Day #77 - AT Hike - West Virginia start

Thursday, May 28 - Day #77 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 9.3
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1026.1/2,193 (46.79%)

David Lesser Memorial Shelter (1016.8) to Harpers Ferry (1026.1) - Quality Inn Hotel in Harpers Ferry

Total ascent - 928’
Total descent - 2,110’

Total States Completed - 4/14

**Rain Day - rained all morning pretty steadily. Cleared up in the afternoon once I got into town

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Wait a minute. Wait a minute. We’ve got some breaking news.  Can we go with it. Yes. Yes - with 100 percent of the miles completed - we can now make the call that Virginia - that’s right - the state of Virginia - is now officially in the COMPLETED column. We thought this could happen. With a strong ground prescense, and an intense work effort throughout all precincts in the state - Virginia now makes the 4th completed state on the AT journey

Hee-haw —- just a little Election 2020 rhetoric

Georgia - done. North Carolina - done. Tennessee- done. VIRGINIA - DONE!!!

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OK - to introduce our next state, singing one of my favorite songs, a song some people in St Louis will recall being played during the 3rd period of the St Louis Blues home games last year on their drive to the Stanley Cup Championship (that sounds really good!) - let’s welcome —- Mr. John Denver:

“Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

All my memories, gather round her
Miners lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
Drivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads”

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” - John Denver

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Alright!  Fired up!  Coming to you live from the Quality Inn in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It’s about 11:30pm - but I’m not tired yet.

A big day today - lots of things accomplished. Up around 5:30am to a rainy morning. I was out on trail by 6:30am. I made it into Harpers Ferry by 10am.  Shower, laundry completed, caught up with Jet, Empty Space, Nick & Jenna (all staying here as well), lunch, haircut, got rental car, did resupply, shaved, and spent the rest of the night chilling with a subway sandwich and some Ben & Jerrys ice cream.

Picture it - the last mile of my hike today, I had to cross over the Shenandoah River. It was raining - a misty rain.  I put in my earphones and put on Country Roads. As I walked across the bridge, I was singing loudly - with a smile on my face (true story). Of all the songs I’ll present as theme songs for the states I enter along this journey - this one was the easiest by far. Man - it made me start to miss sporting events & concerts. You know that feeling when an entire stadium is singing together in unison to a particular song - that’s such a cool feeling. I hope we can get back to that place after Covid-19 — that’s such a unique experience.

I also spent some time today laying out my schedule for the next week. I’m going to make a 105 mile push to Carlisle, PA.  This upcoming section has some green light potential. I hope to cover the distance in 5-6 days. I called Black Diamond today about my trekking poles. They were really cool. They are sending me out replacement parts for my trekking poles. The bottom section is the only bent area on the poles. In the past couple weeks - the right pole has developed a slight bend; whereas, the left pole has been seriously bent since Georgia. I just think it’s safer and more reliable to have a predictable base as I enter the rocks of Pennsylvania.  Black Diamond is sending me 2 bottom replacements free of charge. They’re being sent to a hotel in Carlisle, PA that I’ll pick up in a week

Tomorrow I’m going to concentrate on looking at some new shoes and sending back a few warm weather items (until Hanover, NH). I’ve been researching different shoes. I’ve decided to look closely at the Hoka Speedgoat 4.  It provides a lot of cushion and has a higher heel than the Altra Lone Peaks I’m wearing now.  They have a 30-day return policy (no questions asked). I know it’s a drastic move to change mid-course, but I just want to see if there is a difference. There might be very little gain (who knows). Being on your feet for 10-12 hours a day - it’s very probable that the sore feet I’m experiencing is simply par for the course. I got to make sure. I will carry my Altras as well and switch back at any sign of trouble. The goal would be to give them a try this 105 mile segment and make a call. I’m also going to the Outfitter in town to try on the Altra Olympus 3.5. It provides more cushion than the Lone Peaks.  I might end up trying out both for a segment - we’ll see

Harpers Ferry is not all that big. I got the rental car today because the places I need to go
tomorrow would require costly shuttles - the rental car is actually a much cheaper option.
So - a few chores left.  But not bad. Hoping to be back in the hotel by mid afternoon and do a state of the Union for the blog. I’m basically treating this halfway point as a complete reset. New focus. New energy. Then - I’ll be ready to go make it happen again

Getting late now - good night from West Virginia!

