Date: 2019-10-11
From: Bears Den Hostel (Bluemont, VA)

To: Caledonia State Park, PA
Miles today: 80.0
Weather: light rain

Evidently Which Way¢s 1,000 mile hike from Springer Mountain, GA to Northern Virginia was not enough to get the calling of the Appalachian Trail out of her system. Although she overcame tremendous adversity during our 2018 AT journey, she was eventually forced off the trail with a back injury. After some time to recover and reflect, Which Way could not ignore the insistent whisper of the trail calling her back. So, the Grand Adventure continues. It will do so in the form of section hikes spanning over the next several years¢Lord willing and AT permitting.Our first section hike started on Friday, October 11th, at Bears Den Hostel (vicinity Bluemont, VA). From Snickers Gap we wrapped up the Virginia Roller Coaster, hiking north along the Blue Ridge Mountains, passing through West Virginia and Maryland. After crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, the Blue Ridge gave way to South Mountain, eventually bringing us to Caledonia State Park, PA. The path meandered through the Harper¢s Ferry Wilderness Area, four State Parks, a few regional parks and several Civil War historical sights.For the data geeks out there, the average grade over the 80-mile hike was 6.5 percent, with over 26,000 feet in elevation change. Other than the short hike in to camp late in the afternoon on Day 1, we averaged 11 miles a day. Except for a few rocky stretches, the trail surface was conducive to a good hiking rhythm.The weather was almost perfect, with highs ranging from the mid-50s to low-70s and lows in the 40s. We had one day of heavy rain (which we managed to avoid hiking in) followed by a day of gusting winds.Before I turn it over to Which Way I want to say how proud I am of her for continuing this journey. I¢ll steal her thunder a bit by saying she picked up right where she left off, minus the considerable pain and agony she endured in 2018. In a word, she ROCKED!!! As for me, I was hiking with overwhelming joy in my heart. First, I was able to share in her excitement as she reached new milestones. Second, I hiked with a vigor that I found nearly impossible to muster when I hiked this portion of the trail without my best friend at my side. Finally, experiencing the magic of the trail together is a rare and beautiful thing. Speaking of beautiful, over to the star of the trek to bring you the hike through her eyes.Peace & Blessings - Next StepCan someone please pinch me?¢¦I MUST be dreaming!! I am back on the AT, one of my favorite places to be. We arrived at Bear¢s Den Hostel (where I came off the thru hike in June 2018) and Top Shelf (aka Dale, one of Next Step¢s paratrooper buddies from his days in the 82nd) was already tucked in his sleeping bag. The room he secured for us just happened to be the same room we stayed in last year. So cool! I had to chuckle at myself. I knew that this would be my last shower for a few days, so I took in all my hygiene/beauty products that I had brought for the end of our section hike ¢ three bags worth!! My hygiene for the rest of the journey fit into a quart size baggie and of course, there are no beauty products ¢ they weigh too much for sure! I definitely turn into a different person when I put on my backpack. LolI woke up Friday morning well before 5AM. I am sure it was partly from excitement and the rest was nervous energy. I¢ve been doing a lot of walking since I left the AT, but I had no idea what to expect when I had to carry my backpack for an extended time. We did a shakedown hike a few weeks ago, but it was only for one night. Next Step had already decided that he would carry all of our food (except for our snacks) to try to keep my pack as light as possible.We drove into town and found some delicious breakfast sandwiches (and a Coke Zero, of course!!) and started taking care of the logistics for our hike. We dropped Top Shelf¢s truck at Caledonia State Park, dropped our CRV outside the Washington Monument State Park, and caught a shuttle back to Bear¢s Den. On our way back to Bear¢s Den we made a quick stop at the Bluemont General Store for some yummy chili for lunch and picked up some sandwiches to carry in for our supper. It was a short 3.5-mile hike to Raven Rocks where we spent our first night tenting on some cliffs with amazing views and a breathtaking sunset. What a start to the trip! The only downside to Raven Rocks was the attack of the stink bugs. They were EVERYWHERE!!! They covered our tent and us! Fortunately, as soon as the sun set and the temperatures dropped, they disappeared (except for the few that had taken refuge inside our tent). It only took one night to get back into