Date: 2009-06-26
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Washington Monument
Miles today: 20.0

Hi everyone. I have decided that I will be setting out this afternoon and thought I would bring everyone up so speed before doing so. Monday, Mostly and I arrived in Harper's Ferry and conducted Thru Hiker business. Since the AT Headquarters is situated in Harper's Ferry, everyone stops in there to register and get their picture taken. Surprisingly, I registered as number 442 (this was a surprise because my number at Amicalola was 471 and I thought we would be in the two hundreds). Didn't get to weigh my pack though... On Tuesday, my parents arrived for a spectacular visit. The level of detail they went through to make me comfortable was astonishing--they brought a ton of clothes for me to wear, tons of familiar food, cologne! They even brought flatware and beautiful silverware for me to use at the hotel's continental breakfast! My mother The Nurse wasted no time jumping right on poison ivy control--she brought these nifty exfoliating scrubbers they must use at the hospital along with her own personal mix of hydracortizone and calamine. It reminded me of when we haul out ships and scrape the bottoms... I cannot explain how much better this all made me feel! On Wednesday I reluctantly put one foot in front of the other and crossed the Potomac River out of Harper's Ferry. Any hesitation that I experienced leaving the comfort and security of Harper's was eclipsed by the excitement of entering my home state of Maryland. By the time I had caught up to my buddy Mostly who was waiting for me, I had done eleven miles! Mostly was fixing to camp for the night but I decided to move on as I was planning to visit my dear friends Andy and Norman in Boonesboro. I made a quick decision to call them and arrange for a late pickup from South Mountain Wed night because the swelling around my poison ivy had expanded about two inches (The Nurse drew these lines on my leg with marker to be able to visually assess the swelling). Also, knowing that I planned to zero, I wanted to stay in the viscinity of Mostly to be able to catch up. Thursday was a great day as it was Norman's Birthday. We celebrated by eating a lot and also a totally fun fireworks display! Unfortunately, there were also fireworks going off in my stomach and this, coupled with a severe weather report for Friday, caused my to take a 'lay day' on Friday. Friday night consisted of a piano party and yet another fireworks display. Good times! It was great to see the guestbook. Welcome aboard Carrie and Jared. Hello to Tammy and Marcie and Bill and my hiking buddy Kismet. Tim and Fred are planning thru hikes and Trailfoot and Coal Furnace are past thru hikers. Great to have you along, everyone! This week a lot of exciting things happen--crossing the Mason Dixon line into PA, the Half-Gallon Ice Cream Challenge (at the official halfway point), another visit with my great friends Chris and Tin. Also, today will be the first day I actually hike on trail that I have hiked on previously! All that dreaming and here I am finally doing it! As always, thanks to everyone for your support. We will begin daily entries and pictures again tomorrow. Until then...