Day 79, miles today- 16.3, total- 1034.4

I got up at 6 am this morning. After eating breakfast, I went to get a cup of Starbucks coffee for one last time. I took it up to the sun deck and looked out over DC. I was the only one up there. It was very relaxing. I took a cup of coffee back to apartment for Katie. The two bedroom apartment that we rented for two nights worked out great. It was very comfortable and we were just one floor down from Andy and Jenn. Around 8:30 am we were packed and on our way to Harper's Ferry. They were going to drop me off on their way back to Cincinnati. By 10:30 we had said our goodbyes and I was back on the AT.

From where I got on at, the trail would take me through the historical district of Harper's. On the way, I passed a rock where Thomas Jefferson had given a speech. I stopped at a small ice cream shop to eat lunch. I had a tuna salad sandwich and a cone of ice cream. It was around noon when I was ready to get back to hiking.

As I crossed over the Potomac River I entered the state of Maryland. For a few miles the trail followed the C&O canal tow path. The tow path is 184.5 miles long. It runs from Cumberland PA to Washington DC. You can bike or hike all of it. Biking it is on my to do list.

I had a pretty big up leaving Harper's Ferry. Once near the top there was a overlook with a nice view of the area that I had just gone through. I stopped at the Ed Garvey Shelter for a shot break. After a snack I laid down on my pad in the shelter. I fell asleep for 15-20 minuets. I hadn't decided how many more miles I was going to do today. So I was taking it easy.

After another 4.1 miles I came to the Crampton Gap Shelter. At that point it was around 5:30 pm. I decided to eat dinner there and then hike another 5 miles to the Rocky Run Shelter.  At Crampton Gap there was a friendly looking group of people sitting around a fire ring in a tenting area. I asked them if I could take a break with them. They said sure. There was a father, his four children and one nephew. They are from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are backpacking the 41 miles in Maryland. They will end in Harper's Ferry. I fixed something to eat. I talked to them for 45 minutes or so. We talked mostly about thru hiking and trails in Indiana. After leaving there I went through several sections that had a lot of mountain laurel in bloom. It was very pretty.

I reached Rocky Run Shelter at 8:00 pm. There was one other person there. His name is Professor. He's from California. He had worked as a college professor. He started a few days after me. It's the first time I had met or heard of him. After being off trail for five days, I'm sure I'll meet a number of people that had been behind me.