Backpacking the AT - Day 6

 Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Ed Garvey Shelter to Pine Knob Shelter

Northbound miles 1033.0 to 1049.6

The songs of the owls serenaded us all night long. The night was a chilly one, dipping into the 30‘s and Kara was quite cold overnight.  We are definitely going to have to figure out a better sleep system for her! It sure was hard to crawl from our bags and get ready for the day, but the sun shining through the trees helped a bit!

We moved at a slow pace, packing up camp and cooking breakfast, and got back on trail a little after 8am.  

The trail was a bit rocky but mostly flat to start the day and we cruised through the first few miles. 

Our first attraction of the day was Gathland State Park. It was a beautiful place, filled with history and amazing stonework. They also had a water spigot, so we all filled up!

This part of the AT is located right along the borders of The North and The South sides of The Civil War. There were reminders everywhere of the battles fought on this land. 

This section also had many markings of the AT, and I took photos of every one I saw. Ha!

We continued on our way, struggling against the rocks, warming up and cooling down, depending on whether we were hiking up or hiking down the hills.  Once in a while we'd catch a good view, and we'd stop for a moment to look down at the world below us.

In the afternoon, we came to Washington Monument State Park. 

There was a beautiful old church near the entrance and of course I had to stop and admire it.

The trail continued, up, up, up as we hiked through the park.  The climbing was endless.  I fantasized about a car picking us up on their way to the top!

We stopped to refill our water once again, and to charge some electronics.  We hadn't had a chance to charge our phones and watches in a few days, and our power banks were running low.  I was starting to get a bit nervous about that.  We then made our way to the very top, where the monument sits.  This monument was built in the 1820’s, in a single day, by the people of this town to remember George Washington. 

The door was open, so we climbed to the top and the view from up there was pretty great!  We even met a couple men doing some bird watching up there. 

We had about 3.5 more miles to hike to get to camp, and I was ready to get there. The rocks on this day were killer on my feet and I just wanted to relax.

The trail took us down out of the hills, and we crossed a couple roads and then we took a bridge across Interstate 70. After being in the woods for several days, the noise from the road was shocking to my ears.  There were also several men on the bridge holding campaign signs for the cars passing by below.

After another little uphill climb, we made it to Pine Knob Shelter. 

There were a few other people there when we arrived, but there was plenty of space for everyone.  We found some flat ground near a fire, ring and set up our tents.

Misty and Kara decided to share a tent this night to see if it would keep Kara warmer. After we were settled, we cooked our dinner by the fire and chatted about the trail ahead. Once again, when the sky got dark, we retreated to our tents. It was supposed to be in the 30's again tonight and I hoped Kara stayed warm!

Daily miles: 16.99

Time on trail: 8:50:31

Elevation gain: 3287 feet

Backpacking the AT - Day Five

 Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Tent site to Ed Garvey Shelter

Northbound miles 1021.2 to 1033.0

With temps in the 40’s, it was a little more difficult to crawl from our bags this morning. Misty tried to warm herself with a little yoga, while Kara and I just kept an extra layer on. 

Because we were camping at an unofficial campsite, we had the place to ourselves.  We took our time having breakfast and getting ready, and by the time we hit the trail it was after 8am. 

The morning was chilly, but we were in good spirits, playing little games and singing songs. Kara was feeling much better this morning, and we all felt a bit lighter knowing our day of hiking would be broken up with a fun stop in the middle.

The trail was a lot gentler today, and we ticked the miles off. We hiked through Harpers Ferry National Historic Park and descended down towards town. 

Thankfully, there was a lovely, protected sidewalk on the bridge to cross the Shenandoah River.  The road traffic was so loud to us!  

It was a long and breezy walk across, and by the time we made it over the bridge, rain had started to fall. We quickly pulled out raincoats and ponchos and continued on. 

After a very steep climb up the trail, we made our way to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. We had our iconic photos taken for the record books, shopped for souvenirs, became ATC supporters, and received our official hang tags. We also hung out in the hiker lounge, flipping through old books filled with photos of so many past hikers.  If you're ever in Harpers Ferry, you can look us up in the 2024 book!  I loved our stop here-it made our section hike seem very official!

Upon joining the ATC, we were given a big bag of goodies, including t-shirts, calendars, stickers and more. We didn’t want to hike with these items, so we made our way to the post office a couple blocks down the road. In a few minutes, we had purchased envelopes and mailed our items home.

Our next order of business was finding lunch. We ended up on the patio of Rabbit Hole and it did not disappoint: Hot chocolate, cold Coke, and delicious food for all of us!  We got a lot of looks from the tourists who were having lunch there and a few even asked us about our hike.  My favorite part of this restaurant was that it was dog friendly, and many of the tables had dog beds and water bowls under them for the visiting dogs.

We ate until we were stuffed and then headed out in search of the outfitters. Along the way, we stopped to chat with people who recognized us as long-distance hikers. We kind of felt like celebrities as we made our way through the crowds of people.  In just a couple more blocks, we were there! 

Harpers Ferry Outfitters & Bike Shop was a neat little place. We picked up some resupply food items and checked out their gear. I would've loved to stay a bit longer to check out all the odds and ends they had on display, but it was tight quarters with a lot of people coming and going.  This place was definitely a good stop for us.  My pack was so full now I could barely fit through the door!

The trail leaving Harper’s Ferry led us across a bridge where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet. There were a lot of visitors to this area, and it was easy to see why!

That was followed by a nice wide, flat path, and we could walk three across, which was fun!  We had spent the first four days hiking single file down the trail, which made conversation a little difficult. The day had warmed up considerably and we were enjoying ourselves. I wasn't sure how long this easy section would go on along the edge of the river, but I was loving it!

And then there was a long, long climb up and away from Harpers Ferry. The path was rocky and steep, but we took it slow and kept moving forward, following those white blazes.

After a little hesitation, we decided to take a side trail out to Weverton Cliffs.  It was well worth the hike down, and it gave us a great view of the river and city below. We had fun playing on the rocks without our packs on.  Sometimes when we read reviews from other hikers on FarOut, we will get insight whether a side trail is worth the added mileage or not.  This little spot had mixed reviews, and we almost passed it by.  I would give it two thumbs up for sure!

Then it was time to make our way to our camping spot for the night. We had just about a mile more uphill, and then the trail evened out.  Soon enough, we made it to Ed Garvey Shelter.

Side note: If you come across a random bench on trail, you must sit on it.

The shelter itself was one of the nicest we have seen on trail yet. It was very clean, had two stories, and even windows. We, of course, chose to find a spot to set up our tents. There was not a lot of flat ground here, and what little there was seemed to be covered with large rocks.  We found a little area away from the shelter with just enough room for all of us, and there was a fire pit nearby.

As we were setting up camp, I heard some rustling in the leaves and looked up as deer ran right by us and then stopped and hung out for a while. 

We built a nice fire and cooked light meals for dinner, still not too hungry after having our big lunches. 

There were a couple of men staying at the shelter, and we invited them over to our fire. Hans, from Lancaster, PA, came over and visited just before dark. He had hiked the entire trail and had lots of fun stories for us.  When I say fun, I mean terrible.  He talked of snakes and quicksand and bears he had encountered on trail.  Just what we needed to hear as we headed towards bedtime!

When there was nothing left in the sky but the light of the moon, we stashed our bear canisters and climbed into our tents.  It had been a very full day, and I don't think any of us stayed awake for very long that night.

Daily miles: 13.90

Time on trail: 8:50:55

Elevation gain: 2372 feet