the habit of finding sleep before 8 pm. We decided to be ready to hike out at dawn, so we were up and at it around 6AM and on the trail as soon as we could see the path. This turned out to be a great plan because the wildlife were still hanging around as we passed through their homes. (And the other reward, was that it would get us into camp every day, except one, before 3 pm which I absolutely loved!). We saw several deer within just a few minutes of entering the woods, not to mention tons of squirrels and chipmunks throughout the day. We expected to see some day hikers since it was a holiday weekend, but we were surprised to run into well over a dozen SOBO¢s. Next Step had told me that this section was some of the nicest terrain along the trail, and boy was he right! The 11 miles we hiked on Saturday had just a few stretches of rocks to maneuver over or around. No complaints here!We stopped in a shelter for lunch which had a separate pavilion with a picnic table and even had a porch swing! Next Step had also told me that we would pass by some of the nicest shelters along the AT and obviously, he wasn¢t kidding ¢ WOW! We made it to our stop for the day to a parking lot about 10 minutes from Stoney Brook Hostel, where we had arranged to stay for the night. They sent Ish, a super friendly fellow, to pick us up and he arrived within just a few minutes. Ish dropped us at our cabins where we found a basket of goodies and towels for our ¢luke-cool¢ shower (as Next Step called it) and an invitation to supper and their nightly devotional. Next Step and I accepted both and were treated like special guests. While most might not fully agree with their religious ideology, they definitely practice what they preach in trying to make the world a better place by showing love to all who cross their path. However, they had about 15 goats that had other plans. Apparently, there was a break in the goat pen and the whole herd was traveling from bush to bush, eating everything in sight with no regard for anyone! It was very entertaining to watch, to say the least. But those goats came in very handy. For supper they served us the most delicious tomato soup I¢ve ever eaten with homemade parmesan cheese made from the goat¢s milk along with piping hot homemade jalapeno cheese bread with sun-dried tomatoes. You can just never anticipate the experiences you will get on the AT. Once again, we were in bed by 7 with a 6:30AM shuttle arranged for Sunday morning.Ish was right on time and had us back to the trail before sunrise. We did our stretching and took off down the trail as soon as it was light enough to safely start hiking. One again we were rewarded for our early start with seeing 10 deer within the hour. I was super excited because today we were hiking into Harper¢s Ferry. When I was here last year, I was calling for a rental car to get to a physical therapist to try and ¢fix¢ my back. But this time, I have never felt better!! In fact, so far, I haven¢t even had a hot spot on my feet! I¢m sure most of you remember that I started with a blister within the first hour of our thru hike last year and dealt with them the entire 3 months of my journey. I am completely euphoric with how AMAZING I feel so far on this trip! SO THANKFUL!We made it to the ATC by 10 am, picked up a few souvenirs, and then hiked down to the local outfitter to get Top Shelf a new set of hiking poles. We HAD to go to Sweet Alisha¢s Pizza for lunch! I mean, it would be wrong not to. Right?! The owners were running the restaurant and were very hiker friendly. Not to mention, they have the cutest little 5 year old ¢waiter¢ I¢ve ever seen! Top Shelf finished before we did and headed out and we soon followed. We hiked across the railroad bridge and knew that we would then have some of the three easiest miles on the AT ¢ 3 miles on the C&O Canal. My plan had been to just take it easy and enjoy the flat, plush terrain while it lasted, but I guess that just wasn¢t meant to be. A couple of day hikers had joined us as we crossed the bridge. The one walking with me was planning a thru hike next year. When he found out that Next Step had completed a thru hike last year and that I had made it 1,000 miles, he was full of questions. Anyone who knows me, knows that the more excited I get, the faster I not only talk, but also the faster I walk. Well, talking about the AT must really get me going, because we were almost running for those 3 miles!! Next Step and the guy¢s buddy were just trying to keep up. At the end of the canal, we gave him our email info in case he had any more questions and wished them well. Next Step and I then hiked the three remaining miles to our shelter. We stopped along the way for our communion