We heard the assembly bell go off just before 6. Bunny asked me if we were supposed to get up and go. I responded by continuing to snore. She took the hint and didn’t try to bother me again until 8:30. We packed up and tried to figure out what we were going to eat and how we were going to get back.
There was the guy staying in the next cabin that was doing work for stay. This was his fourth year of bouncing in and out. He was ready to bounce back out to do some more hiking. He arranged for our ride and said we could go up to the cafe for breakfast. When we went in, the main baker came out of the kitchen and told us we could order anything we want on the menu at no charge.
I got to talking to the manager of the store and discovered he was from Waltonville, IL. He even knew one of the daughters of my friend, Steve N that works at Continental Tire. He hiked the AT about 12 years ago. I’m not sure how long he’s been a member, but I think he got involved with one of communities in Vermont.
For once, the trail really was all level or downhill (except for the little bit of uphill that we had). We thought it might take us up to 3 hours to get into town. We actually covered the distance in less than two hours and that included spending time on the phone trying to find a place to stay.
This was a momentous hike for several reasons. We finally left Virginia once and for all. We also entered our 5th state—West Virginia. We reach the traditional halfway point of the trail—Harpers Ferry.
As we got in sight of the Shenandoah River, we met a sobo hiker the confirmed that the trail was closed north of Harpers Ferry. He showed us the alternative walk to avoid the canal path. He said the National Park had rangers stationed at the bridge ticketing any hiker that tried to cross the Potomac.
The Shenandoah really was raging. We had to cross it along a highway. We were very relieved to discover that there was a dedicated pedestrian lane. As soon as we crossed the river, we saw the hotel we were staying at. We didn’t have as far to go as we thought.
As soon as we got checked in and dropped our packs in our room, we headed to the ATC to get registered. When we signed in at Amicalola Falls, we did it after hours. That’s the reason we never got our AT tags to wear on our packs. We got our pictures taken and then looked through the book for everyone we know that’s ahead of us.
All that was left for today was food. Everything in the historic district closes down at 5 and it was already past 4:30. It wasn’t even worth the effort to head down there today. We had passed an Italian restaurant on the way to the ATC office. I always have the intention to eat clean when we get to a town but I didn’t have to today since we had eaten an organic meal last night with the Twelve Tribes. Pizza it was, and guilt free. Even Better.
Since we were in the area, we dropped by Teahorse Hostel to pick up my new sleeping pad from Big Agnes. For good measure, we also dropped by a liquor store for some beer and wine. We will be going by the Yuengling Brewery in PA so it’s never too late to work on affirming the taste.
EFG
The Continental connection is interesting – can you give us his name like you did Steve N.?
I would also like to know. Does he know the oldest or youngest?
I don’t know his real name, but he went to school with Ashley