Date: 2004-05-22
From: ATC Headquarter at Harpers Ferry, WVA

To: Day 61: Crampton Gap Shelter, MD
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Hot Chocolate and I took it easy, sleeping in at my son¢s home in Hagerstown, MD on the morning of AT Day 61 and thus we didn¢t get to the AT trailhead in Harpers Ferry, WVA until 12:20 p.m. Given that the day¢s hike was scheduled to begin with a trek through historic Harpers Ferry, followed by a leisurely walk down the C&O Canal Towpath, my wife joined me for the first 3.5 miles. It was nice to hike with her, not only because of the excellent company, but it forced me to take it easy and allow my injuries to ¢warm-up.¢In less than a mile after leaving the Blue Blazed trail from the ATC Headquarters, we crossed the historic Byron Memorial Footbridge and in doing so we left WVA and entered MD. Immediately thereafter we found ourselves on the graded, pancake flat, historic C&O Canal Towpath, from which mules used to tow barges between what¢s left of the canal on the left (going north) and the Potomac River on the right. Finished to its present length of 185 miles in 1850, the canal was never an economic success (especially with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as competition), but it is now a well-used national historic park. Evidence of the latter was clearly evident during our trek as there were lots of fat tire bicyclists, with mud streaks on their clothes passing us as we hiked along. All in all, even though it was quite warm and humid, with the shade and lush greenery (even in the canal), my wife and I found this easy hike to be very pleasant. Along the way we saw a number of turtles and ducks in the canal, a family of geese walking on the towpath, and lots of kayakers and rafters in the Potomac.At the end of the towpath portion of the AT, Hot Chocolate turned around and I crossed under US 340 and began a hot 900-foot climb to a plateau where the AT remained (with minor ups and downs) the rest of the day. Since the Ed Garvey Shelter was reported to be 0.4 miles off the AT, I passed it by without investigation but I did eat my afternoon snack (I skipped lunch) along the trail shortly thereafter. The terrain was easy all the way to Gathland State Park, where I bought a large ice-cold root beer while looking over the nation¢s only monument to war correspondents. I cleaned up in the bathroom and then had a pleasant chat with a couple of local day hikers while I used a spigot to load up with a full five quarts of water for dinner and breakfast.When I was leaving the park I was stopped by a couple of SOBO section hikers who invited me to share their pizza dinner ¢ naturally I accepted the offer. In addition to the wonderful food and pleasant small talk (embarrassing rashes, warm wet weather, bear encounters, etc.), I got lots of useful information about upcoming trail and shelter conditions from these guys (both of whom were private investigators in Washington, DC in ¢real¢ life). It was also nice to hear that on the way south from Pen Mar County Park they had met a number of the NOBO AT through hikers (Moonpie, Tell It Like It Is, Scorpion, Captain Hook and Einstein) that I had hiked with earlier. I left their company feeling refreshed and ready for the short climb to the Crampton Gap Shelter, but just as I was warned by my new friends it was crowded with Boy Scouts so I retraced my steps up the Blue Blazed trail and went on down the AT for another mile or so where I tent camped in a lovely spot in the woods. I estimated the half-days hike to be about 12.1 miles.