Week 3 – Showers, Flowers, and a Roller Coaster (Miles 108.2 – 161.2)

Wow! What a week of hiking! We arrived yesterday afternoon in historic Harpers Ferry, WV after an eventful, blessed, and tiring week! The ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) has a headquarters here, where we received our “official” thru hiker tags, had our photo taken, and signed the register. For those who start in Georgia, this is the traditional halfway point of the trail. Some who started in Feb and March have already passed – moving between 20-30 miles a day! (That is NOT our speed !)

Day 1 - So…after leaving Front Royal last week we began our approach toward the infamous “roller coaster”. We walked through the first of many rain showers on our first morning, our target being the Manassas Gap Shelter a little over 10 miles away. Hiking up out of Ashby Gap, we met several elderly folks coming down the mountain. It turns out it was “May Day”, and the Trilliums were in bloom up the mountain. Indeed, we began seeing thousands of flowers all day along the trail – a reminder of God’s beauty around every corner! It was a mostly uphill day, and with rain in the forecast we wearily but jubilantly arrived to an empty shelter. Since we were alone, we ditched the idea of setting up the tent and settled in the shelter for the night. We were pleased with the day, having hit our 10+ mile objective by 3 in the afternoon! This gave us some hope that after we get our trail legs and drop some more weight, we might actually be able to work our way up to some 15-20 mile days, something we will need to do in order to finish. As often happens, company arrived later – a nice younger fellow, but VERY talkative ! Sometimes we find that younger folks aren’t ready to sleep at 6:30 or 7 like us older hikers might be.

Day 2 – Parting ways with our new friend (he was heading south), we left with the ambitious goal of arriving at the next shelter 12.9 miles down the trail. That would put us at the doorstep of the “roller coaster”(more on that later). The trail was working in our favor, with even some sections of relatively flat or gentle. Most of the morning we didn’t see any folks on the trail. We stopped for a late lunch next to a stream so we could refill water while we stopped. About the time we finished, a NOBO (northbound) thru-hiker named “Vulcan” stopped for his lunch. We had a great chat – he was trying to complete his 4th 30 mile day in a row! Even though we left before he finished, we knew it wouldn’t be long before we saw him again . Fifty yards up the trail, we both stopped in our tracks. There was an elderly man, lying face-down in the trail. No perceptible movement, pack off to the side. We assumed the worst, but as we approached I asked if he was ok. To our surprise (and a little fright) he spoke back saying he was just resting. Facedown…middle of the trail?!?! We asked him a few more questions to make sure he was ok, then reluctantly moved on knowing the Vulcan would pass by as well and check on him. Sure enough, when he passed us later that day he said the guy was still laying down, still acting strange, but insisting he was fine. We prayed all week that he made it down safely! We arrived at our destination for the night around 6, having slogged through some unexpected bogs and later afternoon ups and downs. The Rod Hollow shelter was already full of folks, so we elected to set up the tent even with a forecast of rain. Our bodies told us we probably shouldn’t have hike almost 13 miles yet, but we had done it. The good news – we hiked almost 13 miles and it didn’t rain all night! The bad news – tomorrow we had to start the “roller coaster”. We did meet several nice folks, including a couple around our age who were hiking south for a small section – she was hiking with a titanium knee, a result of an accident from their previous attempt at thru hiking. We were encouraged by their grit and love for hiking, but wondered about our own knees as we continue our attempt!

Day 3 – We both were moving slow, and were the last ones out of camp the next morning. Our objective was 10 miles, but our fall back plan was a shelter about 7 miles away in case the roller coaster kicked our tail. It did! The “roller coaster” is a series of steep ups and down, created on purpose by the ATC to add some difficulty to this stretch of trail. Instead of using switchbacks and skirting rock formations, the trail often goes straight up, and never misses an opportunity to go through and over rocks! Although none of the hills are tall – typically .3 to .5 miles apiece – the combination of the them one after another and the 12-17% grades really smacked us around! For Becky, it literally smacked her! She caught her trekking pole in between rocks, lost her balance and smacked her head loud enough I heard it bounce! Luckily it was a flat rock and a hard-headed woman – only a small bump and abrasion!! We arrived at the Sam Moore shelter 7 miles down the trail around 4, and with thunder and lightening cracking and our legs and lungs screaming made an easy decision to not try to go the next 3 miles. Several other folks arrived not long afterward, running from the same storm. It was a safe and cozy night in the shelter, but there were a few leaks ! We met 3 young guys – two police officers and a pharmacist – who were delightful. They were followed by another hiker who set up his tent and weathered the storm! Another young lady arrived later and also elected to tent – that’s when Becky and I realized we probably were not only wet, but also pretty stinky .

