Date: 2013-05-19
From: Waynesboro, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0

1060 Miles. Waynesboro, PA 5/19/13After leaving the Bears Den Hostel on Thursday,5/16, I reached 2 milestones. First I hit the 1000 mile mark on the trail. Mot and I took pictures and congratulated each other and then we moved on to our next goal which was to get out of Virginia. It was'nt long before we reached the sign that marked the border and we had another photo session. Then it was on to Harpers Ferry. Our first stop there was at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters to get registered as thru hikers. After signing in, a gentelman took us outside and took our picture in front of the Conservancy sign. When he printed our pictures out, they were on a card with some lines under them that we filled out with information, such as our names, trail names, home town etc. I was thru hiker # 113 and Mot was #114. The cards with the pictures were place in a photo album that was left open for viewing at the headquarters. It was good to see the pictures of other thru hikers we knew, and to see how far ahead of they were. Some only a day or two, others maybe up to a week.After leaving the ATC headquarters, the next item on our agenda was food. We stopped at the first restaurant we came to and ate. Then it was on to the only outfitter in town so I could buy a new pack. The stitching on my pack has been ripping where the pack is sewn onto the hip belt. Every day a few seam pop, and there was no way it would make the rest of the hike. I've had that pack a long time and it had a lot of miles on it before I started this hike and I had hoped it would make it but that's the way it goes. At the outfitters I tried several packs before deciding on a 65 Liter Osprey pack. I had to make sure that all my gear would fit in it so I transferred all my stuff out of my old pack into the new one right their in the store. When I was satisfied it would work, I cut my Punkin Pie patch off of my old pack so I could sew onto the new pack later. I gave my old pack to the outfitter to mail home for me, and Mot and I were off.... to eat again. I can't believe how much I eat when I get into these towns. We went to another reastaurant which had an upstairs balcony over the street and pigged out again.Harpers Ferry is a very interesting town with a great deal of Civil War history. The entire town is a National Park and all the buildings are preserved in their oringinal condition with historic markers explaining their history and what part they took in the Civil War. It is also where the Potomoc and Shenandoah Rivers meet to for the larger Potomoc River.Some of the younger hikers attempt what is call the "4 State Challenge". They start at the VA/W.VA border and hike straight through West Virginia, Maryland, and into Pennsylvania without stopping. About 59 miles. Mot and I do our version of the "4 State Challenge". It's call "4 States in 4 Days". What's the rush, you may miss something.It was very busy on the trail this weekend. I passed 4 different Boy Scout troops and about 20 or more other hikers that were heading South on the trail. The trail will start to get real busy now with the weather getting better and schools starting to let out.When we got to Pine Knob shelter, it was full and there were tenters every where. We managed to find a couple of tent spots for ourselves. I ran into some thru hikers there that we hadn't seen for a while. Zee and Dovetail showed up. I had'nt seen them since Woods Hole Hostel. Dirty Bird was there also. She was at the outfitters in HF when I got my new pack.Mot and I left there early this morning and started the 18 or so miles to Waynesbor, PA. This section of the trail got very rocky the last 6 miles with a lot of scrambling over very large rocks. But we finally made it to the Mason-Dixon Line and had another photo shoot and entered Pennsylvania. State number 7 on my hike.Mot and I decided to go into Wayesboro and re-supply then get a motel room and clean up and get back on the trail in the morning. As we were walking the 2 miles into town, a girl came out of a house and asked us if we needed a ride.She drove us to a Wal-Mart. We got our stuff then came out and saw a sign with a hikers favorite words on it. "All You Can Eat Buffet" Mot and I could'nt pass it up. So we went in and ate our fill, which was a lot, and started walking towards our motel which was about 3 miles on the other side of town. While I was trying to hitch a ride, Mot was trying to contact a shuttle to pick us up and take us to the motel. As usual, I got us a ride first. A guy named John in a pickup drove us right to the motel.Our next goal is to make it to Duncannon, PA. That's a little over 80 miles. Pennsylvania has a lot of towns close together along the trail so we are going to try carrying less food, and re-supply more often to cut down on our pack weight. We'll see how it works.My knee still has a little pain in it but not even close to where it was before Front Royal, VA. The brace I have seems to be helping a lot. Plus, it does'nt hurt to have a doctor, Mot, as your hiking partner.With the good weather and the longer days I'm enjoying the hike more. I still get excited every morning when I start hiking wondering about what new thing I will see. It's great.Happy TrailsPunkin PieSomewhere on the AT