Date: 2003-07-09
From: Harper's Ferry, W. Va.

To: Ed Garvey Shelter, Maryland
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Escape from Harper's Ferry has been today's mission. "Two Speeds" and I had a fine breakfast in the hotel's restaurant which has a great outlook. As we head north, biscuits and gravy may not be on offer too much longer. Then journal entries and various other things needed to be sent home from the Post Office. Finally, after much piffling around at the ATC headquarters, we were on our way by 1.00pm. Taking the blue blaze back to the AT high above the Shenandoah, a half-mile of walking took us to Jefferson's Rock. From here, Thomas Jefferson had surveyed the scene presented by the two rivers and pronounced it "splendid". Of course he didn't, but said something much more profound I'm sure. Today the Rock was swarming with teenage girls who, we soon learned, were from Minnesota. We had almost passed them by when someone asked if we were AT hikers and suddenly we became the centre of everyone's attention. Someone wanted to be photographed beside us, then lots of cameras were produced with the same idea. An older woman asked if we were too tired for this - a little off-putting as we had only been walking for fifteen minutes - but we were not to be denied our moment of fame and celebrity, and we stood happily being photographed with a succession of young women by our sides.  Finally it was over, and as we moved off, they called after us from the Rock almost in unison, to wish us well. A nice gesture from a nice bunch of young people. Going downhill sharply now we passed two of the town's churches on the hillside, and then emerged into the town again at its lower end, virtually on Shenandoah Street. Immediately, we were stopped by people who wanted to know if we had seen "Tom for Short" and "Seneca Lou". It was their children. They told us that "Seneca Lou" had indeed broken her hand, but that they are back on the AT by doing lots of slack packing with their childrens' help. Within fifty yards of the exit from Harper's Ferry (over the Potomac footbridge), we were intercepted by the need for one last ice-cream and the first thunderstorm of the day. Sitting outside the Firehouse (of John Brown fame) in the shade of a large white pine and buckeye it seemed only minutes before the thunder was pealing and we were retreating into the Firehouse for shelter from a downpour. It passed, and FINALLY I was walking over the footbridge alongside a CSX freight train that ground its way slowly into the Maryland Heights tunnel. I was in MARYLAND!For the next three miles, we traced the steps of the dray horses a hundred and fifty years ago as they pulled barges along the C & O Canal. Mostly it's empty now, some sections are filled with stagnant water. What a feat of engineering it must have been in its day. From its end-point in the Georgetown area of Washington D.C. to some point in north-west Maryland, 189 miles of it were completed before the attempt to reach the Ohio Valley was abandoned in the face of competition from the railroads. It was like walking along a causeway, a very noisy one, as the Potomac flowed through a very rocky section to the right, the canal dropped fifteen feet or so to the left, and immediately beyond it, the freight train screeched and clanked its way slowly round the Heights. I loved it. After getting clear of the the river at the Keep Tryst Road, and we started climbing up into regular woodland, it started to rain again until we reached the Ed Garvey two hours later. An outstanding structure, two levels, with an outer staircase up to the upper level. The roof extension front and back was huge. We settled here for the night, along with thru hikers "Blue Stool", "Half-Way" and "Kung Fu". A little later, two young couples from Pennsylvania came in. On a weeklong hike, one of the girls wasn't at all well, mainly the effects of heat exhaustion.