Days 76-79, May 25th-28th (Harper’s Ferry, WV to Halfway point, mile 1098.7)

Harper’s Ferry is on the south side of the Potomac River. When you cross the Goodloe Byron footbridge, you leave West Virginia for Maryland. You also move into a new section of the trail in the FarOut app. If you’re using FarOut, moving from section to section is its own milestone as each trail section in the app can be hundreds of miles. Below is a screenshot of some of the AT sections in FarOut, with miles indicated.

As the weather warms, it seems like we’re seeing more reptiles.

Neither WaterBoy nor I have seen a poisonous snake yet. Mostly black snakes, and there are many varieties of those. Two that we’ve read about are the Black Racer and the Black Rat snake. I’m not sure what this little feller is, but we stay away regardless.

At mile 1037, the AT crosses through Gapland State Park. You’re hiking along this marvelous section of trail, and then you step out amongst these ruins. You’re not expecting it. From the Maryland.gov website.
Gathland State Park was once the mountain home of George Alfred Townsend, a Civil War journalist. In the late 1800s, Gathland featured a unique collection of buildings and structures designed and constructed by Townsend. Two of the structures, the main hall and lodge, were partially restored in the 1950s.”

This link provides some in-depth history on this park.

https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/western/Gathland/History-Gathland.aspx

Trail Magic from Real Deal

At Gathland, WaterBoy ran into a Trail Angel, Real Deal, dispensing trail magic.

Nice views on the Maryland section of the AT. This section is about 40 miles long, and has been very pleasant.

Crossing the famous Mason/Dixon Line. I always thought this boundary designation originated during the Civil War, indication the division of the Free states (north of the line) from the slave states (south of the line). The name actually predates the CW by 40 plus yrs. Mason and Dixon were a couple of surveyors identifying and marking the borders of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Brittanica website has a great write up on this topic, and can be accessed by the below link

Britannica Link

Happy dogs. Warrior Princess and CornDog were showing some independence, and didn’t want to leave their creek.

🥇🎊🦁Pennsylvania🍾🎊🐶. We finally made it.

Mountain Laurel is the most abundant flower on the trail right now.

This one is still to be identified. Looking at the stalk, how it’s segmented, it looks kind of like asparagus.

Switch from Colorado

I ran into this Colorado native on the trail today. His trail name is Switch, and this is his last hike in completing his triple crown. FYI, the triple crown is achieved by hiking:

  • Appalachian Trail (N Georgia to Maine)
  • Contential Divide Trail ( NM/Mexico border to MT/Canada border)
  • Pacific Crest Trail (CA/Mexico border to WA/Canada border)

There’s no time limit, nor do you have to complete them in any order. Just hike them.

We took a break from the trail, and drove the 20 miles to Gettysburg for a half day of touring. The Gettysburg National Historic Park is sprawling. It’s one of those tourist endeavors that would take several days to do properly. We had 4 hrs, so purchased an online self driving tour. It was very well done. 👍👍. Click below screen shot to access tour website.

The park is this huge landholding that borders parts of the town of Gettysburg. Beautiful monuments from the various states and regiments involved in the Battle of Gettysburg are on display throughout the park.

That hole in the barn wall is from a cannon ball fired during the battle.

CornDog found a cool spot in Gettysburg.

Back on trail near Fayetteville, PA. WaterBoy took this photo of a AT sign. He called out the small “Most Difficult” sign. This is a sign you see frequently on ski trails, even mt bike trails. This is the first time we’ve seen it on the AT hiking trail. It’s not something you really want to see.

The Pennsylvania hiker huts are spectacular. This photo doesn’t do this one justice. If you look back at the shelter photos from North Carolina, there is a difference to say the least.

WaterBoy at the 1/2 way marker, mile 1098.7

WaterBoy has reached the halfway point on the AT. 1098.7 miles completed, and 1098.7 to go.

Over the course of its existence, the AT length has changed many times, so the halfway point and marker has also updated. Photographed here is another marker designating the halfway point. It’s a little out of date.

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