Hi folks!
When last I left you, I was just about out of the Shenandoah National Park. Now, I’m at a laundromat in Waynesboro, PA. What happened in between? Let’s find out…
Exiting the national park, you’re immediately greeted by the small city of Front Royal, VA. As I hadn’t showered or done laundry since Waynesboro, VA (over 100 miles ago), I booked a stay at Mountain Home B&B, owned by Scott and Lisa. They purchased this old, southern style home and fixed it up into an excellent bed and breakfast. Just $40 bought me a one night stay in a real bed, a couple of shuttles into town, a truly excellent breakfast sourced from local farms, and wonderful hospitality from the owners. 10/10!
In Front Royal, I was treated to a home cooked dinner from a friend that lives there! Shoutout to Carrie for the gift of pork chops and peas. They were delectable, despite your protestations! I also had a number of town chores to do, including getting a new SIM card for my phone (I think I sweated too much on my phone in my pocket…), picking up my tent from the post office (zipper repaired!), and resupplying. As luck would have it, Front Royal was also having a Christmas in July festival downtown! Santa Clause happened to manage the gear outfitter in town, and was having a special offering 20% off any one item. I bought a new pair of shoes to replace the worn down nubbins I’d rolled in on. Thank you, Santa, and shoutout to Iron Mike for some good conversation at the outfitter!
My hike out of Front Royal had me taking a “nearo” day (nearly zero miles hiked) of just five miles. I stayed at an excellent shelter – the Denton memorial shelter. It was complete with plenty of bees that could not get enough of my trekking poles, a horseshoe pit, a solar shower, and a shelter cat that I affectionately named Shelter Cat. We hung out most of the day.
The next morning, my insatiable desire for breakfast had me walk over two miles off trail to the Applehouse restaurant/gift shop/general store. Breakfast was great, but also carried the regret of walking non-trail miles. I hiked the rest of the day not totally sure where I wanted to end up, but knew I wanted to hit the 1,000 mile marker, which is situated in the heart of the “rollercoaster.” This is an infamous stretch of about 13 miles whose elevation profile exhibits the precipitous ascents and drops of the titular amusement park ride. It was brutal. Having hiked over 30 miles that day, I elected to set up camp by a stream about 4 mikes from the end of the rollercoaster, thankful to be off of my feet.
The next day, I hiked 12 miles into Blackburn Trail Center. This is a cabin/campground operated by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. They offered trail magic (soda and ice cream!), good conversation, and a place to stay for the night. It made for a short day of hiking, but my feet were killing me from the 30 mile day prior.
The next day had me hiking into Harpers Ferry, WV. It’s a very neat town, full of charming historic buildings, monuments, and rich Civil War history. You may recognize it from John Brown’s raid, attempting to incite a slave rebellion, or, as Busia pointed out, from “Gone with the Wind.” The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has a visitor center here, so I stopped by to see what it was all about. Much to my surprise, I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in hundreds of miles – Tek, who has now adopted the trail name Minion. Accompanied by Hot Foot, High Five, Calorie Man, and his dog Lucy, they were preparing to leave to endeavor the four state challenge. Let me explain…
The four state challenge will have a hiker endeavor to hike from Virginia, through West Virginia, through Maryland, and end in Pennsylvania, all within a 24 hour period. The shortest distance it can be done in is 45.5 miles. Since I hadn’t started the day expecting to give this a go, getting to the PA border would mean finishing the day with 53.9 miles. Daunting. But, I love a challenge, so I was in.
The start of the hike was great; sunny, not too strenuous terrain, and plenty of parks to get water without having to filter it. It was smooth hiking. Then, everything changed when the sun set and the rain came. It rained most of the night, and the terrain morphed into just a jumble of rocks and boulders. This is where broken ankles and blisters are made, my friends. I’m happy to say that I came out with no broken ankles, though I rolled dangerously close a couple of times, but I can tell that I’ll have some hot spots that’ll turn into blisters. I hiked most of the way through the night, but did take a break from the rain to get a couple hours of sleep at a shelter six miles before the Maryland/Pennsylvania border (AKA the Mason-Dixon Line). Exhausted, I completed my 4 state challenge with two hours to spare. (I took some narrated videos on this challenge, but I’m having trouble getting them to upload. Sorry!)
I waited for the rest of the group to finish, and we spent the rest of the day lounging and recovering in Waynesboro, PA. It’s neat to have passed from the south to the north, and I get a sense of accomplishment looking at how far I’ve come so far when I look at a map of the entire trail. Doing the math, I’m still on pace to make it to Katahdin before winter; something I think about often as other thru hikers around me voice their own trepidation.
Alrighty folks, that’s it for now! I’ll catch up with y’all a bit later, when I’m farther into PA!
Tingo Hikes! 