Date: 2010-06-27
From: Bear's Den

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

I made it to the mental halfway point! The real halfway mark is in Pennsylvania but most see Harpers Ferry as halfway there. I have been thinking about getting to Harpers Ferry for a month now and I cannot believe I have arrived. It has been so hot and walking the rollercoaster to get to it was a challenge. The rollercoaster is a 13.5 mile section of the trail that is tightly packed with rocky ups and downs. In my head I thought it would not be rocky and I would be running the downs and that would propel me up the ups. Sadly that was not the case. I had fun completing it though and I hiked the whole thing without my poles to get a better ab workout. I also had two pleasant stays at the Potomac Appalachian Trail Clubs hostel Bear's Den and the Blackburn AT Center. Both places cooked a delicious spaghetti dinner for the hikers and the caretakers were so lovely. All of them had thru-hiked the AT and gave me many words of congratulations and encouragement. If you are hiking in Northern Virginia I highly recommend staying at those places on the trail. I am in Washington, DC at the moment visiting friends and watching the world cup. I will head to Maryland on Monday to start my sixth state - very exciting!More questions.How do you purify water and how much do you carry? I use polar pure to purify my water. It is an iodine crystals that you add water to to make a solution that doesn't really have the iodine taste. Polar pure is the cheapest method as well because for $14 you get purification for the whole trail. I want a pump now because I've heard there is a lot of still water in Pennsylvania but I don't want to buy one. Hopefully I can just borrow other peoples. I carry between 2 and 4 liters depending on how hot it is and where the next water sources are. I have run out of water twice and that was scary. On both days it was hot and humid and I had to walk without water for nearly a mile each time. I usually carry 2 liters of water and 1 liter of gatorade. Drinking only water gets boring so I like to mix it up with gatorade. How does dehydrated food work? Some of the dehydrated food is jerky and dried fruit but the dinners are not. They consist of dried veggies and meats/shellfish. I soak the dehydrated food in water for 10 minutes or so before I cook them. This begins to rehydrate the food and makes it less tough. I have found it is very important to soak the food because if the food is not properly rehydrated gas becomes a problem.What has proven the most useful to you?This is hard. I guess my pack because it carries everything for me. I have a swiss army knife that I use only to open things and trim some of the men's mustaches on the trail. Oh, actually my tennis ball is the only thing that really stretches out my feet. That is light weight and has helped me relieve some pretty serious pain.How much are you aware of what's going on off the trail - news, gossip, family, friends?This is difficult to answer. I have a smartphone so I know what is happening with my family, news and gossip. I do miss political commentary and don't really understand everything about the oil spill but I am aware of most of it. I didn't know that a Supreme Court Justice was named and that she was an Ivy League grad. I need to write a letter to Barry to remind him that people outside of the Ivy League brain trust have solid legal minds as well. I get some updates from my friends but I have not been that great about communicating with everyone and I love receiving emails even if I don't respond. I love reading updates and apologize if I haven't written back to anyone in a timely manner, I am just so tired once I get to camp. Which is hardest for hiking: snow, rain, or heat?Snow was hard because I was not prepared. Rain is hard when it is cold and is wonderful when it is hot. Rain also makes you move more quickly. Heat is fine if there is a breeze. Heat and humidity is probably the worst. I find it difficult to move in it and am covered in sweat in a minute or two. This presents problems because a lot of salt comes out of my pores and has caused some sores on my waist where my hipbelt and shorts meet. I do not enjoy that side effect.What habits have you formed on the trail that you think you'll retain once your finished?I will have a lot less stuff. Carry my entire life on my back I have realized I need to simplify the amount of stuff I have. I have found it a lot easier to keep track of everything when I have less. How many days without shampooing does it take to reach the perfect hair day?Classic Moria. Anyway, I have stick straight hair that doesn't do anything so I find this question hard to answer. I have noticed that my hair does not get greasy anymore though. On average I take a shower twice a week. Washing with Dr. Bronners is not the greatest so using proper shampoo and conditioner makes my hair soft and flowy.Do you dream of AT stuff or home stuff?Both. I have some crazy dreams out in the woods.Are you thinking about anything as you hike? Singing songs in your head? Or are you so focused on getting from point A to point B and/or admiring pretty things you see that your mind doesn't wander much?In the beginning I was admiring everything so much that time passed quickly. I also was hiking with these fellows that thought it was funny to get Sister Christian in my head while I hiked. That was frustrating. Now I have reached the threshold of beauty where I am not noticing it as much. I have begun listening to my ipod a lot more when I hike. Singing and dancing up the trail helps me hike. Also, it is much easier to hike longer when you can space out. The hiking stinks when you get lost in your head and think about money troubles, family problems or other upsetting things. Spacing out is key and sometimes I find it challenging to do.How many intended thru-hikers have you met that have dropped out?This is hard to answer because a lot of the people I heard dropped out is hearsay and I am not entirely sure if they have really have left or not. I would say a fair few. There was a guy named Denis that I saw in Damascus and he was thinking about quitting but never confirmed he was leaving and now I haven't seen him in 600 miles. Harpers Ferry is a big drop off point. People left the trail for a number of reasons including: injury, family emergencies, lack of money, being tired. Because there are so many section hikers out I have had to say goodbye to a number of people on the way (hello Rollie, Kudzoo and More to Do!). I have also had to say see you later to people ahead of and behind me which makes me sad but the trail is fluid so hopefully I will see some of them again.What are you most afraid of on the trail?I get very startled by the squirrels and chipmunks and birds because the run off so fast when they hear you coming. But my biggest fear is that a tree will fall on top of me. The wind makes all the trees creek and blow and so many have been blown down on the trail that it worries me that one day during a storm one will fall right on top of me.