Like yesterday, I slept in a bit and grabbed breakfast in the hotel's breakfast room. Returning to my room after eating my fill, I began planning out the next week of hiking; I needed to resupply my food at some point today, and knowing how far I was going to go before my next resupply was somewhat important.
I had settled on Boiling Springs, PA as my next resupply point when two more relatives arrived in town, my aunt Nancy and uncle Ken. To get to where we were meeting, I took the AT to the lower town, which was a bit shorter than walking the streets of Harpers Ferry, and it gave me an idea of what I would be hiking tomorrow. (Rock stairs. Not fun.)
We quickly dispensed with the notion of sightseeing (we had all seen the sights before), and after some back-and-forth trying to find a restaurant that was no longer open (burned in the fire last year that destroyed several buildings), wound up again at Coach House for lunch. While there, Zig Zag saw me from the window and popped into say he’d decided to keep the trail name I gave him.
At some point, I mentioned I still needed to resupply, so Nancy and Ken generously drove me to Walmart, and even paid for my groceries! (Thanks again so much!)
They dropped me back off at my hotel, and we said our goodbyes, and I returned to my room to organize my supplies. I then realized I had not gotten my picture taken at the ATC headquarters, so I returned down the AT and took the side trail to the Conservancy's building. I got my picture taken, the 648th NOBO thru-hiker so far this year to do so. (I could have had a lower number if I had had my picture taken yesterday when I stopped by with my mom; some 40 people came through since then yesterday and earlier today.) I also joined the ATC.
Dinner took me to Mena's Pizzeria (where I had stuffed shells, not pizza). There, I chatted with thru-hikers Doctor See and Rhythm, who have been in town for a week and a half doing work-for-stay and earning additional money to bankroll the rest of their hike. Their plans for after completing the AT include traveling to Europe and doing much the same there, and then a stint in Peru.
Back in my hotel room, I finished organizing and packing my food, and repacked my pack, which I'm once again fairly certain is the heaviest it's ever been. It doesn't help that I have three bottles of soda (as well as chocolate chip cookies) that add a lot of weight and space, though the sodas will be gone by the end of the day tomorrow.
Tomorrow: I return to Maryland, with a possibly unwise 18 mile day with a too heavy pack.