6/29/99 Harper's Ferry   Miles Today : 8.8 Miles to Katahdin : 1162.2

Today was another wimpy day, but a lot of fun all around. I started out early from the Lesser shelter and walked a fairly boring 9 miles into town. There were a lot of rocks today but they are only going to get worse

I arrived at the ATC (App. Trail conference) center just as it was starting to get hot. Much to my delight, the ATC had the A/C cranked! Here, I got my photo taken signed the guestbook and was able to leave my pack there for the afternoon.

While waiting for Drive-By, I had a chance to walk around town for a while. I met Plank and Bed today, who were attempting the 4 state challenge. From the VA/WV line to the MD/PA line is 42 "easy" miles covering 4 states. Good luck guys!

Also bumped into Heat Miser and Quincy today who had to get off the trail for a while for Giardia and other problems. I was glad to hear that someone else with similar problems was pushing on too!

Around 3:00 or so, Drive-By showed up at the ATC! We chatted for a while about the trail, and what I had missed, etc... It was great to really great to finally bump into him again. We decided to camp out at the local KOA, which had a special thru-hiker rate of $4 and beer in their trail store.

The KOA had quite a few people there. Present were: Chris (a guy I met way back at Low Gap Shelter), Colorado Kid , Sage, Roanoke, Wildflower Eyes, the game ongle and Mussberger. It was a fun group and a whiffleball "game" broke out with myself, DB (who carries the bat and ball), and Colorado.

All and all, a very cool night.

Harper's Ferry itself is more of an historic attraction than a town. The center of "downtown" boasts the John Brown Fort, sans bell for all of you Marlboroites. Most of the buildings were pre-1800 and the town had a very unique look: worth one drive if you're nearby. Tomorrow, I hike off with Drive-By which is sure to cause the weakness and some pain.

-Chomp

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