Shenandoah to Harpers Ferry, WV - mile 1041

The weather was still hot and humid as we finished Shenandoah NP. We hit the border of West Virginia, our 5th state, and shortly thereafter reached the 1,000 mile mark on the trail. The next day, we made it into Harpers Ferry and got our pictures taken at the ATC headquarters. Finally, we feel like we've made some progress on the trail. We were hikers #530 and 531 when we signed in at the Rangers Station at Amicalola Falls in Georgia. We were hikers #365 and 366 in Harpers Ferry. So either we passed a lot of people (some, but not that many), or a significant number of hikers have dropped out. More than half of the thru-hikers have dropped out by this point.

 Back on the trail - Rosie and Pete drop us off at Thornton Gap and fly back to NY, and we head north on the AT again.

A tunnel of mountain laurel

 Overlook in the Shenandoahs

The Skyline Drive can be seen from this viewpoint

 Wild honeysuckle. This vine grows profusely at the edge of woods and fields and has a strong, sweet scent. We can smell it for miles as we hike by.

The Jim &Molly Denton shelter on the AT. This shelter was luxurious by AT standards - it had a porch with chairs, a pavilion with a picnic table, and even a solar shower. (The shower was just a hose piped in the the brook, but it was still impressive). 

 The border sign for West Viringia. Hooray, we made it out of Virgina!

This is the official sign for the 1,000th mile marker on the AT.

 After a tough day of hiking the 'roller coaster', we stopped for the night at the Blackburn AT center. We got a great salad and spaghetti dinner, and slept on the porch. Great place!

 Orange tree fungus

The ATC headquarters in Harpers Ferry, WV. Thru-hikers get their pictures taken here, and it's considered the unofficial half-way point on the trail.

We stayed at the Towns Inn/hostel in the historic section of Harpers Ferry

 The old section of town was very quaint. A lot of civil war history happened here. Unfortunately, it was 98 degrees out and we barely had energy to walk, let alone tour the town.

Our room at the historic Towns Inn in Harpers Ferry. Watch your head on the low, historic doorways!

Harpers Ferry, WV