The Test
¤
Can legs of clay surmount mountains of granite?
Linden VA to Harper's Ferry WV A
walk of over 2000 miles is no small undertaking,
and it seemed only wise to "count the cost"
- especially since my beloved had never spent
more than a single night in the wild. We proposed
a trial section - a nearby 45 miles of trail to
test our equipment and our resolve; to see if
this would prove a chore or a challenge.
10/20 Linden to Rod's
Hollow Shelter (15.7 miles)
"Believe. No pessimist ever discovered the
secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted
land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."
--Helen Keller
It is said that great
adventures often follow inauspicious beginnings,
and so it was with ours. I recall a deluge of
Biblical proportion rousing us from a sound
sleep; a fitting omen for the AT, as we'll soon
find. Our shuttle, Jeanette, drops us
apprehensively at the trailhead, and after a
couple pictures for posterity (or forensic
identification), we begin the steep uphill which
will prove the norm for the AT. The trail beneath
our feet is a patchwork quilt of autumnal beauty,
and our occasional overlooks equally so, with fog
and mist sweeping in sheets across the
surrounding mountains. The forest canopy shields
us well, and our first break is at Manassas Gap,
giving us an intro to the shelters we'll come to
love.
Our ascent from here immerses us eerily into a
sea of cloud, the mountains totally obscured at
higher elevations, and sheets of fog blowing
across the trail in the lower spots. The rain
ebbs as we walk, and during our lunch break we
discuss our options for the overnight - I'm
lightly considering a push on to Rod's Hollow - a
tough first day; but Coleen seems surprisingly
receptive.
|  |
A
pre-trial "trial"
What's so tough about this? |
 |
| As
we're to find out, rain's a big part of the AT. |
Our pm break is at a spring
amidst a sumac grove, and there we come across
the 1st other hiker we've seen. It's "Slowjack",
practically running down the trail southbound,
sweating a small river under his fleece, long
underwear, rain jacket, and stocking cap. We swap
shelter and water info, and his good report on
Rod Hollow confirms this as our destination.
Passing Sky Meadows we're treated to a buck and
doe leaping in a blaze across the path ahead, and
soon after the roar of traffic heralds the busy
crossing at Ashby Gap for almost an hour.
It's a relief climbing back into the silence of
the woods, but we're tiring rapidly, our
shoulders and hips aching. Darkness falls
quickly, but our spirits are buoyed by a small
sliver of clear skies to the west, creating a
beautiful orange sunset. As night falls, we have
to watch the trail intently, and the increasing
rocks force us to watch our steps as well,
slowing our progress. It's quite a relief to
reach the path to the shelter, and as we stumble
down it in darkness, we find a hiker bathing in
the stream below.
With his fellow hikers they welcome us to a
roaring fire, where everyone's starting dinner;
but they clear us a place on the table in virtual
indifference to us. This changes when I trot out
my antique Svea stove, and in the priming process
promptly transform it into a flaming cauldron,
spewing flaming fuel out around the loose filler
cap. In no time a very large area has been
cleared for us on the picnic table, and I'm able
to declare the evening's entertainment over. As I
begin to cook, I feel a growing to the point I
need to lie down, heading over to the shelter to
lie down for a minute. Coleen's understandably
worried, but after a couple minutes prone, I feel
better, and once I start eating, all symptoms
disappear - our best guess is dehydration. Our
beef stroganoff's pretty good, and we settle into
the upper loft (it's a "two-story"
shelter), with the guys already spread out on the
lower level.
After dinner we clumsily loft our gear in the
dark, finally regaining our strength, and "Soot"
chats with us for a bit around the fire. The
guys' food complement is interesting - PB on
bread, cereal for dinner, and one having a can of
sweetened condensed milk his sister recommended.
As the night wears on "Night Rider" and
one other drift in from the dark, and we finally
settle into bed about 10:00 as the guys stay up
playing cards. As a nearby screech owl lulls us
off to sleep, I lie back and reflect - 15.7
miles, we're dead tired, I've given Coleen a good
scare, and almost burnt down one of the newest
shelters on the AT - not bad for our first day.
Can the trail take another 2000 miles of us? |
10/21 Rod's Hollow to
Bear's Den Hostel (9.9 miles)
"Every valley
shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made
low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged
places a plain."
