Date: 2002-07-16
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Miles today: 0.0

Well, if you read my previous entries you know I've been on a two week "shakedown" hike of the AT. It was my first significant backpacking experience and proved to be very worthwhile. I did not stick to my initial schedule and ended up doing 165 miles vs the 220. I will try to summarize the experience in as few entries as possible without going into separate entries for each day since this is really part of my preparation for a thru hike.Day 1 - Sat Jun 29th 9.6 milesJulia dropped me off just before noon on Saturday June 29th where Route 30 crosses the trail near Fayetteville Pa. She took the picture you see in the corner. Just as we unloaded and placed a cooler full of cold drinks along the trail a NOBO couple showed up. I was too focused on getting started to remember their trail names. As I hiked about 10 miles to the Tumbling Run Shelter I passed and talked with some great thru hikers including a young man named Moon who encourage me to "do the trail." It was sort of a surprise when a couple of hours into the afternoon I passed a naked male hiker...that's right not even a jock strap. All he said was "I didn't see you coming." I just said, "that's okay" and just kept hiking. After meeting and talking to Hollywood and Now or Never I decided to take the trail name "Skeemer" You can see it is a play on my last name spelled backwards. I also met some really nice young girls. One was recovering from poision ivy but still had the biggest smile on her face.At the shelter I tented the first night. Also tenting was a 70 year old hiker with the trail name "70" So, for dinner I had my first Ramen noodles and only slept so-so. I am a light sleeper to begin with and it was a bit of a struggle throughout the hike. All in all, it was a great first day. I forgot to mention that it was hot.Day 2 - Sun Jun 30th 13.2 miless (if you don't count the wrong way miles)The next day it took me 2 hours to get around and start hiking. It improved somewhat over the rest of the hike but I will have get more organized and not take so long to get started. I stopped at the first shelter for a break and met an older gentleman with no trail name who was hiking from Waynesboro Va and a young NOBO named Sampson. I took the gentleman's picture with my digital camera and e-mailed it to him upon return home. The rest of the first day did not go so well. I shouldn't admit this but I took a wrong turn out of that shelter and hiked back a couple of miles. Boy was I pissed at myself. That will never happen again. It got hotter and I ended up putting in around 18 miles total. I was beat when I stopped for the night at Devils Racecourse Shelter. It was funny because you had to hike .3 mile down a steep hill and the journal entries were very critical. The neat thing was a cat lived under the shelter so there were no mice. I gave it some of my tuna. I was alone until about 4 a.m. when a couple of NOBO's crashed next to me in the shelter.Day 3 - Mon Jul 1 12.6 miles and Day 4 - 12.5 miles Tue Jul 2The third day got even hotter and my first "problem" developed. I did get a blister (even while wearing two pair of socks) but the real problem was I had no appetite. I did eat but not enoough. I was so tired that night at Pine Knob Shelter that I did get some sleep but began to wonder if I had enough strength to get to Harpers Ferry by the 3rd. I tented and again, another hiker showed up after dark and tented not far from me. I did meet a young couple out for a few days hike to HF. We would camp together the next night at Crampton Gap. There, I had used all of my water and the spring was dry. They were carrying extra and were nice enough to give me two liters. My first sort of "trail magic." I still ended up hiking down the mountain to a State Park where I got water and had the most wonderful lemonade out of the machine I have ever had. The machine took only one dollar bills and I only had one. I could have drank 3 more easily. Anyway. lessons learned about dehydration and having small bills available for pop machines.I don't want to forget to tell you about my stop around noon at the Dahlgren Backpack Campground. They have free hot showers and restrooms plus tent sites if you are there overnight. I took a shower and while I was eating lunch on the benches out front I met Mousebait, Grumps and The Missing Kink. Mousebait and Grumps were doing the NOBO thru hike while Missing Kink was joining them for a short peice. Missing Kink did some trail magic. She gave me her Duck tape (which I forgot to bring) Since I had developed a blister on the ball of my left foot it really helped hold the pad and kept it from getting worse. I used it everyday and it worked for me. She also gave me some Jolly Ranchers candy. I took their picture and emailed it to them upon return Day 5 - Wed Jul 3 10.5 milesThe next day I hiked into Harpers Ferry and got there about noon. It wasn't easy though and again it was hot, in the 90's and I again became dehydrated. It was bad enough that I filtered water out of the Potomac and took several breaks along it to rest. I first went to the Outfitter. I was told by a thru hiker I had met that they could hook me up with a great hostel called the "Inn 230." While waiting there all afternoon I met a legend... "Baltimore Jack." He is quite interesting to say the least. He said he has hiked the trail 8 times. The thing is he isn't that skinny and he does enjoy a drink or two. Another seasoned hiker named "Artful Dodger" showed up and was nice enough to give me a ride 4 miles to the Inn. There I took their private room with a shower and AC for $65. It was sooo hot it was worth it. The rest of the house was quite warm. We had a great dinner for $8 and I started to get my appetite back.Day 5 Thu Jul 4 0 miles The next day I zeroed in town and hung out at the ATC headquarters. It was the 4th of July and reached a high about 100. The volunteer manning the desk was great. He gave me a ride back to the Inn. The Inn put on a fantastic 4th of July bar-B-Q. Ravin' and Chicken Man were the only other hikers there, so we all ate well. Chicken Man was "working for his keep" so to speak. I think he is hiking the trail but needed to get a job to make some money. I believe he was working for a raft ride company when I left.I guess that's enough for now. I will pick up from here on my next entry. See you later.Skeemer