Ed Garvey Shelter to Keys Gap, WV – 12.6 miles

Thursday November 16th, 2017

Goodbye Maryland! Hello West Virginia! Today I caught up with Rock Turtle in Harper’s Ferry, WV. I awoke earlier than I wanted to with obnoxious rays of sun in my face but once I decided that trying to hide from them was useless I got up and embraced them and realized how pleasant they actually were. It was going to be a great day! It was a cool morning but it quickly warmed up and I shed layers as I headed south towards the Potomac River. My water had frozen again last night and this was the morning that I officially coined the phrase “Davenport’s Triad” – hypoxia, hypothermia, tachycardia. It seemed to be the theme for this particular hike. I caught up with Rock Turtle shortly after 11am and we walked across Goodloe Byron Memorial Footbridge into Harper’s Ferry together. (As of this writing the bridge is currently out of commission due to a train derailment on 12/21/19.) We explored the town briefly and ate lunch at the Coach House Bar & Grill on Potomac Street, which was wonderful. Rock Turtle’s knee was acting up again and unfortunately forced her to tap out early. Graciously, she agreed to wait for me while I hiked the 4 miles to the VA/WV border at Key’s Gap and pick me up there in her car which she had already retrieved from Blackburn AT Center thanks to a very memorable shuttle driver named Trail Boss. I continued south out of Harper’s Ferry across the Shenandoah River on US 340 and began the 800 foot climb to the state border in Loudoun Heights, another site with Civil War significance. While I was jubilant about having made it to Virginia, I don’t think I realized at the time that the trail actually traverses the border of WV/VA for about fifteen more miles south, and the “true” entrance to Virginia wouldn’t actually take place until 17 months later when I returned to hike south from Keys Gap with Jeff Myers.

Pine Knob Shelter to Ed Garvey Shelter – 16.6 miles

Wednesday November 15th, 2017

Up and at ’em bright and early! Today was cool and different because it took me through a lot of areas with civil war significance. Washington Monument State Park, (which does NOT, in fact, house THE Washington Monument. It does house A Washington Monument. Who knew there were multiples?) the Reno Monument, Fox Gap, the War Correspondents Monument in Gathland State Park… it was a very educational day of hiking! I ended the day at Ed Garvey Shelter, where Rock Turtle had spent the previous night. She left the place in pristine condition for me!

Pen Mar Park to Pine Knob Shelter – 17.7 miles

Tuesday November 14th, 2017

This was a fun hike… I set out with Rock Turtle, who started at a different location than I did because she’d already done some of the miles that I was going to do, so she basically had an 18 mile head start on me. The plan was to finish and meet at the Blackburn AT Center in Virginia. The plan didn’t quite pan out but we came close! By the time I got started from Pen Mar it was almost dark. I hiked 2.8 miles into the dark to High Rocks and then was offered a ride by a very nice lady which I accepted, although she didn’t know where I was going when she offered me the ride and frankly neither did I! She ended up driving me back to my car which was only about a mile away straight down the road but the ride seemed to take forever…she talked and talked and ended up giving me a postcard painting that her husband had done. She was apparently very taken by me and I began to wonder I weren’t being kidnapped. Finally we arrived back at my car and she released me unharmed. I slept in my car that night and hiked back up the road to High Rocks in the morning to resume my hike. It was rockier and more treacherous than I’d anticipated and I almost began to wonder if I hadn’t taken a wrong turn and ended up back in PA. I finally arrived at Pine Knob Shelter and hunkered down for a long cold night.

Antietam Shelter to Pen Mar County Park – 7.4 miles

April 20th, 2017

The final miles of PA! It felt great to finally be finishing my third state, and the longest one I had done yet. 229 miles in PA and I hiked them all! Passed the Deer Lick Shelters which were as impressive as the ones I mentioned yesterday. I’d go as far as to say that all the shelters in the Michaux State Forest are exceptional. The hike was uneventful…rocks, trees, boulders… a barking dog, smiling faces, and then… MARYLAND!! Just three tenths of a mile before I arrived at Pen Mar Park was the beautiful sign I’d waited years to lay eyes on! We embraced like old friends and shared some sweet kisses, and then like I always do… I turned my back and walked to my car and drove home.

