By: Dustin Sauder
This is what happens when you hang out with an old friend and pretend you aren’t too old for giant adventures. You say something ridiculous like, “Hey, let’s grab our backpacks, get dropped off in Pennsylvania, and walk the Appalachian Trail back to a car in Virginia." Who thinks of these things?
On the last day of October this year, we caught a shuttle to Pen Mar Park on the PA line. Heading South, SOBO, on the Appalachian Trail, we encountered stunning views and mostly bare trees. Foot placement proved tricky as a blanket of leaves covered the rocky trail. Would our 50-year-old ankles and knees take the beating? We weren’t sure!
Five miles into our journey, we passed by a beautiful shelter named Raven Rock. One thru hiker wrote in the shelter registry that this was the "finest shelter he’d seen since Georgia." Water was scarce on the trail and was the most popular topic to discuss with other hikers we encountered. Everyone looks out for one another out there, and the trail always seems to provide!
Our first night was spent in a tent next Annapolis Rocks. With sweeping views of Hagerstown Valley there are 11 wooded campsites for one to four people and three sites for groups of up to ten. We were the only campers here tonight. The flat tent pads and flowing spring were the oasis we were hoping for.
We continued walking south through Maryland the next day, with views to the west and east. The AT covers approximately 41 miles in this state, staying mostly on ridgetops and making this the AT’s “easiest” state. We ran out of daylight a few miles north of Harpers Ferry, desperate to rest our legs by crashing at the Ed Garvey Shelter near Weaverton Cliffs. Many refer to this as “the Hilton”. The design comfortably sleeps 12 with an upstairs loft accessed via a ladder on the rear. With plexiglass windows facing east, catching the sunrise was as easy as sitting up in our sleeping bags in the morning. The benches and fire pit were the finest I’ve seen at a shelter. On this night, we visited with several hikers and welcomed the trail stories everyone had to share.
At first light, we packed up as quickly as possible with thoughts of hot “town” food on our minds. Soon we were descending to the C&O canal and enjoying a flat, smooth walk into historic Harpers Ferry. We were first in line for the lunch crowd at the Rabbit Hole Cafe and enjoyed hearty burgers on the outside deck. Once our bellies were full we resupplied at the General Store with dehydrated meals for later, and visited the headquarters for all the management of the trail, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. With so many tourists flocking to the town on this beautiful autumn day, it was fun to walk through with packs ready to head back into the woods.
Next stop was the first shelter in Virginia for our last night out on the trial. The David Lesser shelter is a popular stop on the trail with several adjacent tent spots, metal bear boxes, a picnic table gazebo, and a porch swing. Day four was short and ended at the Blackburn Center. This unique educational center includes six tent pads, a picnic pavilion, and a Hiker’s Hostel.
Day one was 17 miles, day two was 19, day three was 17, and day four was just 4. So why would two old buddies walk 57 miles, and cross 4 state lines in 4 days? I guess, just because we can!
Dustin (pictured on the left in above images) lives in the Lititz Borough and one of the ways he stays in shape for these adventures is by walking to Yoga on Monday mornings, Earth To Lititz, 8am. Care to join us? Click HERE and scroll down to the Sun Salutations at Earth to Lititz class.
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