Well, in the immortal words of Bon Jovi...


Whooooaaaa---- we're halfway there whoooaH! Livin' on a prayer! Except, in this case, the prayer is really Lipton noodles and Snickers.

Yep, that's right... we've reached lovely and historic Harper's Ferry West Virginia, site of John Brown's famous raid and home of various historical bric-a-brac. Aside from being a neat little town, Harper's Ferry is also past the 1000 mile mark of the AT! (1008.7 to be precise). Even though it's another 80 miles to the ACTUAL halfway point, this town is considered by many to be the psychological halfway of the thru-hike.

The hike in was surprisingly difficult, with Virginia proving she had at least a few more tricks up her sleeve before we made our escape. The last stretch of trail in VA is a 12 mile section called the "Roller Coaster," a flurry of 10 peaks that makes for a strenuous day of climbing and descending. We pounded through it in the heat, humidity, and rain, and finally put Virginia in the books. After 535 miles, it is AMAZING to be in another state at last! Now there will be a series of borders that will take us through West Virginia, Delaware and into Pennsylvania in just a few days.

To celebrate the halfway mark, we are taking TWO days off. Yesterday, thanks largely to Boognish's friend Amanda, we drove into Baltimore to catch the Orioles/Angels game at Camden Yards! It was a blast, and a big culture shock to be in such a big city. Today, we will bum around and let our resident thru-hiking 5 Star chef (G) cook us a delicious meal!

Anyways, the trails are happy and it's great to know I will be in New England soon. All my DC people- sorry I couldnt fineagle my way into the district, I really wanted to see you guys though!!

Well, off to the outfitter to bum around for a while. Talk to you soon!

Rob
Bigby