June 9, 2025

Both beetle and I were apprehensive about how today would go, but we were happy to see the weight of our packs was below the training weight we had carried in CA and skies were bright blue and dry as a bone while HQ drove us to Harper’s Ferry. Pride flags spotted in a small town along the way also buoyed our spirits.

We left HQ near the ATC center and went inside to get our 2025 hang tags. Little did I know we were going to get quizzed about leave no trace principles. I crammed for the test on my phone while beetle went to bathroom and we passed with flying colors. Gold stars on our hang tags! It was strange to be back in that little wooden building after eight years. We didn’t stick around very long because we were eager to get on the road and the longer I stand in a room with stangers, the more times I get misgendered.

The trip through town was steamy and because of the hourlong drive, we were already hungry. Stopped for a snack near a walking tour and felt sort of like zoo animals. We slathered a layer of sunscreen and headed over the railroad bridge that crosses the shenandoah just before it dumps into the potomac river. So. Much. Water. especially after all the rain VA has had lately.

Then came the long walk alongside the river. We had rushing water and highway noise to our right, and a long pool of stagnant water to our right, which was ripe for both mosquitos and turtles. I had my first bites of the hiking season within minutes, but I wasn’t ready to be covered in sunscreen AND deet, so we just weathered the itchiness. Saw many turtles sunbathing and covered in duckweed. Also saw a pedestrian with a parrot on her shoulder, and laughed when the parrot and I both watched each other as we passed.

Somewhere along the flats, we heard pileated woodpeckers and Beetle spotted them in the hollow of a snag tree. One was inside the tree trunk squawking while a larger woodpecker landed on the side of the tree and fed something into the other bird’s mouth. It seemed large to be a juvenile, but I don’t know enough about pileated woodpeckers to know what was happening, other than to say it was pretty effing amazing to watch.

We finally got to the end of the long mosquito walk and headed up the hill to Weverton cliffs. We were both soaked upon arrival. Dropped our backs and went to check out the view I’ve been daydreaming about for months as part of my motivational brainwashing. Felt so surreal to actually BE THERE. sweating and already tired. but THERE.

We hiked through the soup to Ed Garvey shelter with relative ease and a moderate amount of whining and bug swatting. There were mushrooms! And birds to listen to, and a deer walked another trail having a snack. Classic AT stuff.

Someone was already at the shelter when we arrived, which put me on edge because it was pretty early to already be set up in a shelter. Said hello, dropped our packs and began the search for a decent tent site. The best one of the mediocre options was tucked into the woods farther than one would hope to be from the privy and had a number of resident worms and slugs, but we made it work.

By the time we finished setting up and headed back to the shelter area to see about collecting water, a group of what we assumed to be Amish hikers had established themselves around the fire ring. It was a confusing sight, but reassuring to not be alone with the aforementioned shelter resident. That is until we had to wait for them to wash their long dresses at the water source that was a singular pvc pipe coming out of the rocky hillside. The shelter hiker came down before they finished and began spewing conspiracy theories about I don’t even remember what, so we didn’t linger when we finally got our chance to filter water.

The Amish hikers showed us a fawn that had been bedded down behind the privy, and I longed for their binoculars as they stood by the fire checking out sights in the woods. They also brought marshmallows and roasted them on the fire that they built. It was all so Rockwellian if I ignored the religious aspect. There was a second hiker who had been there for about 3 days recovering from a muscle strain on his first day out of harper’s ferry, so we had a buffer for dinner. Then came the nighttime brushing of teeth and buttoning up all of our smellables into our chonky bear canisters. I’m still not happy about carrying them because it’s 2.1 pounds that will never leave my pack no matter how low my food supplies get. Oh well. No throwing of bear lines for us! Hurray! unless a bear steals our cans and we decide to change tactics.

We settled into our tent and surveyed the day’s accomplishments and various maladies. I had a heat rash on my sternum and we were both dotted with itchy splotches from the river walk, but we made it!

note: this entry was done a real computer. most of them won’t be as detailed and may just be recapitulation of what happens on instagram. I’m also not sure how long I can keep up a day-based entry, so things might get more collapsed. I say that, but then I always ramble longer than I intend. Tbd. But thanks for being here if you’re here.

Mile 1026.0 – 1033.0 (7) Ed Garvey shelter

creature feature: mosquitos! turtles! the pileated woodpeckers, a deer in the path, and so many other bird friends.