Date: 2008-05-03
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Ended at ATC offices
Miles today: 19.9

I was up and out early after some good sleep in the Bear's Den Hostel. The terrain was very easy but the heat made me work for the 20 miles. I saw a turtle on the trail and a bunch of day and section hikers but no thru-hikers. I passed a large group of people right before Harpers Ferry and chatted with them and took their picture. A lot of people ask if I've read Bill Bryson's book and I'm sure every thru-hiker gets asked that. To a lot of people its the only thing they affiliate with the trail. Unfortunately from what I remember of the book (I read it a long time ago) it doesn't do the trail experience justice. Being asked if I've read A Walk in the Woods to me, is a lot like when someone starts singing Man of Constant Sorrow from O Brother Where Art Thou when I mention Bluegrass to them. Again, its the only thing familiar to them on the topic, but to someone with a closer relationship to the AT or Bluegrass, A Walk in the Woods and Man of Constant Sorrow don't represent their respective subjects. Just as I arrived at the ATC office my Dad and Ben pulled up. I was still covered in sweat and hadn't even taken my pack off yet when I greeted them and I'm happy for that. They got to see me fresh off the trail before shower or laundry or even time to air out and I suppose fresh would be the wrong way to describe myself. I got my picture taken for the register there and was the 32nd thru-hiker to start from Springer and make it to Harpers Ferry this year. When I started on March 6th I didn't check to see what number I was but from talking to people who started before and after me and knew what number they were I figure I was somewhere between 120-130. My Dad had gotten a room at the Bavarian Inn in Shepardstown which is where him and mom have stayed at before. The room was nice, definitely the nicest I've stayed in so far. We hung out in the room a little and caught up as well as drank some of the nice beer my Dad had bought. We went into town to do laundry and eat. Shepardstown is a nice place with a lot of unique stores although I'm not quite sure how they stay open because it doesn't seem like a lot of people live in the area. Dinner was great but the laundry situation was not so great. We borrowed detergent from someone else in the laundromat who put way too much soap in so all of my clothes were covered with detergent even after the load was done. We got ice cream while we waited and then went back to the room and everything dried out on the balcony of the room. I was able to replace some stuff I've been carrying that was getting worn like all the trashbags and ziplocks I use to keep everything dry. I was also able to identify some of the birds I've been seeing. I'm embarrassed to say that the bird I was 98% sure was an oriole is actually an eastern or rufous-sided towhee. Not as cool as an oriole but a towhee will do. The bright red bird I saw was a scarlet tanager and the huge woodpeckers I've been seeing are pileated woodpeckers. Ben and Dad let me have the bed tonight which is nice considering I wouldn't have minded just setting up on the floor seeing as how that's how I've been sleeping for the past two months.