Date: 2003-10-23
From: Blackburn Trail Center

To: YAHOO!!!!! COMPLETION AT LAST!!!!!
Miles today: 12.0

Our last day to hike.....who would have believed that we have come so far on our legs. Crazy! And today the last day...we are still in denial. We wake up to the warmth of the wood burning stove, which is great because it is 30 some degrees outside. The two other hikers have already left at the crack of dawn, but we are not so quick to end our last day. Our friends Fly & Smoothie will come to get us this evening around 7 PM in Harper's Ferry and take us to their home in Baltimore. We only have 12 miles left to hike and we figure we can do it in six hours easy. So we slowly begin putting our packs together and getting dressed. A knock comes on the door and it is opportunity which came in the form of the Hostel Caretaker Bill. He had a proposition. If we would help him clean the house for a few hours then he would slack pack us into Harper's Ferry. Our packs weren't really heavy, so slacking wasn't a huge deal but we wanted to help out in some way. We wanted to give back to the trail before leaving it. So we went to scrubbing walls and anything that stood in our path. Conversation flowed as the cleaning continued and Bill fed us bagels and brownies before we hit the dusty trail. We knew we had to make it to the Appalachian Trail Conference office (ATC) before it closed at 5 PM. So we set off at 11 AM.On the trail, the path turned to rock, which made sense. Painful sense. It was here that the rocks began which stretch through Maryland, Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. Three miles passed in one hour's hiking and we arrrived at the David Lesser Shelter. We made our last entries in the trail register there and read those of trail friends gone by. With a sigh, we hit the trail again.The weather got colder as the day went on and we had to manuever through many a downed tree, remnants of Hurricane Isabel. We hardly talked, each lost in their own thoughts of what comes next after the trail. Time flew and I became very aware that the few hikers we passed were all wearing the bright orange vests to avoid getting shot by hunters. Since we didn't have anything so bright, I began talking and singing most of the time to ensure that we would arrive in Harper's Ferry with no more holes in our body than necessary. This helped pass the time.We stopped for a snack in some downed trees and were on our way once again. Then a reality hit us.....we had told people that we would be picking up mail in Harper's Ferry. What time did the post office close? 4 PM!!! It was 3 PM and we were over 3 miles away from Harper's Ferry. We decided to make a run for it. We ran over the rock path which turned steeply downhill after a few miles. The path took us by trenches which were once used in the Civil War to lay seige to Harper's Ferry. Running downhill and across the bridge into Harper's Ferry, we had only 10 minutes to get to the post office. The road turned uphill and we walked as fast as we could. The post office looked dark as we neared it but the door swung open and we made it in, the last before the doors were locked. WHEW!! What a crazy end to the trail.At the post office we got a sign from Mom and Dad Sonic, a AT 2004 Calendar from Guana's canoe coach Mop, and a card of congrats from Gray Jay. All were much appreciated. We went on to the ATC office and took pictures in front of it with the sign. Once inside we spent time lingering over photos of hikers gone by the ATC and some, who like us, completed their hike at the ATC. We had just enough time to pick up our things and pack them out before our stomachs yelled to be fed. Off to King's Italian restaurant for a late lunch and then off to the Library to begin organizing our transportation home to North Carolina.Around 7:30 we met Fly & Smoothie outside the Appalachian Trail Bar and decided that we wanted to go elsewhere for celebration. Chili's was the restaurant of choice and we had a few celebratory drinks. What a long journey it had been! And so great to share it with two neat people as Fly & Smoothie. It was fitting that they picked us up at the end of our trip.So it is on to Baltimore then North Carolina then up to Massacchusetts. The journey continues and already our sites are on the next big adventure - re-entry!