Day 48: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter to Sam Moore Shelter (25.8 miles)

June 29, 2004 - Woke up earlier than the past few mornings. The idea of 37 miles didn’t seem that great of an idea anymore so I decided to go to the shelter 25.8 miles down the trail. I was the first one to leave camp, only one other guy was awake at 7:30. So many slackers. Started out slow after the long days in SNP, but slowly worked up to my normal pace of 3.5 mph. Made it 15 miles to the road crossing which was .8 miles away from Doc’s BBQ. It had been awhile since I had had real food, so I walked the .8 miles to the diner and had a cheeseburger, coke, fries, 2 fudgebars, and cookies for $5. What a great deal. Then got back on the trail; soon after I started the section of the trail known as the Rollercoaster. It gets the name because of all the ups and downs. There is no flat area. It’s a 12 mile stretch and it’s supposed to be really hard with lots of steep ups and downs. However, I’ve found it to be very easy. I’ve done 7 of the 12 miles without any problems. Tomorrow morning I’ll finish it up, so we will see if it gets any harder. Tomorrow I’ll be going through Harper’s Ferry which is the headquarters of the ATC. I’m supposed to meet Bilbo there and I may be staying the night in town with him and one of his friends who lives in Harper’s Ferry. I got in 25.8 miles today, just as planned.

The Roller Coaster