Ed Garvey Shelter
This morning I started out from the Blackburn Center with two friendly men maned Joshuah. I ejoyed talking to them about their life as organic farmers in a communal farm. It was very nice hear the idilic community life they lived. They were very nice sharing their food and tea with me. They came out hiking to Harpers Ferry to see if they wanted to do a thru hike some day. Eventually I got ahead of them because I had a lot of miles to make and I also wanted to spend some time enjoying Harper's Ferry.
I passed by flowering bushes that scented the air. I saw several toads who hopped away as I approached.
Before Harpers Fery I reached the 1000 mile point on te trail, yea!
At Harper's Ferry I started to see numerous signifigant civil war sites. The trail really walks through history here. ith battle sites and historic buildings.
I dropped into the head office of the ATC to pick up a package from Dana and get my picture taken. I am the 112th thru-hiker to come thru this year. I looked through the book of pictures and found the pictures of many of my friends who came through ahead of me.
I got a map of the city from the office and headed back down the trail and the first thing I came across was Jefferson Rock. From it you can see the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers merge. Thomas Jefferson wrote of this spot "This view is worth the trip across the atlantic". Shrug, it was pretty.
On down the trail I came into the tourist heart of the city. It was packed due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. I headed over to the outfitter as they would hold my backpack while I wandered the town. The outfitter was a really cool stop on it's own. It was a historic two story building. The first floor was the foundation and was made with slate stonework. What made it most unquie though was the fact that there was a spring still active with a slow flow of water flowing over long worn paths in the floor keeping the room was cool and humid. Mostly they had rain jackets on display down there. The upstairs is where they had most of their stock.
With my pack off my back I went to get lunch from a pizza place up the street. Most of the resturants were tourist priced and it would have cost a fortune for lunch but Kings Pizza filled me up with a salad and calzone for around $10.
Since so much had a happened in this town I set aside some time to explore. In the end it was a mixed bag, the buildings were very cool to look at however most of the exhibits were dry and boreing.
I did stand where the armory that John Brown raided one stood. I was odd to think of stuggle of ideals that had taken place here amongst the weekend vacationers getting post cards and taking pictures, myself included.
I stuck around and read the various signs until the town was closeing up, around 5 P.M. and packed up and headed out.
I crossed the Potomic river and headed up the C&O towpath where barges were once pulled by mule. The canal has now filled up with warm still waters that are packed with life. I could see the green coating of scum floating on the the water and sunning themselves on logs there were numerous turtles.
The towpath was flat and I coveed the miles quickly to the next climb up to the ridge line. There I made good time too. Along the climb I came to a rocky outlook, Weverton Rocks, that afforded a good view of the valley with the Potomac. There I met and struck up a conversation with Brad, Neal, Jim, and Whitney. They are weekend hikers who were going to try to spend the night on the rocky surface of the outlook. We talked for a long while and they fed me cheese and crackers, and apple, and a SoyJoy bar(I thought it tasted ok but they could not bear to eat them anymore). Thank you.
I was having a great time with them but I still had a few miles to go before shelter so I had make my exit. The rest of the hiking went quickly which is good as i was now running out of daylight. I came to find a site packed with people out for the holiday and boy scouts but strangly I am the only one sleeping in there shelter. I have spent most of the night with a father and his two daughters who he was taking on their first backpacking trip and B-man who is re-thru hiking this year.
Today really was exciting seeing all that history, the 1000' mile mark, the ATC headquarters, hiking in VA, WV, and MD in one day.
I think it is going to be a cool night as it has already cooled off a lot.
------------------------------
Get your service for FREE when you refer friends and family to PocketMail!
1 comment:
Grasshopper, Harpers Ferry is absolutely one of the coolest little towns in the world! Sure, it's touristy, but there's more history in that little town than in some whole states. Everyone from Washington to Lincoln have stood and observed the views of the converging Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The city switched "hands" a dozen times during the Civil War. I'm a history buff, so everything from the armory's bricks pock-marked by bullet holes, to the stone steps cut out of solid rock leading up to camp hill fascinate me. And, hey, I've been to the outfitter there many times! You're right, it's the coolest building in town with the boulder floor and natural spring. Harpers Ferry is a bit like Sedona in that it attracts a peculiar type of individual. (If it weren't so dang humid, I wouldn't mind living there.) The view from Jefferson Rock is great but the better view is a from Maryland Heights -- a strenuous hike of about 3 miles if I remember correctly, but nothing you thru hikers couldn't do with your eyes closed. The overlook from Maryland Heights truly IS worth a trip across the Atlantic. Loving your journal blog! - Mike from Sedona Green Gallery.
Post a Comment