June 19, 2004

I began my hike today from Bear's Den Hostel, a mansion now owned and operated by the A.T.C.  A school teacher from New Jersey named Jessica joined Bear and me for a mile or two.  Jessica's mom is a breast cancer survivor so hiking with Jessica held special meaning to me.  The terrain today wasn't hilly.  But...hiking 19.1 miles on rocks was tough on my feet. At one point, my feet throbbed so badly, I cried.  Then I sat myself on a rock, ate a Snickers Almond candy bar and pressed on.  The chocolate worked wonders on my feet.  When I met Bear at the bridge over the Shenandoah River, he was perched on a wall overlooking the water.  His feet were aching too so we took a break.  I took off my shoes and socks and rested my feet above me against the wall of the bridge hoping that the elevation would get the blood flowing again.  It worked well enough to hike the last mile into Harper's Ferry, WV.