and it brought back so many warm memories of all of our Sundays together last year on our journey! It was a 12 mile hike down to get to the water, so I graciously agreed to hold down the fort while Next Step and Top Shelf made the trek down. After supper, Top Shelf turned in really early, so Next Step and I got out our newly purchased ATC playing cards to pass the time until bedtime. That was our longest hiking day so far, so sleep came easily.On Monday morning, once again, we started hiking at daylight, but this time, we only jumped one deer Next Step and Top Shelf better hang on, because today is TOWN DAY!!! We are hiking to our CRV and then going into Hagerstown for REAL FOOD and a motel! Even on a week-long section hike, I still LOVE town day! We got to the car around 2 pm and had already eaten lunch. But when we stopped at Chickfila for my Coke Zero, we all agreed that some French fries would be the perfect snack to hold us until supper. We got checked in, got our showers, did laundry, and got our dishes washed. Then we all headed to the Outback ¢ YUMMO!!! I saw a Bruster¢s Ice Creamery nearby, but I guess we haven¢t been hiking long enough to be that hungry yet. However, I already asked that we stop there on our way back to Tennessee after the hike. We got back to the room and got all packed up, set the alarm for 5:45 and called it a day.We met in the lobby for breakfast at 6 am on Tuesday morning and then drove to meet our sweet shuttle driver, Nina. She picked us up at Penmar Park and dropped us back at Mount Washington State Park. Unfortunately, when we got all of our stuff out of her car, I realized I had only made it there with one of my hiking poles - Oops! Oh well, I honestly only use them on steep ascents and descents. Last year, my physical therapist indicated that overusing my poles had added to my back issues. I definitely don¢t want to do that again, so no worries. Today was chipmunk day on the trail. Those cute little critters were scampering about every few feet. I can¢t help but smile every time I see them scurrying around. Next Step and Top Shelf had not yet caught up to me when I came across a group of trail maintainers and a ridge runner who must have been having a bad day (based on her unusually grumpy disposition). So when she asked where I was headed, I just couldn¢t help myself and answered, ¢Some shelter up the trail. You¢ll have to ask the guys behind me.¢ She exclaimed, ¢You¢re the leader and you don¢t even know where you¢re going?!?!¢ I answered, very seriously, ¢Oh, I¢m sure I¢ll recognize it when I see the name of it.¢ I just wish I had taken a picture of the look on her face! We had heard that there was no water at the shelter where we staying for the night, so we decided to stop at Pogo Camp for lunch (which did have a nice spring nearby). We also thought it would be a good idea to cook our hot supper meal for lunch and save our PB&J wraps for supper so that we wouldn¢t have to use much water once we got to camp. But that ended up not being an issue anyway (more about that later). I took off as soon as we finished lunch and after a bit of hiking Next Step came up and told me he had some VERY EXCTING news. He had been looking at his Guthook app and had read about hikers getting rides into a nearby town from the shelter we were staying at for the night. Except he had an even BETTER idea ¢ what if we could find someone to deliver food to us?!?!? So he called Vince¢s Pizza and wouldn¢t you know it, ¢Sure, we deliver to the parking lot just .3 miles from the shelter.¢ Hello!!!! Sign. Me. Up. Just one more reason I love that man! He certainly knows just how to make deposits in my Love Bank! I was practically skipping the rest of the hike to the shelter. When we arrived, we dropped our packs at a tent site before walking down to the shelter, where we met Slug Sloth and Army of Mice (aka Keith and Lynda) a super nice couple from DC that were section hiking as well. We told them our plan to order pizza for supper and asked if they wanted to do the same. They had VERY puzzled looks on their faces and then Lynda asked, ¢Did you guys hike all the way out here just to order pizza to eat at the shelter?