We woke up early and left the motel early to resupply at a local grocery store. Then we headed over to the library for a few hours of blogging. Before leaving town we went out for some spectacular malts/milkshakes and fries. We hitched back to the Trail and hiked an easy few miles up a gradual incline to Jim & Molly Denton Shelter where there was a deck with chairs we sat in to read.
Miles hiked today: 5.2 Total AT miles completed: 970.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1214.5
Day 80
We woke up pretty early and hiked quickly all day. Despite taking an hour to eat lunch, we arrived at our planned destination at three o'clock. So we decided to move on to the next shelter and get half of the "roller coaster" over with. The "roller coaster" is the nickname of a stretch of thirteen and a half miles of tightly packed ascents and descents. When we got to the beginning of them a sign was posted warning us about them. Although they were tiring they weren't too big and not very difficult. After riding them halfway we came to Sam Moore Shelter where we spent the night with a bunch of weekenders.
Miles hiked today: 25.3 Total AT miles completed: 996.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 1189.2
Day 81
We woke up and soon began riding the roller coaster again. After a few miles we stopped by the Bears Den Hostel which was a small stone castle just off the Trail in the middle of the forest. It was built in the early thirties by a rich couple, but is now owned by the AT. We enjoyed a couple of cold sodas on the couch. It was already a hot day. We continued on the roller coaster and just before the next road at Snickers Gap was a cooler filled with cold drinks and cookies. Just across the road was a small pile of snacks and fruit. There was also a couple there who looked like they may have just finished a weekend hike and they gave us some Snickers. A short distance down the Trail we celebrated crossing the one thousand mile mark with dancing. We finished up the roller coaster, began hiking on the Virginia-West Virginia border and journeyed across the Devils Racecourse, a boulder field. I didn't really notice anything special about it because we frequently have had to traverse across rock and boulder fields. From here the terrain was easy and after grabbingba hot dinner from a gas station just off the Trail, we set up our tent at one of the only semi-flat spots around, just a couple miles from Harper's Ferry. We fell asleep to some loud music pumping through the woods, we guessed from some big house party nearby.
Miles hiked today: 20.9 Total AT miles completed: 1017 Total AT miles left to hike: 1167.9
Day 82
We woke up, took down our tent and began hiking. Soon we crossed over the border into West Virginia, leaving Virginia for good. We don't know exactly when we did this though because there was no sign. We hiked down the small mountain and crossed the Shenandoah River on a walkway right next to the noisy highway. After crossing the bridge we turned east and hiked on the edge of the town until the Trail popped out in the historic downtown. The place was deserted and all the restaurants and cafes were closed. We found one inn that served breakfast, ate, then headed into the residential part of town where we booked a stay at the Teahorse Hostel. We quickly showered and stopped by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters to get our picture taken for their album and records. Right after, we went to a Methodist church service where Forrester Gump was also. The kids were in charge of the service and we had cake after. For lunch, we went to the Canal House, a fancy and quaint little eaterie. After, we walked back to the historic part of town to find it overflowing with tourists. We took part in the fun, walking from exhibit to exhibit for several hours. After we'd had enough tourism and tourists we headed back to the hostel to relax. The hostel was very clean and comfortable and there was a lot of extra food we took for resupply. We also found some denatured alcohol in the hiker box. We went to sleep clean, comfortable and dry as it stormed outside.
Miles hiked today: 2.9 Total AT miles hiked: 1019.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 1165.4
Day 83
We set our watch alarm for six in the morning, but woke up a bit earlier than that anyway. We packed up and within a few minutes the owner of the hostel came in with her son to make waffles for breakfast. After, the owner drove us to the train station where we caught a train to Washington DC. As soon as we entered Union Station the hustle and bustle of the city hit us. We found an exit and walked over to the Capitol Building. It was still early enough to be clear of tourists. We then headed to the mall where some large groups of tourists were already forming. Since the museums weren't open yet we walked around and looked at the outdoor sculptures. A few minutes before ten we went to wait outside the Museum of Natural History where several large groups of schoolkids and other tourists had already gathered. When the doors opened we had to go through a security checkpoint. Everyone could just step through the metal detector, but if you had a bag, they had to search it. When the security person saw our bags he sent us over to an extra security person. She asked about our trekking poles and when we started emptying them she stopped us and just asked us if we had any knives. When we said no we took the bags to the locker room and squeezed them in. Free of our packs, we explored the museum, then hit up the more famous pieces at the National Art Museum. Since the overpriced slices of cheese pizza at the museum cafe didn't fill us up we walked to Le Bon Cafe, past all the tourists around the mall and past all the professionals around the Capitol. We had delicious French fare there and made our way to a contemporary art museum and enjoyed some paintings and videos there. By that time we were both quite tired of walking around museums so we got our bags from the lockers and decided to slowly make our way over to where my brother and his wife lived, to make it in time when one of them would be home for work. It was a hot and muggy day, even the city squirrels could feel it. We walked north and along H Street so we could enjoy pie at Dangerously Delicious Pies. We then walked over to Lincoln Park and enjoyed watching the many dogs playing there. We then went to my brother's house where his wife welcomed us and we took showers and settled in. When my brother came, they took us out to eat at a yummy Thai restaurant. We then went back to the house to sleep.
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