my hair, sucking my brain. However, the second variety is the deer tick. They are small (about the size of a pin head) and they are the one who carry lyme disease. Amanda has only had one (unattached). I, however, have found two ... attached. Supposedly, you watch the area to see if a bulls eye whelp appears. If it does ... hall butt to town and pump yourself with antibiotics. So far, so good. Well, we've added another state to the list and tomorrow we'll add another (Maryland) and then, only a few days later we'll add Pennsylvania. In less than a week we'll have gone through four states. Goodbye Virginia and the South ... hello Maryland and Yankees.