Educated Escape

Well we're camped 4.5 miles from our final destination, Harpers Ferry.  We did another 21.6 miles today, and felt great... for the most part. I had a battle with my old friend, chafing. We decided to cut our day short so we can hike the 4.5 miles early, and start our drive home. We plan to stay in a hotel near Indianapolis tomorrow night. It's really weird saying that, because for the past month (yes a month) I never knew where I was going to end up the next day.  Being back in the real world is going to be a bit of a shock, and I'm torn between missing my friends and family, and wanting to continue this awesome adventure we're on.  Steve is 6, yes 6 miles behind me at the moment, he stopped to book a hotel and do whatever else he does. So, as of 7:30PM today, he has six more miles to do. It's very nearly dark as I'm writing this, at around 8:30PM. We'll see what time he shows up! All I know is he's bringing beer to celebrate, and we plan on having a fir...

I was lazy and didn't set up my hammock last night and I regretted it this morning. I woke up sore and cold from laying in the shelter. The day quickly got better though. The privy at the shelter had toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and didn't smell too bad! I have definitely learned to appreciate the little things in life since coming out here.  The morning was sunny and beautiful, nicely lending itself to give a beautiful scene at the one and only view of the day. The weather was perfect temperature for hiking today. I think the high was low 70s.      I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the weather. I stopped for lunch at the Manassas shelter and after 10 minutes of eating alone a couple girls showed up. They were on a week long section hike and headed south toward the national park. After a few minutes of talking one of the girls all of a sudden grew silent and very wide eyed. The horrified look on her face made me look toward where her gaze landed. Directly above me i...

21.6 today! Much better than yesterday, however we actually meant to do 25 today.  We found a sweet campsite along a creek with a great firepit. Naturally I started a fire and cooked over it! Tonight we'll fall asleep to the sound of running water.  The miles flew by today, and it's cool to see how far we can push ourselves now that we're in peak hiking shape. I think we're at the point where 20 mile days no longer phase us. We both felt good enough to continue on today.  Today we began the roller coaster, an accurately named section of trail with very, very steep ups and downs. We are camped towards the beginning of it, and will camp just shy of Harpers Ferry tomorrow!  Yes that means on Saturday WE'LL BE DONE! 29 days and 383 miles.  Wow. Just wow. What a journey it has been. It seems like literally yesterday we were camped at rice field shelter and it was our first night on trail. But we've been out in the woods just shy of a month. 1/12 of our year. It's...

We came close to doing another big mile day, we ended up doing 12.  The morning started cold but sunny. I was somewhat disappointed that I wasn't going to get the chance to sleep in, but being dry wasn't terrible. Once I got going the miles flew by and I was soon out of the national park. Clouds slowly drifted in as the morning passed but the rain kept away.  There was an Italian restaurant in Front Royal that had a great price on a huge stromboli so Doc and I made our way into town. I made it in the door just as rain drops started to fall. The food tasted great but let's be honest, at this point all food does.  Hiker hunger is hitting me for sure. After eating our fill we decided to try to get to a shelter further down the trail. The rain had let up and it was just overcast.  The first two miles out of town took us by an exotic animal park but I wasn't lucky enough to see anything. Then it began to rain. With the temperature being low already the rain quickly sapped...

I slept like a rock last night. The bed was nice and firm and the room warm enough that I only needed a small blanket, all after I had showered and was wearing clean clothes. I think as my head of the pillow last night I was perfectly content. I didn't even wake up for trains that came by in the night.  After a stop at the gas station for nicotine for Two Dawgs and corn dogs for myself (both are addicting kids, don't start them) we were off to the trail. The morning was pretty boring there weren't any views for the first stretch and overall the day was pretty flat.   For lunch I stopped for the first time at a wayside in the park. Yep, that means I could finally get Shenandoah blackberry ice cream! It was amazing and the chili cheese fries and grilled cheese that I followed it with were great as well. I surprisingly don't look too dumb in this picture despite the massive brain freeze I had at the time.    While I ate I listened to a presentation a park ranger was giv...

I think we both slept great in Luray! We woke up around 7:30 and had coffee and breakfast at the hostel. Allison (the owner) shuttled us back to the trail and we got hiking. To be honest, today was pretty uneventful. 8.5 miles to lunch at the last wayside in the Shenandoahs. The rest of the day was cold, and windy. I ended up doing 21.2 miles, and I'm unsure where Steve ended up today. He may be still walking as I write (8:00PM) or he may have made camp south of here. As of now, I am stealth camping alone towards the end of the park.  It's supposed to be in the 40s tonight, and it's a high of 54 degrees and rainy tomorrow! Yikes. We may run into Front Royal for food and to wait out the rain but currently have no plans.  We hoped to be in Harpers Ferry in four days, so on the 9th, or possibly finish on the morning of the 10th. We plan on pushing big miles to get there however.  Oh! And we're almost through the national park! I believe we only have a mile or two left to g...