bears den to harper's ferry, wv

i slept okay at bear’s den. the bed was so short even on a diagonal i didn’t really fit.

i’ve been suffering from some pretty extreme home sickness recently and that’s been making the trip hard lately.

the day’s hiking was pretty easy. i got on trail reasonably early, and finished up the rollercoaster and made it to west virginia.

i did the 20 miles into harper’s ferry, crossing the potomac and arriving at the ATC around 15:00. maestro was already there having left earlier than me and didn’t stop for snacks or lunch.

rocket arrived a few minutes later, and got his photo taken for the hiker yearbook. i declined to take part.

from there we headed to the ‘rabbit hole’ for some grub, and ran into black paws and a friend of his. on the way we passed this telephone pole with hand sanitizer on it.

lyric unfortunately missed the ATC closing by 9 minutes, and joined us at the rabbit hole. from there we trekked back across town to the quality inn where we checked in, showered and began vegetating.

we vegetated too long though, as at a little after 8 we attempted to find food, but there was none. all the restaurants were closing. we couldn’t even get take out or delivery.

ultimately we found a 7-11 that was about a mile away. we walked there on a particularly terrible sidewalk that had more tripping hazards than the trail. dinner was not good. i got a microwavable burrito and chips and salsa. i did however find a pint of chubby hubby, my favorite trail ice cream, so it wasn’t all that bad.

the only other image today is a weird plant i keep passing. it’s very symmetrical, and then it will eventually grow a vine out of the center.