Day 4 - finish our approach to Harper’s Ferry

​we had to climb the hill to get out of the fantastic Blackburn Trail Center, then 12-13 miles left to hike to reach Harper’s Ferry.  The first half of that was some of the best terrain we had seen.  Undulating but mostly flat.  Far fewer rocks.  Speed demon Beeper actually lead us to a 21 minute mile for one of the miles.  Pretty crazy.  Then…the rock garden re-emerged.  And the heat came.  It was a tough finish.  For me, back to watching every single step to keep from turning an ankle or twisting a knee.  Beep and Scott went ahead.  Ed ended up waiting for me.  Much appreciated.  It was a slog.  To add insult to literal injury, the final half mile was downhill and a scramble over tree roots while dropping sometimes 18” at a time.  A long walk over the bridge spanning the incredible Shenandoah River was our (hot) finish.  So happy that Scott/Beep went and got the car and picked us up.  And it was done.

In conclusion, this was easily the hardest and more challenging backpack trip I have done.  I know have 667 miles completed on the AT.  I have seen and experienced some things.  I knew what I was signing up for by going with best friends from college - Ed and Beep.  They are endurance dudes.  I knew they liked doing big miles.  My motivation was to spend time with them, and this was accomplished.  It was easy camaraderie, as it always has been.  But..but..I am not wired for the endurance event.  We didn’t really get to enjoy camping/fires/relaxing.  My body is blown away.  Theirs is not!  It’s been 3 days since we got off and I  am still recovering.  I  am proud of all of us for what we accomplished - hiking one of the most strenuous stretches of the AT.  I do look forward to a next time that is more 5-10 miles a day and more chillin’ though!anyone curious, here was the step counts over those 54 miles, with Saturday being the peak at 46.5k.  -160k steps for 4 days.

Day 3 -finish the roller coaster !

​Late in Day 2 it did rain on us but not impactful.  It’s the only rain there has been.  Water hasn’t been great but available enough.  Gypsy was also at Sam Moore Shelter last night and it was good to reconnect.  On a personal level, my legs and feet hurt so bad after these two very long, serious backpacking days I couldn’t sleep!  Had to rely upon n Advil to calm things down.  Blisters are starting to pop everywhere.  It’s been really hard to keep the necessary concentration stepping through the rocks going up and also going down.  There is 0 margin for error.  As you get tired it becomes easier to make a wrong step,  also as you (I) get tired I start kicking rocks unintentionally.  Probably around 50 each foot. My right big toe is in bad shape!  Left one not far behind.  It’s just hard to see them all and keep lifting feet high enough.  Anyway, that has been a big problem on this section, for me. 

We took off just after 8 am.  Absolutely brutal ups and downs to finish the rollercoaster.  We had a target to get to a mountain hostel for food, water, etc.  turns out it is closed between 9 am and 5 pm. Killer.  Not even water. We were tapped out.  Here it is.Set our sights on Ravens Rock, 2.7 miles away.  Tough sledding but we got a view! Along the way, we crossed the state line!We ‘only’ did about 11-12 miles today but they were really really hard.  I am happy to say we made it out of the rollercoaster section and here is the proof: Although the Bears Den failed us, the Blackburn Trail center is another awesome place!  Bad news was that we were out of water and and whooped so we headed toward and..almost .5 miles downhill!  But once here, the beautiful person who runs it - Fern - was welcoming.  Gave us all sodas and apples!   Lean potable water.  And a great little cabin that sleeps 4.  Awesome place.  A bit sad we have to climb back up this hill to leave but..so it goes.  About 12-13 miles to the Harper’s Ferry finish.  For maybe the first time ever, I have completely ate what i brought!  Sad that we all carried tents but haven’t used them.  It’s Sunday night..Beeper got an awesome fire going, and I am feeling I will be able to finish this out - strong I hope!  (All blisters popped by me so well if that was a good idea come tomorrow! 