Day 4 – Logistics is a priority on the trail. Because we didn’t make our 10 mile objective, and because the rain was going to continue all week, and because we still had 7 miles of “roller coaster” to get through, and because it was 14 miles to the next shelter…we made the decision to make the next day a short day and go 3.5 miles to Bears Den Hostel and take a “Nero” (a day where you hike a little, but not zero – hence a “Nero”). Bears Den is an iconic stop along the trail. It’s run by the ATC, with a caretaker on site. For $30 a person you get a bunk, a shower, laundry, frozen pizza, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, and a pancake breakfast! There are also signed hiker posters from past years, and we were able to sign our names on the 2019 edition! We were the first arrivals, so we enjoyed a shower, a “short” walk (.6 miles one way) for a lunch, and even a nap before the other folks started arriving for the evening. We met some great folks that night, including a retired Quaker school teacher, and at least 5 NOBO thru-hikers including a young couple. Again we realized that “shared space” and early bedtimes aren’t necessarily compatible ! There was also a young lady who arrived – she never shared her name, was obviously not an experienced hiker, and just seemed a bit out of place and a little lost. And finally, around 9 when everyone else was just heading to bed (9 pm is called “hikers midnight”), some older gentleman walked in, obviously inebriated, talking loud and a bit rude, and kept the party going a little longer. Still a little restless that night, but managed to get some sleep!

Day 5 – Rain! We left for our last day in the “roller coaster” in the rain, and it lasted ALL DAY! Our destination was the David Lesser Shelter 11 miles away, the first 3 of it still in the roller coaster, but the last 8 much less challenging – we hoped! At mile 2 Becky mentioned that she hoped it would clear by the time we arrived so we could stay in the tent instead of the shelter – we were both ready for some alone time! That’s when I realized I had left the tent at the Bears Den. I frantically called back to see if we could pay someone to shuttle it ahead to us somewhere. The caretaker kindly offered to drop it off at the Blackburn Trail Center – a stop along a side trail we would be passing. Whew – I wasn’t looking forward to the ¼ mile hike down and back up, but it was a LOT better then going back 2 miles! At around noon we grabbed a quick lunch and I went down a side trail a few yards to refill the water. When I got back, Becky mentioned that the young lady from the hostel had passed by. We had seen her leave on the trail with another hiker earlier that morning, and apparently she had lost the trail and ended up behind us again. Becky told her about the Blackburn Center 4 miles ahead, as she was desperate to get off the trail. Strange, we thought, but didn’t think much more of it until later. We passed two significant milestones during the day. First, we crossed our first state line, entering into West Virginia. About that time a group of co-workers from a publishing company in DC passed us so we were able to swap photographer jobs. Next, we got past the “roller coaster”!!!! Not sure if it was the raindrops or tears of joy, but the faces were wet and smiling on that pic! The Blackburn Center side trail was at about mile 8. We were approaching it around 3 in the afternoon. My plan was to leave my pack with Becky, run down and get the tent, then come back up so we could get to the shelter. The rain had started again in earnest and we still had 3 miles. About 25 yards before we got to the side trail, we saw the young lady again. She was sitting beside the trail, huddled under a yellow rain tarp, shivering and showing some signs of hypothermia. Plan B kicked into action. Becky helped get her some water and something to eat. We got her on her feet and since I was heading down to the Blackburn Center I told her I would help her get down. Since this was going to slow us down, I told Becky to hike down the trail to the other side trail entrance of the Blackburn Center. That would save us 30 minutes or more later and it was getting late. Another nice hiker around our age named Beau came up about then and offered to escort Becky that far and stay with her if needed. The young lady and I started down the steep ¼ mile trek to Blackburn. After a few feet I could see she wasn’t going to make it with her pack, so starting carrying hers along with mine. A slow but steady 45 minutes later, she was delivered safely to folks at the center (including our Quaker friend who had stopped for the night!) and I scrambled up the steep steps on the other side to find Becky waiting. Around 6 or so we stumbled into the shelter where Beau greeted us warmly! It was amazing to put on dry clothes, eat some warm food, have a great visit, and sleep in a nice uncrowded shelter! A very long day, but God is good!

Day 6 – Only 9 miles with the sun shining an mostly downhill! We were on our way to Harpers Ferry! There were some sloppy bogs from all the rain, but knowing we were taking the next day off put a little dance to our step as we walked the trail. Approaching Harpers Ferry the Shenandoah River was an amazing sight, rain swollen and flowing strong! The approach over the bridge was an awesome sight! Finally arriving at the ATC headquarters we finished our registration, visited with other hikers, drank a soda (or 2) and ate an ice cream sandwich (or 2). Our rental car shuttle arrived after a bit of a wait, and these weary travelers took another long hot shower, washed some of the stinkiest laundry ever, enjoyed a great meal, and slept in a REAL bed with NO OTHER occupants!!!

Today we rested, refueled our bodies, and shopped for resupply. Tomorrow, we are off to Maryland, and should be in Pennsylvania next time we write. This is the hardest fun we have ever had!! We are so blessed!!