Sheet Iron Roof Road to Michener Cabin – 17.8 miles

Tuesday April 18th, 2017

This was a fun day… and a long day! I really enjoyed myself, and not just because it was Bob’s birthday! Happy Birthday Bob! I think I might have my locations a bit mixed up because I believe I started today with the rock maze… which according to the map is north of where I thought I camped last night and I’m currently heading south but whatever…. my estimation is the best I could do! The rock maze was a lot of fun, as was Pine Grove Furnace State Park, where I got to use a real bathroom! The trail passes the AT Museum as it exits the park, and it wasn’t officially open at the time, but the owner/caretaker was on a ladder painting outside and was kind enough to let me in to explore and he also gave me my second passport stamp! 😃 The next fun milestone was the AT midpoint, marked with a fun sign that I can only imagine is an incredibly glorious sight for thru-hikers. I’m not sure where I was planning on staying on this night but I know the place I ended up wasn’t where I planned! After passing the snake in the tree and the sign for Dead Woman Hollow Trail, which I’m sure we’d all love to know how it got its name, I spied the Michener Cabin, which is locked according to my trail guide but in reality I found it to be occupied by a father and his teenage daughter who had arrived there shortly before I had and were more than willing to share it with me! According to the website it sleeps 14 and costs $35 per night but I’m guessing because it was April circumstances were different. Thank you PATC for the use of your cabin! We made sure to leave it cleaner than when we arrived.

Trindle Road to Campsite near Sheet Iron Roof Road – 12.2 miles

Monday, April 17th, 2017

Happy birthday to me! I love spending birthdays alone in the woods. Not sure if I got the exact campsite correct because I managed to lose the pages I’d printed from my trail guide and therefore didn’t mark any locations on those pages. But let’s start at the beginning…

My dad agreed to drive out to my destination point of Pen Mar Park and leave my car, and then drove me back to PA 641 to start my hike where I had finished with Rock Turtle five months before. Dad isn’t a hiker but he’s very supportive and I am thankful for him and my mother as well, despite how crazy she thinks I am.

I had learned of the Appalachian Trail Passport that was becoming popular among hikers, and I was excited to stop at the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office to purchase one. I made it there by 4pm and proudly received the first stamp in my passport. I’m quite a sucker for things like that. I like to collect memories, and the passport is a great way to do that.

My hike started off in more open pastures and then into the woods and then into the town of Boiling Springs, past a lake, through a cornfield, and then back into the woods again. The terrain was still relatively flat and these were easy miles. I was thankful. It was sometime around where I was climbing the hill to Center Point Knob (the original AT midpoint) when I discovered that I must’ve dropped the pages I was carrying from my trail guide. (I never carry the whole book. It’s unnecessary weight. I just photocopy the pages I need for each hike… one of the benefits of being a section hiker.) I retraced my steps for about a half mile but then decided that was stupid. I texted Rock Turtle and Flo and one of them (I can’t remember which one) sent me photos of the pages I needed. I stumbled upon a stream containing trail magic at dusk, and while I was tempted to go further, I decided to stop and set up camp and celebrate my birthday with the delicious Mountain Dew the stream had given me! Thank you John Goodman!

Cove Mountain Shelter to PA 641 Trindle Road – 17.5 miles

Thursday, November 16th, 2016

Today was pretty cool. The trail went through some pretty nice fields, pastures, and farms, crossed over Interstate 81 and the PA turnpike. About ten miles into my hike I was greeted by Rock Turtle, who had kindly driven down from Nanticoke to pick me up and deliver me back to my car. I hiked the rest of my miles with her and we arrived at Trindle Road before dark.