Isaiah 40:4
Coleen's pad is a bit thin
for her taste, and it's too cold (35F) in my
summer-weight sleeping bag, though we somehow
managed to sleep in until 07:30, finding enough
embers left to start a small fire as we dine on
oatmeal and coffee. Soot's out first, hitting the
trail long before us, with the others just rising
as we're departing (all southbound).
|
|
| Rod
Hollow shelter - still standing despite my best
efforts |
The trail begins easily
enough, but just as we're basking in our
refreshed condition on this glorious clear day,
we find a sign boldly emblazoned, "Beware,
you are about to enter the Rollercoaster, we'll
see you at Blackburn Trail Center if you make it
out alive." The initial climb is easy
enough, but the rest of the day will prove
humbling indeed. The trail easily earns its
namesake, and as the day warms, it's obvious
we've erred in only bringing one liter of water
between us. During our pm break we consume the
last swallows, Coleen sacrificially giving me the
lion's share, and settle into a well-appreciated
level segment towards Bear's Den.
The final ascent to Bear's Den is a killer - a
mere 400' climb on the map, but feeling far
worse, and we rest frequently on the way up -
only the dream of an ice-cold Diet Coke keeps me
going. Finally we reach this expansive stone
building, collapsing on the porch as Melody (96
thru-hiker and caretaker) comes out to meet us.
The main floor is rented out for the night, but
we're welcome to bunk downstairs, and even use
the kitchen until the guests are due. This is a
"no-brainer" and as we cart our packs
downstairs we meet Patty, offering us her car
("Stevie Ray") for a town meal - our
first sample of "trail magic". Priority
#1 - Diet Cokes and showers, both available
downstairs, with the hot shower feeling heavenly.
We chill quickly on getting out, spending much of
the evening trying to warm up (Coleen says this
is common in our dehydrated state). Clean, with
our "best" clothes on, we get the
briefing on Stevie Ray, and head for Berryville
in search of Mexican food.
After parking we waddle across the street with
what Coleen describes as the "Entz Walk"
after her elderly relatives, feeling surprisingly
incapacitated. We'd have rated the service horrid
any other time, but tonight, it's wonderful, and
our meals equally so. We gas up Stevie Ray and
head back to the hostel feeling kingly. Coleen's
out cold before her head hits the pillow, but I'm
up a little longer working on my journal. Patty
finishes her work on the wall mural and leaves,
with lights at 10:00. Life is wonderful, but can
we handle another day of the roller coaster? |
|
10/22 Bear's Den to David
Lesser Memorial Shelter (11.1 miles)
"After all,
tomorrow IS another day"
Scarlett O'Hara - Gone With The Wind
We wake momentarily after
midnight to the sound of the group upstairs
coming in (we find they're Secret Service),
getting up for good at 06:30. Melody makes our
stay a gift, given the convoluted logistics - a
nice gesture; and soon we're ready for another
beautiful morning, stopping by the popular sunset
overlook at Bear's Rocks. We're feeling great,
and we relish the next portion of trail, with
more coniferous trees and occasional quartzite
outcroppings. Although still part of the "roller
coaster", it's far easier than yesterday,
and soon we're climbing Crescent Rock, a
spectacular cliff formation.
|
| Bear's
Den Hostel, where we received our 1st ration of
"trail magic" from Melody and Patty - Many
Thanks |
Our
photo op here is cut short by a blustery south
wind, and Coleen's anxious to return to the trail
before we turn blue. Passing a red maple grove,
we descend to the "Devil's Racecourse",
a boulder field that's laughable in its name -
only about 50 yards across. The undulating trail
resumes, after lunch passing Blackburn Center,
official end of the "roller coaster".
The center's a short hike below the trail, so we
drop our packs and hike down (what fun to "slack-pack"
for a change!), finding it lovely, but
uninhabited. The bunk house looks adequate (with
a wood stove that a hiker wrote was so hot that
he had to sleep "naked on top his sleeping
bag"), and after filling our bottles from
the tap, we sign the register and climb back to
the trail.
The easy trail follows the ridge line, with a
ridge of rocks piled to our left well over our
heads; and soon the clouds thicken and the rain
begins. It's short-lived, and we reach the David
Lesser Shelter before expected - and what a
wonderful shelter it is. There's a spacious
porch, several benches, windows for light; and
the picnic area even has a porch swing. We're
glad to be here (with the shelter to ourselves),
and Coleen takes the water bag down to the
spring, as I collect firewood. It's slim
pickings, though there's one big log that looks
ready to split. I put a boot on one half, and
pull with all my might on the other, but just as
it's about to give the bottom half splits, with
the unbroken half slamming like a bear trap
against my right hand. It hurts badly, with the
middle two fingers looking a little misshapen,
although a quick inspection reveals I still have
a good range of movement, so they're probably not
broken. |
 |
| |
I
resume my chores a little older and wiser, and
just as I'm about to go searching for Coleen, she
returns, the spring being further than imagined.
