End of a Line

I arrived in Harper's Ferry late on a Saturday afternoon. Unlike my last visit, the town was swarming with tourists. The final trail sections were pleasant.

This is the final stop of my Pennsylvania completion tour. The final 250 mile section in southern Virginia will need to wait, maybe until next year. It's disappointing that I can't go straight there, but ATC's request for hikers to stay off the trail is well reasoned.

My last day of hiking was a good one. The sun was out, after an 11 day streak of rain. The wind blew moisture off the trees in the morning to keep me cool. Autumn leaves tumbled down around me. The trail was mostly smooth and progress was quick.

Tomorrow I go home to east Tennessee and see how I can best help my neighbors and the trail recover from Helene.

This 300 mile solo venture was much different. I camped completely alone some nights, which never happened once on the way north. I had more time to work on songwriting, and have a queue of to practice for further production. When things were frustrating I had nobody to commiserate with. Hiking solo is truly type 2 fun, hiking with friends only sometimes.

There is more to say about this trip. More thoughts that have been kicking around, ripening. An epic trail song that begs composition. Other songs yet to be produced. The saga of Helene in the southeast. All coming soon.