Date: 2004-07-17
From: Amtrak enroute to AT

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Slime on the C&O CanalStart: Harpers Ferry Train Station @ 1530Finish: Crampton Gap Shelter @ 1952Miles: 10.4Weather: Sunny, Hot & Humid. Overcast in evening w/ sprinklesBreakfast: N/ALunch: Subsandwich, 2 pudding cups, 2 applesauce, Chex MixDinner: Corn chowder, Fudgeround, SnickersTrail Conditions: Flat, but very rocky. Poorly blazed at road crossingAnimals: Frog, heard some angry donkeys in the distancePeople: Jorma, Slider, Weekend HikersAh yes, Amtrak. America¢s most noble attempt at public transportation; and a half-assed attempt at that. Excuse me while I count¢¦..yep¢¦¢¦.it was an 18 hour train ride back to Harpers Ferry, originally scheduled to be only 12 hours. First, the train showed up 1-1/2 hours late to South Bend, IN ¢ and I departed at 9:30pm instead of 8pm. Over the course of the night we somehow managed to fall several hours behind (I was sleeping so who knows what happened). The next afternoon (bear in mind were in West Virginia - the land of the linear family trees) two grown adults ¢ boyfriend and girlfriend (probably cousins) were playing along the railroad tracks (I can¢t exactly pinpoint why but here are some of my options (A) because they're stupid, (B) Momma never told them not to, (C) There was not monster truck rally or demolition derby at the local race track, (D) They were just plain stupid once again.) To make a long story short, the female party didn't think that the loud, large, and fast moving object coming directly at her-tooting a whistle just might cause her serious bodily harm. The train blew by and clipped her arm and did lord only knows what other damage to her. We came to a screeching halt and two hours later finally started moving again. For the sake of humanity she should have just stood directly in front of the train so we could have thinned out the gene pool. Last I heard they hired a lawyer and are going to sue for mental distress caused by Amtrak¢s careless actions, and lack of adequate signage indicating that railroad tracks are in fact dangerous. (Don¢t worry my ranting is coming to an end.) Finally at 3:30 in the afternoon, as opposed to the originally scheduled 10:40 in the morning, I made it back to Harpers Ferry.I waddled off the train ¢ my butt was numb after 18 hours of sitting ¢ and back into the Mid-Atlantic heat wave. I called the folks and let them know I arrived and filled them in on all the delays. As I navigated through the sea of gawking tourists I crossed paths with Jorma, a thru-hiker I hadn¢t seen since my first week on the trail. I spent my first two nights with him and then saw him again at Dicks Creek Gap as Nancy dropped me off after my first zero day. He said his knees were giving him trouble, and Nancy later advised that she dropped him off at the hospital per his request. I figured his trip would have been over. However, his brother Gather ¢ with whom I hiked the Shenandoah with - advised Jorma was able to recover from his injury and was only like a week behind. As the mysterious AT karma would have it, I crossed paths with Jorma, on a busy street, not more than 10 minutes after getting off my train ride. We chatted for several minutes and caught up on the happenings. He and Slider were staying in town for the night, so I pushed on back into the woods.I honestly did not feel like hiking today. Mentally I was a complete space cadet. I wanted nothing more than to be at home with my family and friends and a nice controlled environment. But¢¦..great men don¢t do great things without making some sacrifice. Regardless, I was in a sour mood all afternoon and could do little to shake myself out of the funk.I walked along the C&O canal once more to the trail junction at US340. The PATC has really wonderful shelters and hiker amenities; however, I have found that they do an absolutely terrible job at blazing the trail, especially at road crossings and trail junctions. There have been about 10 occasions where myself, along with other hikers, have gotten lost at road crossings and traveled the wrong trail due to poor blazing. Once again, bad blazing led me astray.At the US340 road intersection the road does a weird hairpin turn, a highway passes nearby, and there is a narrow corridor of woods. When I came to this road cluster there were also a bazillion rafting buses parked everywhere. I got to the road and saw several white blazes along on trees along the paved road. Needless to say I followed them and road walked nearly a mile the wrong way, because there was in fact a road crossing/trail junction that should have been double blazed. I was so pissed off I literally screamed and threw my trekking poles down the road. I did not want to be on the AT. I back tracked another mile, found the trail and was absolutely livid. The trail then turned super rocky and uphill, I was super hot again, and down right miserable. Once more the trail was poorly blazed and I kept stubbing my toes on rocks and tripping. In a fit of all out rage I chucked my poles about twenty yards down trail, yelled at the top of my lungs, and sat down grumbling to myself. This was not how I wanted my first day back on the trail to go. It sucked hardcore.I let my nerves cool somewhat, kind of regained my composure, and started moving again. I was still really irritable. I arrived at the first shelter for a quick break, only to discover that someone had sprayed poop all over the interior of the privy. Jerks. It was disgusting. I pushed on and soon found my way to Crampton Gap where I would spend the evening. Needless to say I was not overly social with the group of guys that were there, however, they were nice and let me borrow their propane Coleman lantern as I cooked up my dinner and journaled. Thanks guys. Pretty much I ate dinner, journaled and went to bed.Today was so mentally tough. I have never felt so challenged in my life. If a car had driven by and offered me a ride back to Holland I probably would have taken it. I could feel the physical effects of four days off the trail. I was out of shape. Mentally I new I was going back to uncomfortable conditions and another 1,100 miles of walking. The ¢honeymoon¢ effect of the trip is ancient history and the reality if only being halfway done after 1,000 miles of walking is a hard pill to swallow. From here on out it¢s all attitude. Nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately my attitude needs a serious jump-start. I will complete this trail. Great men rise to great challenges.Isiah 40: 29-31One Year Reflection