Hiking Trail Journals

Appalachian Trail 2003 - Chelsea's Journals

Entry #83 - June 29, 2003

8:00 PM - Too much to catch up on here - I keep getting distracted. Will write while waiting on supper (ham/Lipton's/Ramen) & on through the evening.

Friday in Harper's Ferry was another busy day. Had planned on staying another night, but the Comfort Inn was going to charge an outrageous weekend rate - $100! Insane. We gorged ourselves on their continental breakfast. At least it was a pretty good one - cereal, bagels, toast, doughnuts, yogurt, juice, coffee and we got to make our own waffles with batter & everything.

Packed up after that & headed up to the Hilltop House Hotel. Hiked on the AT, so that we wouldn't miss a section (.4 miles) by cutting through town. Had a "hiker room" waiting for us at the historic old hotel overlooking the Potomac. It was a lower rate-bare bones w/bathroom, A/C & phone but no TV. Spent our day doing more chores. Caught the shuttle to take us over to Charles Town, about 6 miles away. Went to Super Wal-Mart & got a few supplies & groceries. Enjoyed shopping around, but all the people were driving us nuts. When it came time to catch the shuttle back, we waited but it never came. A couple other people were waiting, too. After an hour or so, it finally showed up, only to tell us he wasn't going to Harper's Ferry, but the opposite direction! We ended up having to call a cab to bring us back.

That night we went on a "Ghost Tour of Harper's Ferry. It was pretty cool. A lady, all dressed in 1800's-style clothes brought us by all the old buildings & told stories about the terrible & tragic events that had happened.

The next day, Saturday the 28th, we had planned on leaving. I just didn't want to go. We hadn't even had a chance to relax yet, it seemed. We decided to stay one more day. Ate at the hotel - AYCE breakfast buffet - my favorite!

Andy had a gift for me, too (my birthday!). He had made this neat little box from part of a cereal box and made a bow from a Starburst package. Inside was a cool AT pin for my small pin "collection."

Checked our email @ the library, went to the post office, and picked up a couple more things @ 7-11, and our chores were done! We were able to go down to the town and look at the little shops like regular tourists. There was a jazz band playing at the park, so Andy enjoyed listening to that. Back to the hotel around 7 then to really relax.

So today we finally made it out of town after some coffee and a box of doughnuts. Good thing because if we spent any longer, we'd start getting fat, I think. It was even a productive hiking day - 18 miles. We're now at Dahlgren Campground - a one of a kind spot. It's free, and there's a building with flush toilets and hot showers. Woohoooo! If only they were all like this.

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