In celebration of three weeks on the trail and the big elevation gain today I’m doing my blog in a series of videos taken during the 3000 foot ascent. 

  
   
 I was having trouble loading the last video, but I made it!

 Daniel and Mason are NOBO section hikers.  They’ll finish at Harpers Ferry this summer.  That’s half the trail over 3 summers.  Way to go guys!  

God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple. – Chanakya

It’s another beautiful morning! ☀️  I am currently half way up Three Ridges and am planning to hike 9.5 miles today to the Tye River at the base of The Priest.  I’ll tackle the 3,000+ ft ascent tomorrow morning with fresh legs.

Here’s The Priest from the overlook.  

And the elevation profile.  

Wish me luck…

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius

The weather is finally stellar today.  Left P Wolfe shelter about 7 am after sleeping in the shelter because of storms last night.  Going to do 15+ today but have another 500 ft and 1 mile to finish Humpback Mountain.  

I met L’L Bean on the trail this morning.  She is NOBO with a great laid back attitude.  Happy trails! 

I’ll post more later with an update on my mileage for the day.

Update:  It turned out to be a long grueling day. After summiting Humpback Mountain I still had 10 miles to go with all the gas out of my tank. To make matters worse there was a section of trail that was the rockiest I’ve seen so far.  But I still made the 15.8 miles to Maupin Field shelter before dark.  The “brothers” rolled in about 10 pm after hiking the 25+ miles from Waynesboro.  Crazy guys!

Hike statistics :

Day #19

Miles from Mt Katahdin, ME – 1,348.4

Miles from Harpers Ferry – 181.8

Miles to Springer Mtn, GA – 840.8

Avg daily distance – 9.6 miles

There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self. – Benjamin Franklin

 

Left Waynesboro about noon today and hiked south to the Paul Wilfe shelter.  It was only 5.1 miles, so it was an easy day.  Tomorrow I will tackle Humpback Mountain and then try to cover some more distance before I get to The Priest.  I’m a little worried about the climb there.  It’s 3,200 ft over 4 miles. Yikes!  It will be one of the major climbs of the trek.

• Paul Wolfe Shelter and privy.    
• Switchback.  (I’ve seen a few.)  
• Dinner on the trail.  

Hike statistics :
Day #18

• Miles from Mt Katahdin, ME – 1,332.6
• Miles from Harpers Ferry – 166.0
• Miles to Springer Mtn, GA – 856.6
• Avg daily distance – 9.2 miles

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. – Benjamin Franklin

I’ll post more later today when I get to Waynesboro. But I can’t resist putting this picture on the blog now. I hiked in the fog this morning. I was waiting for the Ewoks to shoot arrows at me.  

Here are me trail buddies from the last shelter.  The brothers started in Pennsylvania and are hiking south, but there’s no way I can keep up with them on my 58 year old legs. 

I made it to Waynesboro after hiking 7.5 miles out of Shenandoah National Park.  Tomorrow it’s off into the Blue Ridge.   

I’m staying at the Tree Streets Inn in Waynesboro tonight.  The place is fantastic!  I swam in the pool, did laundry, and even met “Casper” the local cat.   

And for the artistic; I thought this gate from long ago was cool.

I went to the infamous “Ming’s Garden” for dinner in Waynesboro.  Here’s my fortune.  Thanks to everyone following my blog! 

 Hike statistics :

• Day #17
• Miles from Mt Katahdin, ME – 1,327.5
• Miles from Harpers Ferry – 160.9
• Miles to Springer Mtn, GA – 861.7
• Avg daily distance – 9.5 miles

I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up. – Benjamin Franklin