Day 67 - First 1,000 miles and Harpers Ferry (June 14)

I slack packed this 21 mile section of the trail with only about 10 pounds in my pack. When I got to the ATC office in Harpers Ferry, my shoulders were in a lot of pain. Just a few pounds of weight on your shoulders is enough to cause muscle strain. It took me a while to recover enough to have my picture taken. I forget what number I was for thru hikers this year. I think I was in the upper 300s.

I saw my first rattle snake on the trail. I don't think either of us saw each other until I almost stepped on him. It rattled just as I was stepping next to him. I could not have been two feet from him. I took a few pictures.

I hear that it is extremely rare to be bitten by a rattler, and that nearly all who have been bitten, were trying to pick one up or in some other way handle one. Based on my experiences with rattlers, I would tend to agree. I saw someone actually step on a rattler once while at field camp in Montana. The snake just rattled.

Once again, the kindness of people I met along the way has been much appreciated. Teresa's uncle Al met me at the ATC office with my stuff. He had also called the local outfitter, and took me there to get a new pack. When Al found out I was planning on finding a doctor on Monday, he offered to drive me to an emergency room at a hospital near his house. I have some antibiotics now so I hope to finally shake the sore throat. Al even let me sleep on his couch.

I knew when I got to the Rod Hollow shelter a couple days ago that I had to get a new pack and get something for the sore throat before I went much further. These two things were really weighing on my spirits. My body was telling my mind to stop now. It was surprising how fast that message was communicated. I was dealing with minor pains with little psychological effects, it was just the combination that was too much. I'm really grateful for Al's help. As I said before, the trail is full of strange surprises.

Maybe its not strange surprises, but an openness of people. I think we close ourselves off from others in our normal lives. There are sales people and scammers that force us to be cautious. The trail doesn't have these people. People seem more open along the trail. All of us thru hikers have a common experience and understanding, but I think that the people we meet along the trail are also very open to us. Maybe it is doing something different that allows the openness of others.

I would like to keep this openness after I leave the trail. This may be the single greatest experience of the trail. I would like to have this openness toward everyone I meet.

I still have a curiosity about the trail. I'm really looking forward to seeing the northern states. It will be a different trail with so many people leaving. When I started the trail, I worried about not being able to make it out of Georgia. The first 100 miles seemed like such a long way off. I still can't think much further down the trail than when I started. Katadhin seems just as far away now as it did in Georgia.