Chapter Thirteen: Roller Coasters, Sandy Beaches and Hang-Gliders

Day 73 August 26, 2020 Wednesday

Snickers Gap, VA 7/679 to C&O Canal Towpath West Jct., MD

I woke up at 6 AM, hastily organized my gear, and came out to the kitchen where I found Scott enthusiastically preparing coffee, eggs, bacon, and English muffins for my breakfast. What a treat! I poured a cup of coffee and quickly devoured my delicious breakfast sandwich. We talked a bit more about he and his son’s possible thru-hike next year, and I signed his guest log, writing a brief thank you for the hospitality and encouraging his son to hike the AT with his dad next year. In a short while we hopped in his truck and he dropped me off at Snickers Gap where I entered the trail to finish the remaining part of the famed “roller coaster.”

I followed the ridgeline trail for a while, which eventually led me to a sign indicating that I had now entered West Virginia. At one of the overlooks near Raven Rocks, I met Moxy, an AT hiker originally from Spain, who did the trail back in 1996. He was quite convivial and admitted that he only realized that his name was misspelled well into his hike, and so he left it as it was. He was taking pictures with his camera and tripod and offered to photograph me standing on an overlook consisting of still more quartzite of the Weverton Formation, and then email me some of the pictures, which he kindly did later that morning. I was kind of shocked how thin and gaunt I looked!

A little while later, I arrived at David Lesser Shelter, where I sat down to have some lunch. Soon, another hiker came by to take a break, and looking fatigued, threw his oversized pack down next to mine. I said hello, and we talked for a little while. Bacon was a retired welder from Iowa who told me he was deathly afraid of bears. He also owned several Harleys and loved to ride. He seemed to have a great deal of gear packed into his oversized backpack and arrived two nights ago in Harpers Ferry where he stayed at a local hotel. He actually began his SOBO hike yesterday, but by the time he climbed out of the Shenandoah River gorge and onto the Louden Heights of the Blue Ridge, he was already out of water, exhausted, and turned back. He checked back into his hotel and called his wife to let her know he quit and would be returning home. Apparently, she convinced him to get back out there and try again. This morning was his second attempt at getting started. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was about to enter the “roller coaster.” I often wondered later how all of that worked out.

Later that day, I finally made it to Harpers Ferry by about 6 PM. I had been hiking on quartzite for most of today, but the trail was relatively easy on my feet. When I descended the trail into the Shenandoah River Gorge, I soon followed blazes to the bridge over the river. From there, it was a striking view looking east toward the confluence with the mighty Potomac. The same structural grain defining the trend of the Blue Ridge could be seen stubbornly producing lines of rapids persisting across the river. To my left, I could make out a few church steeples poking up through the trees next to the waterway. It’s here that the indomitable Potomac and Shenandoah together join forces to finally erode their way through the seemingly impenetrable metamorphic barrier of the Blue Ridge. When I finally got into the town, most of the stores and restaurants were closed. I looked around to see where all the tourists were congregating, and right up the street there seemed to be a crowd. As I walked toward the gathering, I could see that there was an ice cream store still open. Excitedly I approached the front window, gazed at the menu of delightful sugary treats, and my uncontrollably carnivorous brain instantly ordered three chili cheese dogs, a large strawberry milkshake, some onion rings, and a large Gatorade. The fine young man behind the counter gave me the Gatorade at no charge, presumably because he could tell, or smell, that I was a thru-hiker…