The unofficial, official, actual, and old halfway points

As the title indicates we have crossed the halfway point, all 4 of them. It began a few days after Front Royal when we left Virginia after hiking through her for about a month. We hiked along the VA-WV border for a bit and stayed at the wonderful (and free) Blackburn AT center. What started as simply a porch to sleep on soon became soda, bread, a huge plate of spaghetti, and brownies all courtesy of the caretakers there. 

The center is run by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, which maintains the trail from Shenandoah through a few miles in Pennsylvania. The PATC has been the best trail club so far and not just because they gave us a free meal and place to stay. It's the only stretch of trail where we've seen volunteers cleaning and maintaining the trail as well as plenty of hiker support. Perhaps it's just the start of hiking season so we missed the other clubs, but the PATC sets the bar pretty high. 

Right before we also had a visit from more college friends Nate, Heather, and Ben. In case you weren't already impressed with the generosity we've encountered on the AT, these guys brought us Chik-fil-a, with extra sauce. Not only that, but Nate knows exactly what I order there. It was another great night reviving old jokes, eating until full, and laughing later than I should be awake. That night we stayed at a shelter that is a geodesic dome, a pretty cool thought, but terribly impractical for stuffing hikers into.

After this portion we entered Harpers Ferry, the only part of the AT in West Virginia and the emotional/unofficial halfway point of the trail. While there we stopped in the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) which is the headquarters for the people who keep the trail a reality. While there we had our photos taken (I was the 137th northbound thru hiker to pass through this year) and admired the sign that used to be on Katahdin and a miniature topographical map of the entire AT. 

 

We were also able to go through the records of all former AT hikers and after a brief search in their system and look in their albums I was able to find the photo of family friend Russ Ottey when he thru hiked in 1986. 

After a quick and pricy meal (harpers is a big tourist town) with Slapp and White Flash we headed down the C&O bike path/AT to a hostel in Maryland. The hostel there was exceptional, likely because it was a member of hostels international. The place was clean and wonderful plus we shares it with girls from Croatia, Amsterdam, and Mexico and a guy from Nepal. As the day passed several more hikers filtered in and we all shared a massive community dinner which all 12 or 13 of us helped prepare (Me and the girl from Amsterdam baked the brownies and cupcakes). It was perhaps one of the greatest meals to date, there was plenty of food and Olde English (an older thru hiker from the UK) and I spent a long time talking about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher and various historical/political issues. Rather than degenerate into a passive aggressive political posturing it became a confluence of perspectives on post world war 2 history. I loved it, and would consider using hostels for travel wherever I go now for a similar experience.

At harpers ferry we also said goodbye to long time hiking partner White Flash, who  has been hiking with us since early Virginia. It was not overly bittersweet as well probably see him agin (his girlfriend was visiting) but its still odd hiking without his dry wit and AT themed belt.

The next day and a half took us across Maryland in some intense heat and over some incredibly long and painful rocky sections of trail. While hiking across we had something like a 3 hour long conversation with a few other hikers about Harry Potter and fantasy in general at Raven Rocks shelter. We also came across a Washington monument (not the) which had a great view of Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Antietam battlefield. 

 

We crossed into Pennsylvania right after a state park with a playground which we took an all too brief break at. 

We played a bit on the equipment but I stopped pretty quick after a few spins on the merry go round reminded me of just how queasy I could feel. 

Pennsylvania so far has been great. The rocks it's famous for haven't appeared (yet) and the trail has been mostly flat, mellow, and wide. The only issue lately has been hiking and trying to sleep in the heat. 

We did pass the actual halfway point of the trail soon after the state border. Since the trail varies in length year to year with tiny readjustments there was actually nothing at the halfway point but a tree (mile 1093).

A few miles later we encountered the official halfway point. We then moved through a state park with a lake and dove into the incredibly cold spring fed lake. 

Early the next day before descending into the Cumberland valley we passed the former halfway point, replete with several cigar butts.

Since then we've been hiking in the valley which means 30 miles or so of long flat farmland hiking. We passed through Boiling Springs and I picked up 5 packages.

To keep it brief, we're incredibly thankful. The greatest lesson I've learned on the trail so far has not been perseverance or determination (although I think of those things very differently already); it is how blessed we are. We've been fed, put up for free, and mailed a ridiculous amount of food and goodies. If there is one thing I hope to leave the trail with it is a more generous spirit. 

That's about it. After boiling springs we hiked 8 miles to Carlisle and are currently zeroing here. We have already gorged ourselves on milk, vegetables, and other hard to come by foods. We also got to see the new Star Trek movie (at last!). Thanks again to everyone for the support particularly Heather, Nate, Ben, Bethany, Bob, Addy, and the Reeds. Enjoy the views.