Shenandoah River

Cool history in these parts

Home base of ATC is in Harpers Ferry

Getting into town

Rainy trail this morning 

Crossing Shenandoah River

Foggy morning 

I’ll have to shuttle around Potomac - footbridge closed

Rocky, rainy trail

Ready for a Nero-Zero

Entering Harpers Ferry

West Virginia- Wild & Wonderful 

Approaching Shenandoah River

Day #76 - AT Hike

Wednesday, May 27 - Day #76 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 14.2
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1016.8/2,193 (46.37%)

Sam Moore Shelter (1002.6) to David Lesser Memorial Shelter (1016.8) - tent at David Lesser Memorial Shelter

Total ascent - 3,415’
Total descent - 2,926’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**No rain - cooler day today vs yesterday. It remained overcast with a slight breeze. Ideal hiking conditions

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Last night in Virginia!!!  I just checked - I entered Virginia on Day #32 - it’s now Day #76 - that’s a really long time. Can I say I’ve lived in Virginia for a month+ of my life?  By the way - I’m going to go back and update the blog entry names to include when I started each state. This will make it way easier for me in the future if I want to go back and look up something (plus hopefully easier for you guys as well)

Today went really smooth - much better than yesterday for me. The first 8 miles was tough - but the last half of the day was more relaxing. I got into the shelter at 2:30pm. Empty Space decided to go for Harpers Ferry today to get some added rest for his trip to the Smokey’s.

This shelter is one of the coolest ones on the whole AT. At the shelter itself - it has a deck with chairs and benches. In addition to the shelter, it has a pavilion with a picnic table and a swing. I put up my tent right away once I arrived and then got water. After those chores were completed - I sat on the swing for a couple hours - eating snacks and just relaxing. It was awesome!!  I ran into one of the couples from last night - Jenna & Nick - at a water break today. I knew they were coming to the same shelter as me tonight - so when I was swinging - I really didn’t feel isolated at all - it was kind of nice.

Jenna & Nick got into the shelter around 4:45pm. This is Day #4 for them on the AT. They’re doing great. They have hopes of doing the hike in 4 months (where I’m trying to complete in 5). 4 months is super quick. It’s sort of funny to get their reactions of the hills and the course - I think a bit more difficult than they had bargained for.  We had some great discussion over dinner. They were going to stay in the shelter until the head of a copperhead poked out from under one of the benches in the shelter. Man - that freaked me out. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep in a shelter after seeing that (glad I stayed in a couple in the Smokey’s to get a bit of exposure). I just think sleeping in the completely exposed shelter in the heart of summer is asking for problems - with snakes, bees, mosquitoes, etc. I’ll take my chances in my tent.

So I ended up writing a list of stuff I want to accomplish on my upcoming Nero-Zero. I’ve been waiting to Harpers Ferry for a few tasks. A few of these are:  (1) Send back a few warm weather clothes. (2) take a look at my finances (3). Get either new shoes or different inserts.

I’m getting serious about this “shoe thing”. There’s way too many miles left to have my heels (and feet in general) hurt like this. The Superfeet inserts and heel lifts have helped the heels quite a bit - but the pain is still there.  If I could completely rid the foot pain - I think I could be dangerous out there. More miles could be had for sure. I’m basically my own personal guinea pig. If I keep trying enough stuff - maybe something will eventually work!

Goodnight from Virginia!  Tomorrow- Mr John Denver will bring us to our next state on this journey. Have a great night!

Nice shelter

Neat view today

Everything is green now

Trail to scenic lookout

Nice chair on deck of shelter

Pavilion and swing

I sat here for 2 hours

Cool sign

If you look hard - that’s the copperhead

Afternoon trail

Day #75 - AT Hike

Tuesday, May 26 - Day #75 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 15.3
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1002.6/2,193 (45.72%)

Whiskey Hollow Shelter (987.3) to Sam Moore Shelter (1002.6) - tent at Sam Moore Shelter

Total ascent - 3,379’
Total descent - 3,696’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**No rain. Really great weather again today. It did get warm in the afternoon - reaching nearly 80 deg (feels a lot warmer coming from cooler temps)

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ONE THOUSAND- 1,000 - ONE THOUSAND - 1,000 - ONE THOUSAND

“MILES HIKED ON AT”

I can’t believe it!!!  1,000 miles completed on the Appalachian Trail in 75 days. I feel really encouraged by reaching this milestone. It’s been an incredible journey so far - filled with so many challenges and obstacles along the way. I called my mom today and she walked with me via FaceTime over the 1,000 mile marker (unfortunately there wasn’t any major fanfare or anything - no specific rocks to signify the threshold —— I might have missed them - but I was looking)

So tomorrow will mark my last full day in Virginia. I’m planning to go 14.3 miles tomorrow - which leaves me with 9.1 miles into Harpers Ferry on Thursday. On Thursday - I will complete Virginia - begin West Virginia - and just about complete West Virginia — all in the same day. West Virginia is only about 6 miles. I have to cross the Potomac River to get into Maryland when I start hiking again on Saturday morning (after my planned Zero on Friday) to officially complete West Virginia.

