A more in depth play-by-play of my first few days:

The drop-off was emotional and a bit frantic. My intended starting point was the footbridge at Harpers Ferry, which crosses over the Potomac and the border of West Virginia and Maryland. (Fun fact: technically Maryland owns the Potomac along the border.) Anyways, that footbridge was under construction, hah. So, Mom (and her bestie Melissa) drove to the other side of the bridge and, with no good place to pull over, threw on the flashers in the middle of road. I grabbed my pack from the trunk, gave some quick hugs and just got on trail.... much different for my poor mother who hoped to walk the first three miles with me. Oh and it was raining. It was kind of awesome though. So exciting. Then I was walking. Just walking and smiling and walking and thinking, I finally fucking made it. 

It rained on and off the whole day, which just added to the excitement. I was skipping and smiling and singing in the rain with a really heavy pack, 38lbs......

When I picked camp that night, 10 miles north, I saw it was close to a road and invited Mom and Melissa to crash my set up. I hoped this would help Sue recover from the dramatic drop on the side of the road. It did. She taught me the proper angle to insert my tent stakes, brought me blueberries, watched me get my bear bag stuck in a tree, and even tried my dehydrated beans and rice (after I rehydrated them). Mom and Melissa were giggling the whole time. Needless to say, mom felt much better.

Day 2 was a challenge for my ego. It took me a while to take down camp and pack up. My feet were pretty raw from hiking the whole previous day in the rain, and I ran into quite a few other hikers going a lot faster and farther than me. It was Memorial Day weekend, so there were lots of day hikers and weekend backpackers, but I did run into a few other thru hikers. Most thru hikers I met were northbound and started in Georgia 3 months ago. 2 were going 40 miles that day.... they were also lightly jogging. How to describe my mood this day: freshman. Everyone was really nice, gave me tips, and encouraged me to keep my miles low in the beginning so I wouldn’t burn out. So while my ego was screaming, “screw it you can hike 20 miles,” I followed the cute guys and stopped at 14. Said cute guys were both married... but still a pleasure to chat with. 

There were 3 other thru hikers at camp that night and I was able to pick their brains about what it’s been like and what to expect hiking through the pandemic.

It’s definitely awkward to be doing this right now. This is a huge thing I’m doing and I don’t need to piss anyone off along the way. I am fully confident in my ability to keep myself and others safe social distancing. But, the agency (ATC) that protects, maintains and promotes the trail I will call home for the next 6 months, is still asking that we stay away. That being said, it is legally open and I am abiding by all rules that each state has in place… It’s just awkward.

Day 3 I planned an 8.5 mile day to give my feet a break. I was solo most of the day and took it real slow. I invented a game called ‘stick, root, poop or snake’, I practiced my whistling trying to communicate with the birds (failed), and decided underwear is just plain dumb.

When I got to camp early, I snagged a nice looking tent pad and had a wonderful yoga/stretch session. I made dinner, drank tequila and went to bed at 8pm. Ego checked.