Day 85 · July 7, 2012 · near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia · AT mile 1025 · 250 ft · 16.8 mi walked

DC Detour

I woke damp from the humidity. Not the most pleasant feeling, but I did sleep well, so why complain. I was immediately informed by Dirty D that Mr. Fantastic and Gizmo had arrived last night and had camped on the screened-in porch. At first I was a little jealous, but then Mr. F told me that the porch was full of mosquitos, despite the screen. Score one for the tenters. I climbed back up the half mile to the ridge line and waited for my crew of 2 to join me. The sign says it was only a .2 hike, but we all decided that was as the crow flies, not as the hobbling hiker walks. They caught up in a few minutes and we began our 12.5 mile hoof to Harper's Ferry, the spiritual halfway point, the end of West Virginia (so fast!), and our ride to DC. There was nowhere to get water on today's hike without adding a mile to the trip, so we decided to go all out with no lunch till town. Thankfully most of the terrain was quite pleasant, but unfortunately it was about 100 degrees again. The hike was uneventful and we spent most of the time chatting about 90's TV shows and videos games. We're all of that oh-so-special age; children of a decade that promoted tearing holes in ones jeans to fit in, and gaming consoles with mascots. Other than a few quick breaks for water, stretching, or to tape up feet, we walked straight to our destination. Once in town we went to the Secret Six Tavern, after a few minutes of confusion when we got separated. We all quickly overate before Mr. Taylor arrived to shuttle us around. First we made a quick stop back to Front Royal (now feeling like home after so many days there) so that Gizmo could get his car, and then it was off to DC. It was fun to travel so far in a car again, it feels like it's been forever. Once at the Taylor household the three salty hikers went to three separate showers. How perfect is that. We all quickly cleaned up and then hopped in cars to go to Mr. Fantastic's dinner. For the last 2 months he's been talking about where this meal would take place, and exactly what he would order, so reaching this restaurant felt like an achievement all its own. I've never had Vietnamese before, so I let Mr. F choose my dishes. Crispy spring rolls and spicy orange chicken, which ironically is about what I'd order at my favorite Chinese restaurant. Dinner was fun and amazingly tasty. I ate more than my fill, and strangely enough (for me), felt completely at home and welcome at this family celebration. We talked about having a classic video game contest, with some SNES Street Fighter II Turbo, but everyone was too tired to start it tonight. Tomorrow is another day though, and among the myriad of plans, the Taylor brothers will learn the bitter taste of vicious gaming defeat. Game over man.