Harpers Ferry Baby!!!

Pictures above: Me and Mama Boots (trail legend), beautiful sunset over Humpback Mountain, the kissing tree with some friends (that's the type of tree it was, we all thought it was appropriate), the gunshow after finishing Shenendoah National Park (thank God), trillium (very nice to finally see some spring flowers), Bears Den Hostel with Salamander, Tau, and my friend Jeremy visiting, and me at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters - the unofficial halfway point on the trail - who can believe it?

4/19/07 20.1 miles to US 60. We figured it would be a good day to hike all day in the rain and then call the Dutch Haus Bed and Breakfast to pick us up to dry up and feed us yummy food. Ran into two trail maintainers that hiked the AT in 1987 - Flash and Hotflash. They left some doughnuts at the shleter as trail magic. They were so friendly. The Dutch Haus was amazing. They did our laundry, fixed some incrdible veggie lasagna and even gave me two desserts. Not too bad after a long day.

4/20/07 25.7 mile slack from US 60 to the Tye River. What a long day but not too shabby when you don't have to carry a heavy pack. Me and Tau ate a very large breakfast and then got a ride from Tyvek (section hiker) back to US 60. It was quite the climb that morning but the weather was amazing. After the first 15 miles, it took a bit of prodding for both of us to want to continue the last ten miles past the Dutch Haus but we perservered because it would make tomorrow a shorter day. Got to our meeting place at 7 pm, my dogs were definitely barking (feet hurting) but happy to be heading back to the Dutch Haus again. We finally got to meet up with some other hikers staying there. Mama Boots being one of them, she section hiked the entire trail awhile back with girl scouts and is somewhat of a trail legend. She had an injury on the trail the previous night resulting in stitches. It was great to talk to her and the other Kentucky folks that were hiking with her. At 79, she is still hiking the AT - amazing!

4/21/07 16.5 miles to a campsite near Humpback Mountain. Ate another very large breakfast (are you seeing a trend here?) and loaded our packs and headed up a very steep mountain that lasted all morning. And boy was it steamy out today? No shirts and a bit of a sunburn from yesterday made it a bit uncomfortable with the packs but alas, up we went. The views were amazing and we ran into all kinds of people. At our lunch break, Tau and I ran into a nice family from Charlottesville, VA. We took a nice long break talking with them and they even gave us a huge bag of peanut m&m's (one of my favorites!), hot cocoa for later and some Clif bars. Thanks so much if you read this - that candy got me through the day. Got back moving on the trail and did another 6 miles. The campsite selection wasn't that great so we kept hiking after we were tired and found this amazing campsite. I got to watch a beautiful sunset and just relax. Sometimes good things happen when you wait and are willing to go with the flow. Tau definitely helps me relax and go with the flow. I'm a bit of planner as you all know and she is anything but. Makes for a good team.

4/22/07 13.5 miles to Waynesboro, VA. The valley of hospitality, they call it and boy was it. Got up really early to beat the heat a bit and ran into Salamander at the Wolfe shelter around 9:30 am. Jason's mom(trail name) brought up hard boiled eggs and goobers and I got to chat with her for a few minutes - very appreciative!! Rested up and headed the rest of the way to Waynesboro. Salamander had headed out a bit before us and we found him not too far down the trail. Apparantly he had run into a timber rattlesnake and was a bit startled. Good times. We all cautiously went around it and safely made it to the Rockfish Gap. The people of Waynesboro were so friendly. They gave us a ride to the outfitter and then to town. Got showers at the YMCA and heard about a fly-fishing/wine-tasting festival in city. They heard we were thru-hikers and let us in for free! Let's just say it was an eventful afternoon. A good time was had by all. Got some groceries and more tasty beverages and grilled out by the river. Camped out that night and awoke with very damp sleeping bags!

4/23/07 15.8 miles to a campsite in the Shenendoah National Park. No one was feeling that hot this morning but we had lots to do. Hurriedly did laundry, had a big breakfast, and went to the post office to get our maildrops. My summer sleeping bag didn't arrive so I was pretty bummed. The ride we had arranged was waiting us but she was very sweet and patient as we were all running around trying to get things organized and mailed off. Finally got on the trail and entered Shenendoah park. Lots of blowdowns due to windstorms and ice storms this winter. So hot outside but at least Salamander, Tau and I were in it together. Made it to the first shelter and decided we didn't want to go 20 miles as planned. We headed to a spring and wittled the afternoon away with our feet in the stream. Thank God we changed our plans and decided to wait out the heat. We cooked dinner around 4 and then set out around 5 to find a campsite. Hiked about 6 more miles and found a nice spot. I am still realizing how nice it is to share this experience with these amazing people. We were all hot, not feeling well but we still had a great day. They were kind enough to deal with my moodiness over not receiving my package.

So I have run out of time at the library. I posted some pics and will finish up the blog hopefully later today. If not, sometime next week. I am so happy to be psychologically halfway and especially glad to be out of Virginia. Very long state!!! Looking forward to filling you all in on my adventures in Shenendoah National Park and to Harpers Ferry!!

Kentucky Blue