Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (Day 78)

This morning it was an easy 12 miles to Harpers Ferry, WV. There was almost no gradient and it seemed like I had the entire trail to myself. I listened to music on my phone and the time passed quickly.

I crossed Keys Gap about 5 miles from town and there was a magical trail waiting for me. A kind gentleman offered me refreshments and cookies, and I was surprised when another hiker recognized me as a Trek Blogger. Pilgrim, if you’re reading this, I’ll post our photo below!

It wasn’t long before the trail crossed the Shenandoah River and a blue blaze took me directly to Harpers Ferry. The weather was perfect and I followed residential streets until I reached the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) headquarters, an iconic landmark on the trail. Here they maintain an official photo archive of Appalachian Trail hikers and produce a “yearbook” of all hikers each year.

You will also receive a new hiker number indicating when you arrived at ATC headquarters. This differs from that received at AT Base Camp in Amicalola Falls State Park. I was hiker 1604 to take off from Georgia in April and will arrive at Harpers Ferry as 574.

After finishing at ATC, it wasn’t much further to get to my hostel. I’ll stay two nights and reset tomorrow. Some hikers are trying to convince me to accompany them on a side mission to Washington, DC. In fact, I used to live there and I’m happy to skip that adventure.

I spent the rest of the night relaxing and hanging out at the hostel. I have decided to postpone all city tasks until tomorrow.

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