Harper's Ferry

So here I am - finally in Harper's Ferry!  I was really excited to be here and I was hurrying down the hill.  It is good to know that I will NEVER BE IN VIRGINIA AGAIN!

EVER!

hehehe... so I am thru-hiker #599 to come through here this year - this is the Appalachian Trail Conference's headquarters, here in Harper's Ferry.  They say this is the psychological midpoint, and it is an important part in the mental aspect of the trip.  I had been thinking of a prospective post for a while now... be prepared for a little "hokey":

I heard at the outfitters in Harper's Ferry they had this book called "So You're Thinking of Quitting at Harper's Ferry."  There's a chapter dedicated to each reason why people can quit after getting halfway.  One talks about how you just crossed the 1,000 mile mark, and how that's a great achievement.  You can always go home and tell your friends you did something amazing, and that you got further than maybe 60% of the people who started the trip.  There's another chapter talking about how you miss your family at home and they miss you; another about your job and coworkers, or maybe grad school.  They even suggest that if you're from the mid-Atlantic region this is a great time to go home to visit family and just not really come back onto the trail because by that point you'll be too far behind.  Of course there is always the made-up injury or family emergency. 

There are a lot of people who quit here, for whatever reason - maybe just the shock of how long it took to finish Virginia, and knowing that there is STILL so much more ahead.  It takes a lot of patience and stubborness to keep going. 

There isn't such a book I'm sure.  All the same, if there were, I wouldn't read it.

So that's the idea I've been thinking of... it's a little harsh maybe - but I need to keep my head on straight and not get soft.  I understand that other people have different goals and different expectations.  I have made it clear to myself that I have a certain goal, and I'm not going to comprimise or rationalize it away.  I will not sacrifice my health, sanity, or just plain decent everyday mood in order to finish - but part of my goal requires that I smile still and take the time to enjoy myself first, WHILE I progress towards my goal.  I had ambitious goals of going 11 miles into Harper's Ferry, spend time here, at the ATC, at the outfitters; and still go into Maryland today (welcome HOME!!!  (for a bit)) and stay at a shelter tonight - or just camp up on the first ridge if I only get there.  I still stopped at this little WV restaurant, and listened for a while to a local about how to make moonshine.  He was more than happy to share, and had some interesting stories about how it all works.  For me, that's important enough to stop for.  I still need to make the progress each day, but I have more than enough time left to do what I want to do, and still soak it all in.  Letting the miles get to you is a great way to get discouraged.  A section hiker starting out from Harper's Ferry and going South told me a few days ago that I was the first thru-hiker she met who didn't only talk about their miles.  I was talking her head off too, so to think that I had that much good stuff to talk about w/o talking about pace and "zeros" and such is encouraging to me because that is how I want to be.

I'm looking forward to seeing Maryland again in a new way, and getting into Pennsylvania.  The journey is still great - and I still get 1,175 more miles to enjoy!