Appalachian Trail — ..Made it through the Shenandoahs...made it over the infamous "Roller Coaster"...and then I finally made it to West Virginia!! I started the Trail March twenty-ninth and three months later I walked into Harpers Ferry, WV on June twenty-ninth. I almost cried when I walked up the steps of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters, but I held back the tears. All I could keep thinking to myself was, "wow...i just walked 1,013 miles to get here!" Harpers Ferry, WV is not the literal half-way point on the Trail, but it is the psychological half-way point...in every guide book that you read, they all state that if you do not make it to Harpers Ferry by mid-July, then you will not make it to Maine by October 1st, which is when Baxter State Park closes where the last mountain is located that you have to climb to finish the thru-hike. Honestly, I had been pretty nervous over the last few weeks that I was taking too long to get here because I thought that so many hikers were much further ahead of me. Come to find out, they are not that much further ahead, so I feel much better. I walked in two weeks early...it was a proud moment for me...I felt that if something were to happen that I have to get off the Trail, I have already accomplished over 1000 miles and I feel really good about it!
It's a pretty big deal to go to the ATC Headquarters (see picture below) when you arrive in Harpers Ferry because you get your picture taken and put in the 2009 book of thru hikers and you can find out how many thru hikers that you started with have walked through and what number on the list you are. What number was I? I was number 521 out of about 1300-1400 northbound thru-hikers this year...of course, most of the 1400 people have dropped off the Trail already and they predict that more will drop off after Harpers Ferry. The final numbers will not be available until next year, but I was proud to be number 521!
You are probably wondering what the "Roller Coaster" is mentioned in the top of this article. The "Roller Coaster" was right after the Shenandoahs before Harpers Ferry and was a series of 14 ups and 12 downs (so they say) which were unbelievably annoying and pretty difficult. Gorgonzola (my hiking partner) became sick due to heat exhaustion and I fell and hurt myself (not badly)...so, needless to say, the Roller Coaster almost got us, but we survived.
Just beyond the Roller Coaster before reaching Harpers Ferry, we stopped at a shelter for the night called "Manassas Gap Shelter". My friends and I that were with me had just put in a 21 mile day and we were stopping there for the night. There happened to be two gentlemen sitting in the shelter who claimed they were section hikers and that they came out every year for one week on the Trail. I mentioned that I was from Georgia and one of the men asked me where in Georgia. This happens a lot on the Trail every time you meet someone new and I am usually prepared to explain exactly where Plains, GA is because most of the time they say, "huh...now where is that located?" But not this time...the fellow says, "oh, well that's where I get my mail...I live between Plains and Americus"! I couldn't believe it...that gentleman was Mr. Burt Carter who teaches geology at GSWSU.(See picture to the right) We live in a small world, don't we? Nice to meet you, Burt!!
So, I am taking a one day break here in Harpers Ferry and then it is on to Maryland (which will not take very long) and then into Pennsylvania. Thank you to those who sent items to me here in Harpers Ferry...I cannot express my gratitude enough to you, but God bless you and thank you so much! My next mail stop will be in PA. Half the journey is over, but I still have miles to go. Keep your fingers crossed! “Denali” (Leigh Anne Williams, Plains)