Today turned into a pretty challenging day with the heat this afternoon. My body just needs to get acclimated to higher temps. Highs were only around 80 degrees - but it still felt smoking hot.

Today I got into a section called “The Rollercoaster”. It’s a 12-mile section of just continuous steep climbs and descents. I did about half of it today in the heat - I’ll finish up the next portion right out of the gates tomorrow (at least it will be cooler). After “The Rollercoaster” - it’s pretty smooth sailing into Harpers Ferry. I could try for the 24 miler to get there tomorrow - but I’m purposefully trying to use this 53-mile section to rest/heal the body a bit.  I’ve been able to ice my feet each night and let them air out.

So Empty Space and I are here tonight - along with 2 couples that just started their thru-hike within the past 2 weeks. Both of them are flip-flopping by going to Maine now - then coming back to go Virginia to Georgia. I had dinner with one of the couples - a 61 and 62 year old. Laura and Mosey. Laura is a nurse practitioner and Mosey just retired last year. These guys were great!  Funny - interesting!  Laura’s read 10 books on the AT and she’s been making her husband Mosey do training classes everyday. They postponed their thru-hike because of Covid-19. Mosey said he was begging his wife to start the trail - he was tired of training.  They had a million questions - which I happily answered the best I could. I’ll tell you - I’m definitely happy I’m hitting the 1,000 mile mark vs. the 50 mile mark.

Unfortunately Jet was having more pain in his leg today. He ended up only going about 8 miles and staying at the shelter I passed early in the day. He’s actually going to get off trail tomorrow to rest up so he can attempt the Smokey’s with Empty Space. I wish him the very best - an injury is no fun. I’m not sure I’ll see those guys again after they head for the Smokey’s.

Well - going to sign off for now. I’m trying to start a pattern of getting up earlier and on the trail before the heat gets too bad. I have been leaving camp pretty consistently by 7:30am the past month - I’ve moved this up to 6:45-7am recently - with the goal of being on trail by 6am in the near future. I usually have about 1 hour of tear down and morning chores before I head out of camp - so a 5am wake-up is coming soon in my future.  5am is not bad - it’s just hard to tear down sometimes in the dark and trying not to make too much noise if tents are nearby. I’ll figure it out.

Good night from the middle of “The Rollercoaster” in the very northern section of Virginia!

Starting “The Rollercoaster “

Walking through an open field

Harpers Ferry - very close

Another big black snake

I need to shave

Getting water

Some sort of centipede I see all over trail

Thick forest

AT crossing major road

Took shoes off for lunch break

Sam Moore Shelter

Day #74 - AT Hike

Monday, May 25 - Day #74 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 15.2
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 987.3/2,193 (45.02%)

Front Royal (972.1) to Whiskey Hollow Shelter (987.3) - tent at Whiskey Hollow Shelter

Total ascent - 3,202’
Total descent - 2,772’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**No rain - great weather day for hiking. Lows around 58 deg with highs around 75 deg

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Coming to you live from my tent at the Whiskey Hollow Shelter. A really good day out there today. The weather was perfect and I stayed with Empty Space and Jet almost the entire hiking day. Time goes by so fast when you’re talking along the trail. Jet was in the Air Force for 20 years (retiring last year) and Empty Space has a masters degree in environmental therapy. A couple interesting guys. There were a bunch of other hikers out today - the trail was active most of the day.

Since we only got on trail about 10am - it was a later entry into camp. I got in about 5:30pm.  Empty Space was about 15 minutes in front of me and I was about 15 minutes in front of Jet.  Jet developed an issue with his leg today - pain in his shin. He’s pretty worried about it. Hopefully he’ll be able to go tomorrow. I gave him some of my Arnica gel to see if that would help.

There are about 4 other hikers here at camp - but they were already all setup before we arrived. We didn’t meet them - but nobody we know on the thru-hiker front - some section hikers. Empty Space, Jet, and myself had dinner and talked around the picnic table until a little after 8pm. It starts getting pretty dark deep in the woods around 8:30pm. Once it turns dark - everybody scatters to their tents or in the shelter - it’s a whole different world out here.

I saw 3 snakes today - all laying directly on the AT path. None were poisonous-  but it wakes you up for sure.   The hike today went pretty smooth - some hills - but not overly technical. It was a good day with a heavier bag out of a resupply.