Catch up pictures from Day 1 and 2

​I wanted you to see our Night one shelter called Dick Dome Shelter.  Here is us with the trail manager ‘Lucky’.Here are your hiking heroes with an appropriate sign. Here is a big snake along the way Here is one of many rock gardens in the Day 2 rollercoaster.  We did about half of the roller coaster section.

Warning: many miles, rollercoaster alert

​This kind of says it all.  What’s really crazy is that we hiked 10 miles first to get to this section. Then we hiked 7 miles it.  But first..donuts.

Here is the visual of the roller coaster section.  Completely tragic.  Straight up, straight down.  Rocks at the top of every climb.  Rod Holllow Shelter is about the start.  We made it to Sam Moore shelter.

We got to the creek by Sam Moore and I was done.  The others wanted to go on to Bears Den but I had nothing left.  Legs toast.  Blisters.  Etc.  Beeper could probably do 30 miles.  Ed and Scott I think both felt they could make it.  Pretty glad we stopped.  There are about 15 people in the camping areas.  We managed to end up in shelter space - which was fine by us!

The cheap talk says 14 more today including the rest of the roller coaster.  I am going to need some strong coffee. 

More on Day 1

Turns out our shuttle driver - Trail Boss, has his name on a sign along the trail.  He has some responsibility for the upkeep of this whole section we are doing!  So we did manage to go almost 16 miles and we stopped at Dick Domes Shelter.  Met some interesting people there.  This shelter was new.  Great shape.  Two levels, plenty of room.  Met a female hiker named Gypsy.  Really nice person.  He partner and her sold their business and their home in San Diego 10 years ago and she has been hiking ever since!  Around the world even.  Sometimes with him, sometimes not (like now).  Another guy named Lucky was there.  He is actually paid to do trail management.  Never heard of this before.  They love the AT in VA!  Very knowledgeable.  Had a hammock setup to die for.  And one other guy who rolled in with cut up Mellon to share.  He was just passing through.  No wood here - no fire.  Was fine.  We didn’t get started until 11 so we were done around 7:30.  Bed at 9.  Bad blister on left heel.  Otherwise - survived the first day of the ‘Ed itinerary’!​

2026 - Front Royal to Harper’s Ferry

​we are off on the 2026 Appalachian Trail adventure!  This time there is 4 of us.  Scott Daum came in from Chicago, Ed Pierson from Ohio, and Bryan Parry and myself from Florida.  We met at Frederick, md and drove to Harper’s Ferry, WVa, which is the actual midpoint of the AT.  From there we caught a shuttle from Chris Brunton, known as ‘Trail Boss’, who dropped as an hour south at hwy 522. We are hiking just north of the Shenandoah mountains in Virginia. We started there to go 54 miles to finish at Harper’s Ferry.  This is our starting picture.  Also one with the Trail Boss (older gentleman).  Fascinating guy.  The AT sign shows where we are in the big picture - just short of midpoint.  Another picture is of us out wandering in a field/storming the mountain!  Last one is of Beeper and Ed re-loading on water.  Much more to come.  This just gets us started!  (We did 16 miles our first day! We are actually now on day 2.  I had no signal..)

2025 Recap

This was one for the books! It was not about mileage, which it often can be, and it was not about scenery, although being in nature certainly provides its own rewards, IMO. It was about an amazing father daughter experience where we had to not only partner our way through some surprisingly strenuous backpacking, we had to overcome illness. Having now been bitten by the same bug Lil had on the trail, and how achy, exhausted, and stomach-churning it is, I am more amazed than ever at her fortitude - her internal engine doing its best to overcome the challenges and still have a memorable time. I would like to believe although we will not forget the impact of health on this trip, we will more likely remember the crazy stuff that happens ‘out there’, from the people, to the wildlife, to the fires, the shelters, the privies, and ultimately the gift of each other while experiencing the gifts bestowed to us in this amazing ecosystem we call ‘nature’. Thanks to my Lil for carving out some time to spend with her Dad on the AT!