Soon the water's boiling, a fire going, and
Ashley and Tabitha come walking down the path,
and up to the shelter. It's an odd role reversal
- only our 3rd day out, and now we've become the
seasoned long-distance hikers, welcoming the
weekenders. They're good company, and soon
another couple guys come out of the darkness (Jeff
& ?), filling the shelter nicely with minor
adjustments.
As we all sit around the fire a full moon appears
from behind the clouds, making for a gorgeous
night and good conversation. We chat a while with
the girls, and eventually Ashley turns in,
followed by the guys, and us at 10:00 (needing
some minor acrobatics to fly our food bag, as the
only remaining hook is about 7' high - directly
over the sleeping Jeff's belly) with Tabitha
staying behind to tend the fire and reflect in
its embers. |
 |
10/23 Lesser Shelter to
Harper's Ferry (9.2 miles)
"Remember Red,
hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,
and no good thing ever dies."
Stephen King - The Shawshank Redemption
It's a rough night, with
Jeff up and down all night, victim of a raging
case of Montezuma's Revenge. Coleen & I wake
at 07:00 to the dawn of a beautiful sunrise,
finding Jeff and his partner gone from the
shelter, and both girls still asleep. At the
pavilion I find Jeff's partner sleeping on the
picnic table, the better to monitor Jeff's trips
to the privy. Coffee knocks off the chill as the
sun peeks over the next ridge, and soon the girls
are up. The guys soon hit the trail, followed by
us, both feeling good, but chilly. It'd be a
great morning save the injury to my finger, now
swollen enough to make gripping my pole difficult
[Coleen insists on having it X-rayed, although
with some argument, she lets me wait until after
my Athens trip -- of course we'll find out then
that it actually had a hairline fracture, leaving
each of us convinced our choice
was correct]. Along with the usual weekenders we
pass about a mile's worth of Boy Scout troop 259,
heading south (one could assemble an entire
collection of gear from what falls off the
outsides of their packs).
|
| Fall
color at Key's Gap |
After
Key's Gap the trail turns rocky, slowing our
progress; with the wind, cold and rocks wearing
on Coleen. At midday we reach the Harper's Ferry
Park, promising a steep, rocky descent, and while
I'm glad we're going downhill, it's tough on
Coleen's knees. We finally reach the road,
followed by a narrow footpath over the Potomac,
very uncomfortable in the heavy traffic and the
cold fierce wind (oddly enough, there are rafters
on the river below). The trail bypasses town on a
cliff trail; and in a bit the blue blazes point
off to the ATC headquarters here. We find our way
to the Center, dropping our packs there as we
seek food and phone (there's a cute sign in the
lav saying that this is where the "Appa-latch-ian
Trail changes to the "Appa-lay-shun"
Trail). We try the Hilltop House buffet, but the
long, immovable line returns us to King's Pizza
for the largest pizza and drinks on the menu.
Soon we're back home taking a while to chat with
our missionary guests from Guam (who've been
occupying our home in our absence) before hitting
the very welcome jacuzzi. It's everything we'd
expected - civilization's great - a steaming pot
of chili, running water, electric lights, and out
of the cold!.
Back Home Again
Our return to civilization
is welcome, but surprisingly, the drudgery of
"real life" quickly proves dull, and
once the aches and pains are gone, we both long
for the trail again. After a quick Athens /
Istanbul trip, we prep for the Nov. section in
earnest, Coleen feeling so pleased with her new
pack that she has dreams of skipping down the
trail supporting it on a single finger. We launch
into food purchases with renewed vigor, and soon
the accumulation of snack food makes our pantry
resemble a college dorm room where one occupant
has just received their first credit card from
home.
Finally all is complete, counting down the hours
until our launch; when God Himself intervenes to
remind of the futility of excess planning. Four
days prior to our departure, the trail is closed
between Woody Gap and Neels Gap (the 3rd day of
our hike) in raging forest fires, with 400 fire
fighters summoned to contain the blaze. We
discuss options, but ultimately it proves an
exercise in waiting on His providence, which
arrives over the weekend, as diminished winds
allow the blaze to be contained, and the trail
reopened. Valhalla awaits!!
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