Tomorrow I go for a big milestone!!  I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. Here’s to another good day on the trail. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. Good night - stay well!

Very interesting - lots of history here

Snake #3 

This shelter was built in 2016  - one of the nicest on AT

Snake #2

Whiskey Hollow Shelter

Most of the hike was deep woods today

Snake #1

Similar views all day

Day #73 - AT Hike

Sunday, May 24 - Day #73 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 13.4
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 972.1/2,193 (44.33%)

Gravel Springs Hut (958.7) to Front Royal (972.1) - hotel at Baymont Inn

Total ascent - 2,057’
Total descent - 3,719’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**Rain Day - foggy and rain during the hiking day. Overcast in the afternoon in Front Royal

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Man-o-man-o-man. Am I ever thankful to be resting up in a hotel tonight - finished with the Shenandoah National Park. 7 days - 107 miles - 22,000’ vertical ascent, 1 food carry for the entire trip, 6/7 days of rain —- great to get that segment completed!  Traditionally, the Shenny’s is really looked at by AT thru-hikers as a relatively easy section. It really wasn’t all that bad - but my experience was made more difficult with the weather and the Covid-19 closings throughout the park. Having some wayside food stops during the day and some sunshine could have really lifted the spirits.

So - getting back to my marathon analogy I’ve used throughout this journey - I’m currently at Mile 11.6 of the marathon - 1.5 miles to the halfway point.  It’s close - really close.  Often times during a marathon - I use that halfway point as a marker. I sometimes find myself struggling that last mile to get there - it’s so close but still so far away.  Well - I’m finding myself with similar emotions recently on the AT. It’s interesting to think about - and how closely it does relate to the marathon.

I’ve been sort of struggling for motivation in recent days. Today - a couple things happened to gain a little bit of that edge back again. First off - the hike today went pretty well. I got out of camp at 6:15am - and finished up at 11:45am. 13.4 miles in 5-1/2 hours - good pace for me. Empty Space was right behind me at the finish. We were at a parking area where we would get our shuttle into Front Royal. We had to wait for Jet - so we sat down and rested for a bit.

There was Trail Magic for us at the parking area - a cooler filled with soda, beer, and water. I grabbed a soda and sat to rest. As we sat there - a middle-aged couple that had stopped to look at the views approached us. They were extremely intrigued about the AT and asked us if we were AT thru-hikers. I responded: “Yes - we’re on Day #73 - about 1,000 miles into the hike”.  It was so funny - these guys were so curious about the AT. They were actually following a few blogs on-line. They asked us if we knew a couple people (they called them by their trail names). Then - they asked if they could get a picture with us. After this - they asked if they could give us some food/drinks. They were so excited:  “We’ve always wanted to do Trail Magic - can we bring you some food?”  Empty space let them know we would never turn down food. So - they rushed to their car. They brought us a package of crackers, some lunch meat, a bunch of beef jerky sticks, a package of fruit snacks, and some sodas. They were as happy as can be and we were very thankful!

Then - this afternoon I got a text message from my niece Madeline. She sometimes sends me motivational texts - she’s a really special person. (I hope she won’t mind if I share this).  She was telling me she was cleaning out her books and came across the Diary of Anne Frank I had given her many years ago - and how she would always hold onto that book. She said:  “A good reminder that we are made better by knowing each other’s stories. We’re all writing one with our lives! Yours is important - keep living it with courage!”  First of all - how amazing is my niece for sending me something like this. Pretty remarkable stuff!  But then - It made me start thinking about those people today. You know - in your life - you never know who/what may inspire you OR who you may inspire yourself. It’s sort of a lesson to keep living your life the best you can - and just maybe, maybe if you’re lucky - you can make a positive difference out there. What’s your legacy?  How will you be remembered?  I don’t know - sometimes I think about that and it keeps me motivated to push forward.

I don’t mean to get so deep today - just a few things that made me think. It’s about 11pm here now. A good Nero today. Shower, laundry completed, resupply done, a nice big burger for lunch/dinner - all good stuff!

Tomorrow we have a shuttle at 9:45am back to the trail. A 4-day, 53 mile stretch awaits into Harpers Ferry. I should be able to hang with Jet and Empty Space this week. Looking forward to seeing some cool sites (nice weather expected) and having a little bit of fun

Happy Memorial Day to everybody out there!!  Get out and create your “Remember When” moment!

Trail Magic at end of hike today

Foggy, rainy day

Deer near my tent - 6am

Sign about AT

Sign while leaving the Shenandoahs

Last mile into parking area

More signs

Spooky woods again today

North Park Boundary 

Do I look as rough as I feel