Date: 2003-07-10
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: mist

Okay, so...I finally got to sleep at sometime after 1:00. I ended up getting a soda from the fridge, popping it open was so loud! I sat down on the couch in the bunk area, and realized I was right across from the window...fresh air! I got my sleepsack and pillow and moved to the couch for the night. I had felt like I couldn't breathe in the bunk, and all the odors from all the packs in the entryway were floating into my space...not helpful for sleep. Also, it seemed like every noise was amplified. Once I switched to the couch, I was able to get to sleep quite quickly. 6:30 came way too early, however...We had to get up and on the Trail ASAP, as we now had 19 miles to do to get into Harpers Ferry. We got packed up and ready to go. Kelly was joining us for the hike, just taking a small pack, and Nancy was getting a ride into town with one of the caretakers of the hostel. She had a really bad blister on one heel, and couldn't continue. I set the pace for the day, kno!wing that we needed to hustle to get into town on time. Apparently, the coffee that Gerri made for breakfast gave me the boost I needed, as I ended up setting a mean pace. Kelly spent the day trying to keep up with me...she's a runner, rockclimber, and tri-athlete, but she had a difficult time keeping up with me. It made me feel pretty good about the condition I'm in right now...usually I feel so slow! I was listening to music, though, which makes me hike faster. We did the first 7.8 miles to the Blackburn Trail Center, where we had originally planned to stay last night. We decided to take a break there, as they had sodas there, and ended up hiking .27 miles totally downhill. We were greeted as we approached by Bill, then by Sarah and their daughter, Kai, who is 18 months old. We sat on the huge front porch, eating snacks and and drinking soda, which Kai ordered us to open as soon as we got them. We all quickly obeyed... We heard about the latest Trail scandal...!a thief on the Trail had been arrested there last week. It all sounded very exciting! The sherriff arrived while we were there to update Bill on the situation. We weighed our packs on the scale they had, and mine still weighed in too heavy for my liking...45 pounds. Gonna work on that here tomorrow. We kept on going...the day turned out great for hiking. Although the forecast called for thunderstorms, we spent the day in the fog...but no rain. It was so much cooler than the previous few days...a very welcome change. We took a necessary break at (drumroll, please!) 1000 miles!! That's right, I hit the 1000 mile mark today! It was quite a high point of the day...photos all round had to be taken. We only took one other break, then we were overlooking the outskirts of Harpers Ferry. We crossed the Shenendoah River and were...FINALLY OUT OF VIRGINIA!!! For good! I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be in another state! We hiked into town, passing the Appalachian Trail Conference Headquarters. It was closed for the night, but t!omorrow we will go there to register, have our pictures taken and be assigned a thru-hiker number. I'm feeling really emotional about it right now...I just can't believe that I've made it this far. It's a good feeling! We received a celebratory beer from Nancy when we got to the hotel, then hit the room to shower and get ready for dinner. Nancy treated Randy and me to a fabu dinner at The Anvil Restaurant...porterhouse steak, rare...yum! We got a ride back to the hotel in the back of a fireman's pickup (the poor man was cruelly dumped by his girlfriend last week), and headed to our room. I sure hope I can sleep tonight, but don't have to worry about it so much...zero day tomorrow! New boots! Yay! Good night!