¢ At first, we didn¢t understand their confusion and then we realized we had dropped our packs before they saw us, so they thought we had literally just shown up with nothing and were just there to eat pizza at a shelter!! Too funny! We explained that were section hiking and had dropped our packs back at the tent site and then they agreed that ordering pizza was a GRAND idea, especially since they had miscalculated the number of meals they needed and were short by one. Around 4:30 we called Vince¢s back and then around 5:00, the four of us set out the .3 mile trek to the parking lot to get our supper. The delivery lady was already there and looked very happy to see us emerge from the woods. She thought she had missed us. We took a few pictures and headed back to the shelter to enjoy our delicious pizza. Afterwards, we learned that Slug Sloth LOVES to build campfires, so we all sat around chatting and enjoying the warm fire. Next Step had checked the AT Weather App and saw that there was 12 - 34 inches of rain in the forecast for the next day and it was to start around 10 am. So we all decided to get an early start and try to get the five mile hike to the next shelter done before the rain set in. I woke up around 4:30 and never went back to sleep. We were back on the trail with our head lamps on a bit before daylight after getting a quick cup of coffee/tea and our oatmeal/grits breakfast. Next Step and I only stopped when nature called and for a couple of photo ops on some really cool rock formations. We ended up arriving at the shelter by 9 am. The only thing that makes me hike faster than Town Day, is an approaching storm, so we were certainly hauling! The rain was supposed to last all day, so as section hikers, we got to take advantage of a luxury we NEVER had a thru hikers ¢ wait out the storm INSIDE THE SHELTER!!! We claimed our spots in the lower level of the shelter and soon after, Top Shelf, Slug Sloth and Army of Mice showed up and did the same. The shelter was quite new and was absolutely beautiful! It had hardwood floors that I would be happy to have in my house! There was a nice overhang with a picnic table and a fire ring with 3 super nice benches. The rain held off until about 11, but didn¢t stop until around 5 pm. The wind was whipping, so even though the temperatures were in the low 50¢s, it felt much cooler than that. So we spent most of the day sitting with our backs against the shelter wall and our legs tucked nicely under our warm quilts. I even got a nap in ¢ another luxury we rarely got to do last year on our thru hike. As the day wore on and the rain continued to pour, more and more hikers, mostly SOBO¢s, made their way to the shelter to get out of the storm. By the time the rain stopped, the shelter was full and there were several tents set up as well.Oh, I almost forgot the funniest moment of the day! When Next Step and I first arrived at the shelter this morning, he decided to make a run for the water before the rain arrived, since we got there so early. The spring was .5 miles from the shelter, so it was a bit of a haul to get there and back. I started unloading our packs, since we had pretty much decided to just call it a day. After I got my pack unloaded and was working on Next Step¢s, I was very perplexed because I didn¢t see his food bag in his pack. (Don¢t forget, he had agreed to carry ALL OF OUR FOOD!!!) Well, when Slug Sloth and Army of Mice showed up, Slug Sloth asked, ¢Did you guys maybe leave something at the last shelter this morning???¢ THANK YOU!!!!! They had found our food bag sitting on a rock wall where Next Step had loaded his pack. Since it was still dark when we left, it blended right in with the wall and he didn¢t realize it didn¢t make it in the pack. Of course, he won¢t live that one down for a while! Slug Sloth thought that maybe we were testing him to see if he would bring it or not. Um, no, it definitely was an accident! Once again, after supper, Slug Sloth built another fire and most of the hikers huddled around warming themselves before turning in for the night. Fortunately, I had packed ear plugs, so no worries on a full shelter. I will be sleeping like a baby! We were up and at it and ready to go by daylight. Our vehicle was only 5 miles away at Pen Mar Park, so our original plan had been to hike to the car, go into town and do laundry, resupply, grab lunch and then return the car to the park and hike another 5 miles to Deer Lick Shelter. However, the SOBO¢s had recommended that we hike an additional 3.5 miles past Deer Lick Shelter, on to Tumbling Run Shelter which had a much better water source and had MUCH nicer facilities. That would make for a 13.5 mile day. That would have been a ¢normal¢ hiking day on last year¢s hike, but that was pushing it for our section hike since we weren¢t used to several back-to-back hiking days. So Next Step suggested that he drop off Top Shelf and me and we could slackpack 8 of the 8.5 additional miles and he would run by Subway and get sandwiches to carry in for our supper, go park the car near Tumbling Run Shelter and hike south until he meet us. He first wanted to walk in with us until we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line when we reached the Pennsylvania border