Backpacking on an Appalachian Trail Section: Bear's den to Harpers Ferry

To sum the experience in one word - Grueling

The Plan

This was my first real backpacking trip on a section of Appalachian Trail (AT), with one friend, after the Five Year Long Trek. A week before this backpack, I went with another friend to Raven’s rock as a practice hike (about 6 miles in and out with fully loaded backpack) and to gauge the popularity. The hike seemed doable. On the practice hike, we met two people, a father and a son-in-law, backpacking the same exact route, just backwards. A conversation with them felt promising and they encouraged to use the campsite located around a cabin along the way. The water source was apparently 1/10th of a mile hike from the campsite.

With this information, I remember feeling a sense of rejuvenation to be outdoors for a longer period of time. Next Saturday, the Labor Day weekend of 2022, my friend (Totorro) and I started out journey from Fairfax, Virginia. The plan was to park one car at Bear’s den and drive back in another car from Harper’s Ferry. We packed our bags, a 65 L Osprey and a 43 L Deuter, distributed weight as much as possible, and arrived at Bear’s Den around 10 AM.

The plan was to try to do this route in 3 days, but also try to do it in 2 days - marking the beginning of mismanagement, ill-planning, and upcoming experience. We ended up doing this in two days, with a campsite at WayPoint 9 (39.22735,-77.7793) marked as Shelter/Camp in this map below. The water source was, as the two people indicated, about 1/10th of a mile from the campsite. But it was a trickling source and those 1/10th mile were steep ascend/descend.

Three Lessons Learnt

Succinctly: Never leave the planned number of days to the trail and friends; Distribute weight more evenly; Listen to your body and take a dip in the river (I did not) even if the mind is tired.

1. Mileage

The first five miles to Raven’s Rock were alright. A little up and down the hills (part of the rollercoaster section of the Maryland AT) but nothing to push us back. We had about 1.5 hr late start so we reached there around 12:30 pm. We rested there enjoying the view, stretching our backs, a light snack before heading out on the trail. This was when we decided (or I being persuaded) to complete the section in 2 days.

Hiking the next section of about 5 to 6 miles to an undecided campsite was when the challenge began. I could feel my thighs getting tired immediately after a little ascend. My mind raced in thousand directions trying and I was consciously trying to untangle every single trailing thought to the next but in vain.

We kept going on the trail that went through thick forests sometimes surrounded by ferns, sometimes by rocks, and sometimes overgrowing forest. We started making frequent stops around mile 8, knowing we still had about 2 miles to the campsite. Perhaps determined to test our limits, we kept going without eating much. We were convincing ourselves to go just a mile more towards the campsite. At one moment, I was so engaged in walking that I walked past a long snake by the trail without noticing it. My friend (Totorro) noticed, stopped, called me and we both watched the snake cross the trail before continuing.

Exhausted out of my mind and body, we reached the campsite around 6:30 pm, with about 30 to 45 minutes left until sunset. We set up our tents, went to collect water on a stream that was about 1/10th of a mile from the tents. The water source was merely a trickling stream, and it took us longer than expected to filter and fill up the bottles. I saw a tiny water snake move away while I was filling up the bottles. We ate when it was dark, stretched in our individual tents, and fell into the void of the night.

Next day, we had about 10 more miles to go, mostly flat or downhill, something which I enjoyed but my friend (Totorro) did not. But we woke up tired, had breakfast and started our hike to Harpers Ferry around 10 AM. By the time we reached Harpers Ferry, I was dragging my feet with every step, exhausted, tired, and mad at doing the backpack in two days. I found the closest spot under the tree, threw my bag and closed my eyes without even considering any other option.

I would do the same mileage again, but I was not prepared physically or mentally for that at that time. My friend (Totorro) later told me he was never so tired from a hike before. Lesson - Do not overestimate your ability to cover more miles, especially on the AT.

2. Food and Backpack

Over-planning or under-planning on food is always a lesson learnt in hindsight. I decided to carry a bear canister with about 5 or more days worth of food for two people - the biggest mistake. We practically had all the food left after completing the trip. The trail is heavily used so maybe the use of bear canister was unnecessary. Regardless, I would still use it the next time, if there is one.

The food that we ate, and that we enjoyed, was dry and I could have avoided carrying a stove, gas canister, mess kit if I had planned better. The food that saved us on the second day, when we decided to have a dedicated lunch break, was thick Indian (specifically Sindhi) Koki made primarily from wheat flour, jaggery, spices. That was a meal to remember and perfect example of traditional food adopted for backpacking. My friend (Totorro) also brought strawberry flavored 5-hr energy drink, which I had only a sip of on the first day as our lunch, was the worst meal to remember. This is how much points I would give our planning of food and backpack for this trip.

A better way to plan food would have been first to decide the number of days and minimize unnecessary emergency food. Planning for one extra emergency meal is wise if the backpacking trip is close to the civilization (like this one). Secondly, distributing weight should have been this way: I carry all the tents, sleeping pads, clothes, back-up clothes etc. and let my friend (Totorro) carry only the bear canister (the heaviest of everything.) Having a good backpack is crucial and we were grateful to at least have that right in our food and backpack planning. A hard lesson which made me learn and realize better planning for next trips.

3. Pilgrimage

This by no doubt, was, is, and will be my experience of every backpacking or hiking trip. Each day, action, planning had its way of creating a whirlpool of thoughts that later needed to be untangled. But the trees, forests call and hug me from above and below on such experiences. This calling is the primary reason for me to hike, backpack and be with the nature.

There were patches on the trail which were filled with a thin layer of soft sand (seemingly beach sand). Walking on these after walking on the rocks and hard trail was a surreal experience to remember. Whenever we came across such patches, I felt as if the sand tickled me through my hiking boots and always found myself literally laughing while walking on these. Although we were exhausted at the end, my legs felt stronger than I could remember in recent past 5 years or more. Realizing the growth, all I can do is close my eyes and let the moment pass.

The views from the Raven Rocks and Harpers Ferry were definitely a reward from a long, tiring hike. It was difficult to convince my mind to wash away the pain, the anger in the river at Harpers Ferry, and so I just dropped under a tree’s shade when we finally arrived at our destination. My friend (Totorro) went into the river and I can only dream of doing that then.

Such grueling (but rewarding in its own ways) experiences makes it easier to acknowledge some privileges we have of living in a society, or maybe I am just too optimistic. A cold shower and a served warm meal are the only things I ask after such a backpack.