Date: 2014-05-19
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 64.3
Weather: clear sky

Day 68: Monday, 19 May 2014 3-State Challenge! To Crampton Gap Shelter (1027.7 miles)Disclaimer: The Mum doesn¢t know where Buffalo and The Herd ended up for the night, but this mileage is my best guess.First of all, Sunday, I got a text from Violet that Buffalo made it to the 1000-mile mark! [Unlike the PCT, that¢s almost half way. On the PCT, 1000 miles is still about 300 miles shy of half way!] So, what 1000 miles on the AT means is that they are very close to Harper¢s Ferry, West Virginia.I got a phone call from Buffalo today (Monday, 19 May) that yes, in fact, they are in Harper¢s Ferry. When asked if Harper¢s Ferry was an OK place to resupply (we did not send a box to him as planned since we weren¢t home in time), he replied, ¢The herd I¢m hiking with had a guy from Switzerland, who had to get off the trail. He sent a big package of Swiss treats to the Herd, so we got some of those. There¢s a great Hiker Box here, from which we did some resupplying, and many of the hikers, who got boxes, gave us stuff! We made a Key Lime pie on the trail! [Methinks the food issue is well taken care of!] We should be in Waynesboro, PA in about 3 days.¢ [Six states down, eight to go! From West Virginia, he¢ll go into Maryland for about 40 miles, then Pennsylvania. This is the stretch of Trail that FAHthur is familiar with. His Scout Troop, way back when, used the hike out of Harper¢s Ferry as a Philmont shake-down hike, up Weverton Cliff to Gathland State Part. At age 19, he also backpacked this stretch with Jon, a friend from Scouts. That¢s when FAHthur was 19 for the First time! He is now 19 for the 43rd time! Go figure! And his family would go camping at Washington Monument State Park.]¢We had some heavy rain, not too long ago, and it was raining for several days. It¢s nice now, but the trail still has some wet and very muddy parts to it. We¢re able to dry some stuff out today.After you got off the trail, Mom, I was just putting in the miles but wasn¢t enjoying the hike. Just before I met up with this group, I started thinking that I ought to slow down and take it at a pace I can enjoy. Then soon after, I met up with the group and they were enjoying the hike. They helped to get me back on track with the hike, to take it at a better pace and to enjoy it more.We¢re cooking all kinds of crazy vegan meals! It¢s great! I¢m carrying 4 apples, a pear, and a bag of salad in my pack!¢¢What? You¢re not carrying bags of chips on top of your pack?¢¢Oh, I¢m carrying that key lime pie!¢¢¦.. ¢Hold on Mom, I think my group is lost!....   They had a look like they missed the trail or something. It¢s OK. We¢re on track. I¢m blindly following the Herd, talking on the phone.¢¢Harper¢s Ferry isn¢t too far from the Maryland state line. Did you enter Maryland yet?¢¢We entered Maryland a while back but missed the state line sign. It was obscured and parallel to the trail that we didn¢t even see it.¢We talked a bit about my sister, Buffalo¢s Aunt Barb and a friend of hers, meeting him, and possibly The Herd, in Massachusetts, and that he¢ll need to make a calculation for the Estimated Date of Arrival so she can make reservations.We¢re also starting to think: Katahdin Pick Up!Thanks for staying with us¢¦.The Mum and¢¦¢¦.