so get some pictures and then send us on our way. We thought that sounded like a MUCH better plan, so once we got the photos, he headed back to the CRV and Top Shelf and I set off. With my much lighter pack, I reached the first shelter, Deer Lick in no time. I decided to stop and have a Snickers Bar to help get me the rest of the way to the next shelter. I took out my phone to text Next Step and let him know where I was at. However, as soon as I hit ¢Send¢, my phone rang and it was him letting me know that Top Shelf had twisted his knee and that he had gone back to Pen Mar to pick him up. He still had to make the stop at Subway, so it would be a bit before he could get the CRV and walk in to meet me. I could tell he was a bit anxious knowing that I was out there by myself. (I mean, my name is Which Way for a reason, and I had already made 5 road crossings!!!). Now he would kind of know how I felt when he was hiking by himself! But I was fine and was hiking at my best, especially since my load was so light. After just a couple of more miles, I looked up and there was Next Step heading down the trail for me. It was so great to see him! We hiked on up to the CRV, reloaded my pack and hiked the .5 miles to the shelter. And oh my, they weren¢t kidding about the Tumbling Run Shelter being nice!! Not only did it have two different shelters (one labeled ¢Snorers¢ and the other labeled ¢Non-Snorers¢), but it had two huge clotheslines, two picnic tables (one under a pavilion with a vase of roses on it!!!!) with metal pads on each end of the tables for cooking. Did we accidentally hike to the Hilton?!?! Slug Sloth and Army of Mice were already there and had set up in the Snorers shelter. I¢m sure Next Step was hoping to not have to set up the tent and have us sleep in the shelter, but he knows that is not my favorite, so we set up camp and then headed back over to the shelter to enjoy our Subway sandwiches, and cookies, of course. Top Shelf decided that his section hike was over due to his injury and the plan was for him to hike down the .5 miles to our CRV in the morning and drive it to Caledonia State Park, where his truck was parked. Then he would go ahead and head back home to North Carolina. We are so sorry that he got hurt, but so thankful for the time we shard on our hike. I forgot to mention that he should be doing Stand Up for extra money in his retirement. He kept us laughing with his endless jokes! The only thing funnier was Next Step trying to retell the jokes and me ¢correcting¢ him the whole time for leaving out half the details. I¢m pretty sure we could do our own Couples Stand Up routine! LolThe caretakers of the Tumbling Run Shelter hiked in while we were there with their sweet dog, Mocha. They have been maintaining it since 1991 and they said when they started, there were only the 2 shelters, one picnic table and a mud pit. Great job guys! You have gone ABOVE and BEYOND!!! We hung out with Slug Sloth and Army of Mice around another nice campfire until around 8 and then turned in for the night so we could listen to our Astros game until we fell asleep.Our last morning we slept in until about 6:45 since we knew we were just hiking out the last 10 miles of this trip to our CRV at Caledonia State Park ( a day ahead of schedule, btw). While I was getting breakfast ready, Next Step carried our tent, sleeping bags, sleep pads and clothes bags back to the car to lighten our loads. We said our goodbyes to Top Shelf, Slug Sloth and Army of Mice and headed out around 8:15 and we still made it to our CRV before 12:30, but I was WORN OUT!! I was very thankful that we had dumped most of the weight out of our packs, for sure. Today was the only day we didn¢t see any deer on our hike. I guess all those early morning starts were worth it. Once we finished hiking we drove around the corner to a local restaurant (the same one we ate at last year when I picked up Next Step) and feasted on some delicious chili cheese hot dogs with French fries. Then we started towards home. Don¢t worry, we still stopped in Hagerstown for some Bruster¢s ice cream! And what a difference those few more days of hiking made because I had absolutely no trouble finishing off my double-scooped waffle cone! Unfortunately, both of us were struggling to stay awake and the traffic was pretty heavy when we reached I-81, so we decided to stop in Harrisonburg, VA for the night so we could get our showers and supper before the baseball game.What an INCREDIBLE week it has been!! I am so thankful that my Next Step was more than happy to help me continue our Grand Adventure and I just feel blessed beyond measure! Now, we will just look forward to our return for another week next year.HugsWhich Way