6/23/12 – 979 miles
The motel provides a free shuttle back to the trail so I didn’t have to worry about hitch hiking this morning. It was 8:30 by the time I got back on the AT, later than I like to start but still earlier than many other hikers get going. At least the oppressive heat wave had passed, it was only supposed to be in the 80’s today.
I think my pack is on the heavy side again. With my ravenous appetite and craving for certain foods, I had a stuffed food bag. I also picked up a pair of light shorts at the second hand store, and Karen ordered another shirt for me to replace the one mice chewed up in the Smokys. There are other small things I keep adding, also. All the little ounces add up to pounds before you know it.
I’m camped at a shelter called Dicks Dome. It was made by the Boy Scouts a few years ago in the shape of a geodesic dome, quite unique in design but reeking in wasted space. There is only room for four people.
Tomorrow I enter a section of trail called the Roller Coaster. The builders and maintainers in this area are very proud that they challenge hikers with continuous up and down trail. Most of the hikers that have done the Roller Coaster say it is more annoying than much of a challenge to us at this stage of our hike.
I only have a couple more days to Harper’s Ferry so Karen and I pushed back the meeting place for our hike to Pen Mar Park at the Pennsylvania / Maryland border. Nate will also be joining us on our hike which makes me happy.
castaway just found out from reading Hot Shots journal and found out Knife is in Port Clinton Pa. There is a hiker named Bluesky I don’t think he is the one we know. Do you know anything about sticks and metrik
mispelled metrik should have been metric
I haven’t seen entries for either of them.
Where is Harper’s Ferry? I’ve tried, more or less, to follow you, but my map doesn’t have the AT. What State if Harper’s Ferry? I used to know It is a watery spot, I know, I have Front Royalr (the way it’s spelled on my map), but can’tgo farther. Was that John Brown? You will soon be out of the Confdreracy!
It must be over 1000milesnow–hard to believe.
Can’t see what I am writing. “If” shoul be “is” I can’t fix other errors;my right hand is no good at typing, so you figure out the errors.
G’ma…Harpers Ferry is in West Virginia and yes it was the site of the John Brown raid. It changed hands during the civil war quite a few times. It’s also a beautiful area, with rivers, forested mountains….you can almost hear the cannons being dragged into place by the soldiers past.
Nate and I are meeting dad at a small park north of Hagerstown and hiking about 60 miles with him to a spot near Carlisle PA. I agree that it’s hard figuring out where he is if you are using a regular map. 🙂