Hello Again!

Hi again! I'm at the Waynesboro, VA library on a zero day. Since beginning in Harper's Ferry, WV on Wednesday, I've hiked 161 miles to get here over some easy terrain and through Shenendoah National Park! I'll do the play by play in just a second, but a few summary words about the trip so far. It has been nothing short of amazing! The weather is spectacular and the trail is super nice (DIRT!). I have only met a handful of people, but by Gods grace they have been well timed and my spirits are up/loneliness has yet to affect me in discouraging ways. The clicking in my knee has stopped completely, and I'm feeling great!

I'm going to start out by telling you about Tuesday, which is the day I travelled to Harper's Ferry. I left Knoxville at 12:15A on a bus. Jeff and Gary dropped me off, and I was sad to be leaving. The time back was amazing, and I was very anxious about hiking again. The bus got into D.C. on time around 12P and I walked to Union Station and got a MARC ticket (commuter train) to Harper's that left later that day. It didn't leave until 5P so I walked around Capitol Hill a while! Cool! I felt sick most of the day, which didn't help my attitude towards the whole traveling and getting back on the trail outlook. When I stepped off the train the town was asleep! I didn't really expect a welcome or anything, but I envisioned more than that. Found a place to get a burger and had some hot tea for the throat. Then I made my way across the Potomac into Maryland and camped by the river. It was a nice spot to camp! There was a breeze, but instead of soothing river sounds I was greeted with traffic noise from the Rd on the other side and train horns every 40 minutes or so. Still, I slept pretty well once I got over my fear of being alone in the place I was, which didn't take too long.

Next morning was great! I made my way to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a .5 mile walk, all the time thinking about how alone this whole trip was going to be. I started to get a little down. I love community. As the last post described I received some unexpected kindness from an older lady named Sue, who invited me to her house for coffee! Thank you God! What a welcoming! I can't tell you how much this meant to me at the time. So I followed Sue, from Oregon, to her house just down the street and she made me eggs and toast and we talked and read the paper and enjoyed each others company! What a gift! She, living there for only 3 years, didn't know much about the trail. So I told her about that, and she told me about Oregon and Wyoming and we had a great time! Then well fed, and feeling like I had a home in Harper's Ferry I went back over to the ATC to wait until opening at 9A. In the back Admin offices I charged my phone and talked to Dad. Then, I walked out of the back of the Bldg, turned two corners of the Bldg to come around front of it, and who's standing there but Stumblewolf himself! Haha! Stumby! my old buddy from Northbound in PA! What a gift! By this time I couldn't hardly believe it! I was so anxious about being alone, and having no company. Jehova Jira! He was hiking SOBO on the same day, and so I ended up hiking out with him, and eventually stayed with him until the middle of Thursday. What great company! We talked about all our old NOBO friends and the trail up North the whole day. The guy at the ATC office was much more helpful and talkative than the prior guy on June 6th! This made me feel much better and more welcomed. So, with all these great encounters and the fantastically clear weather, I can't tell you how good I felt being back!

One of the things I've missed the most is waking up in the woods. What a wonderful feeling. I love the trail here too. It was a great first day back on the trail, and I felt so blessed by all the occurrences that happened that day! So much to be thankful for! O.k. this post is pretty long, so I'm going to make a second one about Shenendoah National Park hiking. Thank yall so much for following!!