Make it count: 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!