Day 14 - Monday, March 1, 2021

Happy March! Today’s weather was supposed  to be much more improved with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 40s. Well... we woke up and it was still raining so there will be a last minute change in our hiking schedule. We decided to go back to Harpers Ferry and complete the section we didn’t hike yesterday from Route 340 Bridge in Harpers Ferry (1025.1 NoBo) north through Harpers Ferry and past the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to the Potomac River, Byron Memorial Footbridge (1026.3 NoBo) which is where West Virginia-Virginia-Maryland all meet.  Just a little history trivia as how significant this was when Virginia seceded from the Union dividing the North and South along the Potomac River which made Harpers Ferry a very strategic possession during the Civil War. 

This part of Virginia is also very unique. It’s mostly rural, rich in early American  history with many historic homes and parks dating back to the colonization period. Then out of nowhere you will come upon a cluster of 10-15 multi-million dollar homes. You also see a lot of Mercedes-Benz,  Audi’s & Range Rover’s;  not too many Chevy’s or Subaru’s... lol. 

We began hiking at 8:30 am and this section was 1.2 miles. 




The Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, WV. All closed due to the pandemic. The AT is still not officially open neither. Hopefully later this year now that the vaccines are being distributed. 





The intersection of WV-MD-VA on the Potomac River. 



Jefferson’s Rock - overlooking the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. 



Route 340 Bridge over the Shenandoah River. 


We finished hiking Harpers Ferry Alley about 9:45 am. 


Then we traveled back to Snickers Gap (1006.1 NOBO) to resume hiking the “Roller Coster” to Morgan Hill Road (994.6 NOBO) which was 6.7 miles. We will hike the final 3.4 miles of the “Roller Coaster tomorrow. 





Back on the “Roller Coaster”. 



Trail head to the Sam Moore Shelter. 





Having lunch at the Sam Moore Shelter at about 12:45 pm. We’re making pretty good time so we thought we would take a break. 



Changing my socks. I actually got a small blister on my left foot from yesterday when my foot got wet so I’m keeping on top of it. 


Checking out the bear pole. All food is hung up on a tree branch or fabricated bear pole so bears cannot get it. 



Climbing to the summit of the Bears Den. 


View from the Bears Den. 


Panoramic view from the Bears Den.

We finished hiking at 3:22 pm for a total of 7.9 miles. Not to bad considering how we changed our agenda and then drove back to Harpers Ferry. The sun actually appeared about  an half hour earlier and the winds started picking up as there is a high wind advisory for tonight. 

I neglected to mention how we spoke to another hiker on the trail a couple days ago. His trail name was “Lowgear”.  He has section hiked the entire AT. When we told him how we are doing a flip-flop thru hike from our pick up truck and hotels he referred it as “Slack-Pack” which is term for  slacker backpacking... lol. I responded that I tend to think and will attest to that it’s more like “smart backpacking”. He laughed but also gave us a name of an outfitter who accommodates  “Slack-packers”. So its obvious to me there are a lot of smart backpackers out there 😉. 

Till next time... Happy Hiking 🥾 

😋

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