Front Royal to Pennsylvania
The 110 mile stretch of trail through the Shenandoah National Park ends near Front Royal. Having not resupplied for my entire time in the park it was time to head in to town and hit the reset button before finishing up Virginia.
Upon returning to the trail I would see the first of many signs related to Civil War history. From here to Pennsylvania the trail would take me through the heart of many Civil War battlefields and historical sites.
Not long after leaving Front Royal we would pass through Sky Meadows State Park. This was a brief section but one of my favorites. I took a long break at the piedmont overlook enjoying the views of the rolling farm valley below.
From here the trail would drop back into more typical Virginia woods as it made its way north to Harpers Ferry. Along the way I crossed the major milestone of 1,000 miles. Harpers is a beautiful town at the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. There were many signs of its Civil War fortifications as I descended into town. It is also home to the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquaters and the mental halfway point of the trail. Here I registered with the ATC and my photo can be found for posterity as hiker 1203 of 2017.
After a fun night of reuniting with many hikers, I hiked out of town and into Maryland.
The journey through Maryland is brief but filled with history. The trail goes along South Mountain where Civil War battles were fought in nearly every gap. Hiking through the battlefields was a unique and somewhat haunting experience.
The trail also passed the very unique War Correspondents Memorial which was built in 1896.
The final monument was the original Washington Monument. This was the first monument built to honor Washington narrowly beating out the city of Baltimore. This unique monument also provides a stunning view of the surrounding landscape.
The rest of the state floated by through a beautiful mix of woods and open fields. After about only about 40 miles I reached the Mason-Dixon Line entering Pennsylvania and officially leaving the South.
