Crampton Gap to Harper's Ferry finish line!

Crampton Gap - shelter from the storm

Compensating for our early stop yesterday, I took advantage of local hiker lore to short cut around one of the never-ending climbs that had troubled my Californian hiking partner. It also helped me deal with my recurrent leg muscle cramping problem, and we were able to arrive in Harpers Ferry just before an ice cream store closed.

Along the way, we stopped at Weverton Cliffs to enjoy the view of the Potomac. Sean noticed the long trains rumbling by below us, and was dismayed to learn that they were carrying coal.

"Are they still burning that?" he asked with dismay. Well, yes, sadly. He told me about the ongoing marketing of gem-quality coal crystals as "jet", and we agreed that burning it was a wasteful practice.

Looking Out At The Promised Land of Hot Showers

After our restorative ice cream, we followed a shortcut to the hostel past PATC's Highacre Cabin and through the cemetery, where we were greeted by a half dozen deer playing chase games. It was a fun sight, but would have been more enjoyable if our joints had not been howling about this additional climb to the Tea Horse Hostel.

A conversation halfway up the stairs leading up to the graveyard --

"Grandpa, I just want you to know that I am in extreme pain."

"Thank you for letting me know, Sean. I would like you to know that I share your pain."

Hot  showers and pizza restored our strength, and we shared a cheery rambling conversation with another guest at the Trail-renowned Tea Horse Inn before we retired.

The shuttle to Round Hill arrives tomorrow at 10:30, and we expect to be back in the world of traffic and washing machines by mid day. Another great adventure, done!

Renovated Rocky Run

Good chat last night with Historian and Nurse, two thru hikers who have just started their AT wanderings. Slightly unusual backgrounds! Historian is retired USAF/retired computer tech whose spouse is running ground support for him; Nurse is a midcareer mom with five young ones and an ailing parent to care for. She decided to do the Trail, told her spouse that he had the watch for at least the next three weeks, possibly longer if she holds to her plans to make Katahdin.

Halfway through our conversation, I realized that they were looking to me as a grizzled expert in the arts of the Trail, so I inserted several "I'm just stumbling around here myself" disclaimers. Interesting discussion of cookstove pros and cons, which led me to thinking about replacing my untrustworthy Jetboil® with another brand.

We managed to get on the trail by 11:15, but were still too late to avoid an afternoon rain squall. Crampton Gap was the first available shelter, so we hurried there and called it a day.

A couple was having lunch at the shelter, planning to move on when the rain eased. They left Springer on January 1, and intend to complete the Triple Crown - the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Coast Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail in one year!

While we were hiking, Sean observed that while Virginia's mountains don't look that tall, the trail keeps going up ... then, there's not even anything special to see or do when you get there. He also observed this evening that despite my warnings, he has yet to have a mouse run across his sleeping bag. Disappointing.

Chilling

The field mouse in our alcove didn't seem too pleased with the morning, either.

Pine Knob Shelter campground

We managed to get packed and out of camp by 1:00 pm, with an estimated six hours of hiking to the new Rocky Run Shelter. Sean wanted the experience of sleeping in an actual AT shelter, so we marched of and made it happen, arriving at 6 pm and including at stop to climb Pennsylvania's Washington Monument!

But it's not square!

Two other hikers were in the shelter. Sean kindly offered to share some astronaut ice cream. Much better than I recall from the last time I tried it ... but, still. Not quite.

Next stop is Ed Garvey shelter, our last stop before Harper's Ferry.

Annapolis Rocks

Clean start to our adventure, beginning with a table full of motivation prepared by landlady Kirsten Elowsky - pancakes, carrot cake, Canadian bacon, and Easter eggs! Chris Brunton shuttled us up to the Annapolis Rocks trailhead and we climbed the gentle slope in company with a stream of families enjoying Easter Sunday.

Annapolis Rocks

At Pine Knob Shelter, we met several fellows enjoying the day, including some Korean gentlemen who had lugged a pressure cooker up the trail to enjoy a meal together. Happily, they cleaned up the shelter area before they left.

One other hiker stayed over to brave the chilly forecast. "Undertow" is flip-flopping the AT, currently northbound for New Jersey.

Maison Dunn-Johnson open for the evening!