WV AT

Ted. Having walked short stretches of the Appalachian Trail in six states now (three, just last month), a hike in West Virginia was all that remained to complete one our goals for this trip. 

Judy and I drove the 25 minutes back to Harper’s Ferry and began walking southbound along the AT. The trail crosses the Shenandoah River, just upstream from the point at which that stream enters the Potomac. We climbed up Loudoun Heights and walked the ridge for a couple miles. 

Only about four miles of the AT runs through WV and we saw most of it. We passed remnants of the old roads and fortifications built during the “disagreement” in the 1860’s. When Virginia seceded from the Union, the western region seceded from Virginia and Harper’s Ferry became a hotly contested town. 

On our walk we came across a snake and a deer plus a couple of toads and pileated woodpeckers that appeared to be feasting on cicadas, which were out in full force. I recorded their singing in the video below.

Cicada shells on a tree

Holes in the ground from cicadas erupting after 17 years

We met several "through hikers," bound for Maine but none were interested in breaking stride to chat. We will take one or two more hikes before we return to Georgia but will leave the Appalachian Trail for now. It has been fun seeing how the trail changes as one heads north.

Recrossing the Shenandoah on our way back to Harper's Ferry