Big Things Poppin

Killed some time watching Remember the Titans (most re-watchable movie ever) on the couch at the hostel, and then headed down to Snickers Gap to meet up with Deanna! Awesome to see her again and with a pack! 

Minutes into the hike, I passed a huge milestone, the 1,000 mile mark! Another hiker had spelled 1,000 with rocks at the exact point on the trail. Very strange staring down at this huge number knowing what it took to achieve. Awesome feeling though. 

We hiked the last 3 miles of "The Roller Coaster" which is a 13 mile section of 10 ascents and descents, a couple of hundred feet in elevation change with each. 

And camped that night down by a spring. 

Had a camp site planned for the next day near the Va/WV state line. We stopped at a shelter for water and made friends with a group of guys who were taking all their young sons camping. Had a ton of questions for me and even gave me one of their beers, a tall boy Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. Instant friends.

Someone had already taken the campsite by the time we got there, which was apparently the only one before West Virginia. We ended up hiking a lot further than planned and pretty much invented a campsite. No worries, Deanna rolled with it nicely. Easy walk into Harpers Ferry the next morning for alcohol and showers. Deanna handled the 20+ miles like a champ. Maybe I made a hiker this weekend...

Took the side trail to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to get my picture taken on the front porch as tradition dictates. I've seen a lot of thru hiker's pictures from there before and it was very awesome, though surreal, to be standing there myself...over 1,000 miles down.

Harpers Ferry was a nice little old historic town overall. Though very lacking as far as "hiker services" go. No laundry, CVS, etc. We stayed at great little B&B in town called The Ledge. Great, friendly place overlooking the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

Sad to see Deanna go but excited to hit the trail for what looks like more smooth sailing. 

Headed out of town tomorrow, but this time it'll be south for a few miles, back to the West Virginia/Virginia line to try and complete the 4 state challenge. The goal is to cross 3 state lines within 24 hours. You start in Virginia, go through West Virginia, Maryland, and then into Pennsylvania. 42 miles total. Should be a rather long, tiring day of hiking, but I'm excited about the challenge. Wish me luck!