Date: 2014-05-16
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Today's the day! Harpers Ferry and the big check in! As usual I'm the first out the door. I like to get started and just don't want to sit around. Plus I'm super excited. A drawback to being first though is the spider webs. Seems they spin them all night across the trail and are typically at eyeball level. What a mess on the trail. It seemed like a huge amount but news said four or five inches of rain. Thought the hike would be quick and easy but it was a challenge. So mucky and muddy. Whole sections were just a river. At one point I had just no choice but to hike through about thirty feet of ankle deep water. Just when I managed to dry stuff out. These wet socks have been giving me hot spots and now no relief. Since I get to do laundry I wasn't too mad and decided about halfway through the day to switch to my other pair that were still a little more than damp but at least not soaking. When the trail isn't mud or water it was piles of rocks - but who cares, I'm heading into Harpers! Finally I crossed for real into West Virginia and left the longest state behind. In rapid fire I'm going to finish West Virginia and Maryland with my dad and head into Pennsylvania. The trail just gets worse and worse and CRAP again with having to hike through water. Now all socks are wet. Then I slid on a patch of mud and got my legs all mucky. I look the part today. Getting really excited to hear a road again. Always means close to town. The roar of the cars. But WOW I came upon the very wide Shenandoah river and clearly it was flooding horribly. Gray and brown and raging and full of entire trees flying downstream. It's about twice as wide as the Colorado if home friends are reading. I don't know where we cross this into Harpers but hope it's open. Keep hiking down to find a big bridge with screaming traffic and a pedestrian route over it. Always fun to hike along a busy road (not). But you do get a lot of honks and thumbs ups. Made it across and here we are! A short hike in and a side trail to the Conservancy and I can check in. Big day!! I get there right after Hawk and we get our obligatory pics in front of the sign. I'm number 140! When I started I was around 300 so I've either hiked fast or a lot have dropped out. They have. Nice little hiker room with maps and muffins. And you can see all your friends in the book and their pics. Hung out until Goliath and Handsome Dan showed up then hiked down to the Econolodge to check in and get a real shower! Feels soo good. And to watch all that brown water head down the drain. I almost prefer not to wash my hair though. When I do it becomes this crazy mane. When it's dirty it kind of holds it's shape. I got some chores done and headed down to the old town to start the obligatory pub run! Meeting the other three there but it turns out Mariposa's friend was on her way and couldn't join and I was hungry so just got food and a few pints then headed back. Stopped at an Italian place and for a calzone to go for dinner. It was huge!! And could only eat half. Basically large pizza folded in half. So now here I am next morning finishing all my cleaning waiting for dad.Oh.. And the flooding is so bad they closed the footbridge over the Potomac into Maryland so hope it's back open for our hike out