Of course we both had green on today...
Day 11
3/17/2006
Started: Calico Rocks on C&O
Finished: C&O Canal 60.5 Appalachian Trail Footbridge to Harper's Ferry
Today's ADT Miles: 13.8
Total ADT Miles: 218.3
What a great night sleep. There were only 4 or 5 earth shaking trains that rolled by each hour. In all actually it wasn't so bad, we had a great grassy spot on the bank of the Potomac and only heard a few raindrops bouncing off the tent. It never got cold enough to snow and was close to 40 degrees this morning when we got up. The C&O Towpath took us by the most civilization we have seen since Georgetown. The trains that were coming and going through the night were a combination of freight trains taking goods to all points west and commuter trains out of Washington to the quaint town of Brunswick, Maryland, which we passed on our hike this morning . Brunswick grew out of the canal town of Berlin back in the 1800s and later named Barry in the early 1900s before taking on its current name of Brunswick. We passed a couple of train tunnels through the mountainside, both engineering feats of their time, one at Point of Rocks and one at Calico Mountain. Once beyond Calico Mountain the mountains of the blue ridge were standing strong in the distance. Our cool wildlife sighting of the day was a wild turkey that we chased down the trail. We weren't really chasing him but he didn't know that. We couldn't decide which was less graceful, his attempt at running or flying - they're big strange big birds. Today we were reaquainted with our old friend the Appalachian Trail, it felt strange walking south on the A.T., seeing as how all two thousand plus miles of our 1999 thru-hike were walking north. When we reached the A.T. footbridge that goes over the Potomac, at the convergence with the Shenandoah River, to Harper's Ferry, it was not even noon yet so the original thought was to go in, resupply, and head back out onto the trail. The trail town vortex got us. We walked into historic Harper 's Ferry with all of its restored grandure, and made our way to the super cool outfitter where Don and Laura were full of excitement about our journey. When Sheri began eyeing up the Superfeet insoles Laura displayed her knowledge of our route by declaring, "those road walks can be brutal on your feet!" Laura had us sign the 2006 hiker log. We were the second entry of 2006, just yesterday the first A.T. northbounder had come thru on his way from Georgia to Maine. We asked where a couple of vegetarians could get some good eats and they suggested we go see Tommy at the Secret Six Tavern. Tommy and Jessica were overly accomadating and by the time we were finished dessert, at least two and a half hours had past. Tommy sat and talked with us for awhile about our hike and then offered us his phone and a number where we could call fo a "hiker special" for the night. The Hill Top House, which has an amazing view of the Potomac River cutting through the mountains between Maryland to the north and Virginia and West Virginia to the south. For $20.00 a piece, we were given a small room to call home for the night. Sheri's mom and dad Natoli are coming to visit us tomorrow, so the touristy town of Harper's Ferry and all the history in the surrounding area will be a great "discovery" for all of us. It's great to be back in the Appalachian range, we do love the mountains.
Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
P.S. The Secret Six Tavern is a must see in Harper's Ferry. Not only is the food and service great but the history of the dwelling and the stories of John Brown and the secret meetings he held there in anticipation of his raid on the armory, which led to the Civil War and ultimately the emancipation of slavery, makes it an educational adventure as well.
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