Ready, set, hike!

Traveling day

I got on the train at 4 am ( the train was delayed), stretched out in the bunk of my roomette, and dozed for a few hours. The trip to Harper’s Ferry flew by and I was happy that the snow and ice disappeared somewhere around Cumberland, MD. Many of the people that I talked to on the train had no idea what the Appalachian trail is, which surprised me, but it was fun answering their questions about it.

Harper’s ferry train station

I walked to the hotel from the station and relaxed there for a while until I went back to the station to meet Keith when his train arrived a few hours later. The walk back to the hotel as the sun went down was made memorable as a herd of 7 deer crossed the road in front of us and then stood within arms reach of the sidewalk watching us as we passed them. I have never seen deer as relaxed when people are close by!

T-24 hours

The next morning I met a former thru-hiker, Weatherman, at breakfast and we bonded over our shared love of Topos and dislike of the cold. He was heading south for a section hike and encouraged us to just listen to our bodies as we started our thru; good advice and a good reminder.

Keith and I went down into Harper’s ferry to get our stove fuel from the local outfitter and got to sign his book as thru hikers number 1 & 2. We explored the town a little and then listened to a member of the National Park Service staff play a dance tune on his fiddle for us; it was part of his “fun facts” about George Washington, who apparently loved music and dancing. Who knew?!

We had lunch at the Cannonball Deli (great burgers!) and then walked back uphill to the ATC headquarters. After being quizzed on the 7 Leave No Trace principles, we were given our hang tags along with more good advice. We were asked to come back the next day before we started our hike to get our photos taken and our “official” numbers.

The answers to our quiz were on a door in the ATC

We had to pass right by a bakery as we walked back to the hotel, and the delicious smell pulled us right in. I bought a lemon ginger scone and Keith got some banana bread, and I also bought a loaf of cherry chocolate sourdough bread to eat in chunks over the next few days.

Get set…

I woke up at 4 am too jazzed to sleep any longer. Took a long shower and then did some writing and made some tea before the hotel breakfast opened at 7.

After breakfast I finished repacking my bag and watched some tv (there was a dodgeball championship – again, who knew?! – on ESPN), then walked up the hill with Keith to the ATC headquarters. I really like this year’s dark green hang tags!

Go!

After picking up our packs at the hotel we walked across the street and took a side trail to the AT. My first white blaze was high above a parking lot along the Shenandoah river.

My 1st white blaze

We continued through Harper’s Ferry, across the bridge that runs next to the train tracks, and onto the towpath along the river. It was a nice start for our hike and the river with its rapids was really pretty.

The climb away from the towpath felt like the real start of the AT. We were passed by lots of families who were taking advantage of the relatively warm and sunny Sunday to check out the Weverton cliffs.

The Ed Garvey shelter was our goal, and we got there around 3:45. The shelter itself is beautiful; very clean and well maintained with a campfire set up, a privy, a bear box and a bear pole in the tent area. The shelter also has a loft, which I thought was cool.

The water source was down the hill from the shelter – about 800 feet down! Keith got the water while I set up the tent. Then we ate a hot dinner and got our beds set up as the sun went down and the temp started dropping.

It was a cold night, and my body was aching from the miles, climbs, and heavy pack I’d asked it to carry that day. I definitely need to give myself time to adjust! The stars were beautiful, though, and a pair of hot hands made me much more comfortable through the night.

My first AT thru hike day down… and my 2nd begins…with hopefully many more to go…