Trail Day 28 - Roller Coaster to Night Hiking

I started the morning a little chilly but quickly warmed up once I got going on the Rollercoaster. While I packed up this morning I time lapsed camp and I'll be posting it later to instagram. 

About a mile and a half down the trail I came across a wonderful couple that were doing trail magic. They had hotdogs, chips, and cookies. After the wonderful second breakfast I was off again, flying down the trail from the second breakfast. 

Around lunchtime I came across Bears Den Rocks and I got a nice view to eat my lunch at, even if it was a little crowded from all the day hikers.

 

The afternoon had me playing frogger to cross 4 lanes of busy highway. Luckily I didn't get hit and I could continue that last stretch of the Rollercoaster. I was pretty energized this afternoon and when I quickly came around a rock scramble my mind was elsewhere and that's when I almost stepped on a 4 ft rat snake. 

 

About a mile later I was through the Rollercoaster and overall I honestly didn't mind it. I can actually say I had fun with the many rock scrambles and other technical aspects that changed up the hike from the usual plodding along. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. 

I had stopped a few times during the day and I was a little behind so I had to keep hiking through dusk and into the dark. Just as the sun was setting I came across a deer chilling on the trail. Now this might be a sign that I've lost it but I started talking to him. I asked about his day and his family. When I did so he looked up at me he wagged his tail just like a dog. His response was so dog like that I thought he was going to run up to me with a ball. He just stepped off to the side and let me pass though. 

About an hour after dark I walked into a gas station which was lucky for me because my head lamp had just started going out from low battery. I charged it and ran inside and got some beer and some food. It was only a mile to camp and tonight I wanted to celebrate our last night on the trail. We are 6 miles from Harpers Ferry and my car. Once we get there we are changing into fresh clothes and headed back on the road with a stop to IHOP first. The goal is to drive as far as Indianapolis and then arrive in South Dakota Sunday night. 

Thank you for following along on our adventure. We had an amazing time and I hope you enjoyed my musings. It's not quite over yet, I'll be posting a few more times for sure with different things I feel need more attention. We might also come across some interesting stuff on our way back. For me, it's back to Brookings to try to make some money, move into an apartment (I am technically homeless right now since my backpack doesn't have an address), and get started with grad school preparations. 

-Prof

P.S. it's going to be weird introducing myself as Stephen again, that and the whole daily showers, deodorant, and change of clothes thing. 

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