The Professional Student Traveler & Hiker: I finished the AT! The West Virginia portion.

Keys Gap to Appalachian Trail Conservancy (I did ATC to MD two year ago). About 6 miles.

Fun with Victoria and Flat Stanley

Deepest snow was in this area. Yes, this is WV.

Note: I wrote this on Sunday. As I drove through PA, I hit a nasty 1 inch an hour storm and made it as far as Bethelem, luckily finding a room at the inn. Left at 3am, only missed half of a class and immediately started teaching when I got there. Yeah, I'm gangster like that.

It took about two years. Cause you know, it’s West Virginia. It’s wild. First attempt was a derecho. I almost didn't make it out of DC. Then I was sick. There might have been a hurricane. Then it was just rainy. Today, it was icy, but you know, I hike in NH. It wasn't that bad. I did slide on my butt, but it was fun. In fact, it was all sorts of fun with a great group of women. This was the best way to spend a Saturday.

Why yes, those are snowshoes on my pack. WHEEEEEEEE.

Thanks to the Trails Dames of Maryland (and my friends Terri and Maria), I was able to finish this part of the AT. Don’t know the Trail Dames? If you are a woman and you love hiking you should check them out www.traildames.com. We laughed, we slid, we traded camping stories. And since it was not a 4K or other tough NH terrain, no huffing or puffing or profuse sweating. It wasn't a cakewalk, but it was an enjoyable walk in the snowy, icy woods.

We shuttled from the ATC to Keys Gap, got our stuff together and started hiking. It was pretty icy. We had just gotten several inches of snow at home, but the mid Atlantic had an ice storm. It was mostly a ridge walk then there was down hill going into Harper’s Ferry. Most of it was icy snow covered, but there was some mud. Only a few places were completely bare. The climb back to the ATC had a few small patches of snow and a downed tree.

It was nice to have a relaxing hike for a change. No worries the freezing cold, sudden weather, postholing. The pace was slower than usual for me, but that is a good thing. I didn’t get winded after 3 steps or have to wait for my heartrate to go down. I could actually talk and converse about all things hiking. It was cloudy, but a nice high 20s. With the exception of about maybe 1.5 miles, there was no crazy ice. A few ups, but I loved how I felt. We crossed into the National Park and the snow was a teeny bit deeper. Then it started to get steep and the fun began.

I was lucky, I had my Hillsound Trail crampons, but some people were bare booting. They made it, slowly, but safely. On a few sections, some just sat and slid. I did once, just because. And it was steep. Not Ammonoosuc Ravine trail steep, but WV steep. We all made it alive, took a picture, then down some more icy steeps. I did some bushwacking. Made to the bridge and there wasn't a need for the spikes anymore. Another picture and off we went. We got a few cat calls and honks. Hey, they were probably just jealous that we hiked the AT and they were in their cars.

Climbing down to the Potomac.

Maria warned us about a tree going up to the ATC. There was a small walkover here, another small walkover there, but no big tree. Maybe it got removed and then WHAM. Big ole tree with a small space to crawl under. But not me. I am from New England, we survey the situation, and decide to go the hardest way possible. We are hardy like that. So while people waited to go under, I went up and over. We’re hardy like that. We winded our way back to the ATC on a blue trail through the old Storer College and sadly, the fun hike was over. Or was it. Some of us went to The Anvil for burgers and then to the Bloomery Plantation Distillery for some FABULOUS limoncellos. Great day.

Yeah, go ahead and duck, I'm climbing over this thing.

Sadly, I must leave until next month when I tackle The Rollercoaster...the hard part. I love my trips down here. Yeah, the drive is a pain, especially after work. But it is worth it. Yes, the CRV made it. She even got to spend the night in another National Park.