Nearly Halfway

I’m wrapping up my longest off trail excursion, a few days in Washington DC. I left the trail in Harper’s Ferry, the unofficial halfway point (1027 of 2198), where the AT is headquartered.

It’s been fun and slightly jarring stepping back into urban life, especially after a stretch with 11 nights of camping in a row (and just 1 shower). I missed hiking at times, but I’d call this a welcome and enjoyable diversion and an opportunity to step back, reset, and get excited for the next 1000+ miles. Taking some time in a city has not made me reconsider continuing, although I did push my return to hiking back a day to avoid starting in a 24 hour rainstorm; I’ve gotten soft!

In DC, I enjoyed many things not available on the trail: 3 movies in theaters (Project Hail Marry, Devil Wears Prada 2, Star Wars), many great meals, some live Cavs playoff basketball on TV, non-instant coffee, a haircut in a barbershop (first since pre-pandemic actually), the zoo, bike rides, the gym, cooking meals in a kitchen, many showers, unlimited use of a laundry machine, and more. 

I’m excited to be back at it! It feels right.

When looking for some AT podcasts to listen to, I found Will Peterson’s podcast From The Backcountry, where he interviewed Tara Dower before and after her AT FKT. I was really excited to hear that he was going after the record too, starting a few weeks back. As I was getting into my tent on night, I saw a headlamp coming my way. I grumbled, not wanting to deal with someone making noise at camp while I was going to sleep, but I recognized the voice of the podcast host, asking where the water is. I happily showed him, had a brief conversation while he filled up, and he was on his way. I was hoping to see him if I got lucky, so this was an incredible outcome!