Day 80: Crossing the Potomac

Hiked 3.5 miles, staying at Harper's Ferry Hostel in Knoxville, MD

Today we had a big day, we had to cross the next state line!  With West Virginia being a grand total of for miles long, this was not a long walk.  None of us had really gotten a chance to explore Harper's Ferry to our desired amount, so the goal was to hike downtown via the AT, spend the morning seeing the town, then hike to Maryland in the afternoon and stay at the hostel in the first town giving us the flexibility to explore Harper's Ferry as long as we wanted.

Upper town, near ATC

Harper's Cemetery

Jefferson's Rock

We left the AT on the side trail to the ATC, so that was where we had to get back to first.  We could head straight downtown and pick the AT up there but that would be cheating wouldn't it?  It was a half mile hike through the woods to get down to High Street in Harper's Ferry but there were a couple places to check out on the way.  We passed the cemetery, Jefferson's Rock (where Jefferson stood at one point) and then it enters town going down a series of carved steps past two of the original five churches in the town.  St. John's Episcopal church did not survive the Civil War but it's remains still stand.  Further down the hill is St. Peter's Catholic church which is a really neat building and with it's place on the hill it dominates most views of the town.

The remains of St. John's

St. Peter's

Looking back up the AT at St. Peter's

Entering the historic district

Entering the historic district there is a street restored to pre Civil War era status.  The area is covered with buildings with the interior of shops set up as they were 150 years ago.  It is incredibly well done.  There are a number of small museums around that are all free to the public.  Harper's Ferry has a lot of history.  It was the site of one of the largest US arms factory and armory in the country prior to the Civil War and also one of the first in the world to incorporate automated machining into the process.  Because of this it was the site of John Brown's rebellion.  The Union troops burned the factory when they retreated from here but it is still a strategic area due to the railroads and rivers that junction here so the town actually changed hands eight times during the war.

Looking back up town from the previous photo

High Street

Old armory grounds

Foundation of one of the old armory buildings

As a history buff myself this was a really cool town to explore.  We spent into the afternoon exploring, then got back on the AT and crossed the Potomac river into Maryland!  The Potomac River feeds into the Shenandoah River just beyond the crossing and we the trail follows along the banks of the Shenandoah for about two miles.  With the river on our right we had the old canal on our left.  The canal was dug for freight transportation and is no longer filled or in use.  Since it is dry you can see all the old locks and stonework which was really excellent craftsmanship for the early 1800s.

The Shenandoah river from the end of Harper's Ferry

Crossing the Potomac

The Shenandoah has so much more silt in it right now

We had to actually go past Knoxville in order to get across the railroad tracks and then double back on a side road to get to the hostel.  This meant a 1.1 road walk off the trail which was a pain.  The hostel is called Harper's Ferry Hostel but is not actually in Harper's Ferry, but in Knoxville Maryland.  It is huge place.  We caught up with Little Sass, Army Ant, Invisible Man, Dr. Pepper and Slim Jim here.  We had a group dinner tonight, everyone threw in 5 bucks and helped either cook or clean.  We feasted and then Why Not and Dip'n'sip and I researched our next couple of days and planned an excursion off the trail to Gettysburg in a couple days.

1800s billboard

Old canal

One of the canal locks

Srocket has temporarily left our little band and jumped ahead a few miles to meet up with her boyfriend for a few days.  She plans to catch back up with us in Gettysburg.  So for now we are down a member.  Auditions for a substitute member will begin shortly, please bring a resume and baked goods.

Also on a side note, I know we passed Macafee's Knob a while ago but being the most photographed place on the AT, lots of hikers have pictures of it.  This photo that another hiker showed us was just too awesome and I had to pass it along.  Credit for the photo goes to the thru hiker Apollo.