The Outer Banks

On the 28th I did 19.8 miles and stayed near Rocky Mountain shelters. On the 29th I did 3 miles and camped near US 30. On the 30th I got a ride back to meet people at Harpers Ferry. On the 31st all six of us drove down to Southern Shore on the Outer Banks. On the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th we stayed at Doctor Zoom's parents house in the Outer Banks. On the 5th I made it back to Harpers Ferry and hiked 2 miles out of town and camped along the C&O bike path.

Since I had been starting these with mountaintop selfies this seems appropriate.

So the journey to the Outer Banks started in fantastic hiker style. I got to the road crossing where I was getting picked up a day early. This meant I just kinda sat next to a busy road and waited. Eventually a car pulled up and an older couple got out and said, "We are here looking for a ninja." "That's me!" is the only way I could respond.

This was made even better when they extended their hands and said, "We are Sarah's parents." I don't know who Sarah is. Not only that I haven't even met her by her trail name. This makes it a tad awkward when I shake their hands and say, "I have no idea who that is." They gave me an odd look and I hopped in their car. In normal life this interaction would be exceptionally odd. The AT makes everything okay. They nicely gave me the full hour and a half ride south to Harpers Ferry.

From there me and Doctor Zoom went and stayed at a friends of his who is near Dulles airport. The next day we rented a car, drove back to Harpers Ferry and picked up Impact, Apple, Trip and Rosie. We then turned around and drove to the Outer Banks. Once there we immediately jumped in the hot tub. It seemed like a reasonable first activity.

The following few days involved a lot of naps, eating and time on the sand. Unfortunately for most of the time down there the rip currents were so bad there was no swimming allowed but we made do. Below is the six of us, from left to right, Trip, me, Apple, Doctor Zoom, Rosie and Impact. It was a relatively diverse crew of different ages, backgrounds and geographic homes but on the AT basically everyone fits in.

On our last night down there Mama Zoom was incredibly nice and took us all out to eat. We made sure to get both her and Father Zoom in on the group shot at the end of the trip. In this one we are all wearing Doctor Zoom's cloths but I still went with the kilt.

Leaving there had to swing by Tyson's Corner so I could buy new shoes. Then drop Apple off at Union Station right in DC. Then the rest of us drove back to Harpers Ferry. Somehow I was the one driving the whole way back. It struck me as strange that the guy from Maine with not a ton of city driving experience was the one navigating northern VA and into DC at 5pm on a weekday but it went incredibly smoothly. I got back on trail at 9pm at Harpers Ferry.

I realize that I had already hiked out of Harpers Ferry. I decided I didn't want to make anyone drive me back to where I got off so I'll just re-hike those 60 or so miles. What's a few more days in the woods. I won't be skipping anything and I'm just going to hike right on through. I am no longer going into DC for a break there, sometimes life doesn't work out quite as you would like. Luckily the trees and mountains of the trail are here to remind me that everything is awesome. (Lego Movie reference, if you haven't seen it you should)