I wasn’t kidding when I said we are hooked on backpacking! This weekend, we did 17.5 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT) backpacking to Harpers Ferry from Reno Monument Road. We’d hoped to start from the I-70 AT trailhead but we didn’t have enough daylight to do the extra 6 miles.
My sister, Hanna, joined us for her first backpacking adventure. We left late because we decided to wait for an Amazon delivery containing a hammock, tarp, and two more squeeze bags for our water filter. (Check out this backpacking packing list).
Day 1 | Reno Monument Road to Rocky Run Shelter
Backpacking to Harpers Ferry isn’t a loop so we took two cars to park one at each end of our hike. We arrived in Harpers Ferry around 6:30 and we ended up parking at the Cavalier Heights Visitor Center. Signs were stating we needed to pay and that you could only park overnight with a permit but we couldn’t find anyone to pay. We gave up and left at 7, without paying, to drive the 30 minutes up to Reno Monument Road. There was only an hour left until sunset when we started the mile hike for Rocky Run Shelter.
All the spots at the top of the hill were full so we went down towards the spring and set up in the clearing. After arranging our sleeping areas, we started on our dinner. It was quiet down by the spring until a group of boy scouts set up nearby. Because of our late start, it was 10:30 before we finished cleaning up and were ready for bed. I didn’t sleep well but it was a huge improvement on tent backpacking the weekend before.
Day 2 | Rocky Run Shelter to Ed Garvey Shelter
I woke up at 6:30 am and spent the next hour eavesdropping on boy scout conversations. At 7:30, I made the family “coo-ee” call to my sister. I didn’t think she’d heard me but a few minutes later she crept up next to me and whispered, “Did you coo-ee me?” Haha.
Once we were finally up, we filtered water from the spring next to our camp, ate oatmeal, and packed up. We were the very last ones to walk out of camp at 10:30 am.
The next section of the trail was straight uphill. The 750 ft climb felt like walking up a ladder and it was already very humid. White Rock overlook was 2 miles into the hike and we stopped for a quick snack/rehydration break with a view. There were a number of people we passed who were on longer backpacking trips because there was a strong-smelling cloud.
Heading into Gathland State Park was a fairly steep decline and it was killer on my knees. Just before we reached the clearing, a loud explosion went off that made me panic and almost jump off the trail. My knees were definitely shaking now. The explosion was a cannon firing demonstration near the pavilion where we had lunch. Gathland State Park has some interesting Civil War history and there are signs you can read about as you pass through Crampton Gap. This was the halfway point to the shelter we were staying at. There were 2 large backpacking groups stopped as well so we ate quickly and continued on to make sure we’d have a spot to camp.
Over the next couple of hours, we shared stories about family hikes we’d done in the past, stories of silly things we did as kids, and just enjoyed hiking together. At this point, the trail was mostly even terrain along the ridgeline and followed next to a large rock wall. The rocky wall would be fun to explore on a future day hike.
We arrived at the Ed Garvey shelter at 3:15 pm completing the 9.2-mile hike in 4 hours and 45 minutes including breaks. We set up in a spot where there was a large log for us to sit on and the first thing I did was take off my shoes. I had a blister forming on my left pinky toe that was feeling pretty miserable. It was a relief to rest in the hammock once we’d set up. There were so many bugs in this camp so I was glad to have a bug net.
The spring at the Ed Garvey shelter is a half-mile hike straight down the side of the mountain. You only want to make this trip once so we filtered water for all our bottles and filled the two 64 oz filtering bags as well. It took an hour between hiking and filtering all our water.
Dinner was a bowl of steaming hot Spanish rice. After we hung the bear bag, Hanna wanted to go and watch the sunset from Weverton Cliffs. I love sunsets but 4 miles round trip was going to be too much for the growing blister on my toe. I missed out big time, but what can you do?
Day 3 | Ed Garvey Shelter to Harpers Ferry, WV
Sunday was going to have temperatures into the 90s so we skipped breakfast and just had a few snacks instead. We packed up quickly but we were the last ones out of camp again. We spent over an hour at Weverton Cliffs soaking in the views of the river and the surrounding scenery.
I think we lingered a little extra knowing we had a steep hike down to the C&O canal below.
Coming down to the canal from Weverton Cliffs is a steep switchback trail. From here it’s a 4-mile walk along the C&O towpath to Harpers Ferry. We walked down to the Potomac River at one point to feel the water. It was tempting but we were hot and tired so we looked at all the water tubing people with envy.
I thought that this flat section would be the easiest part but I was so wrong. The hard, flat surface puts more pressure on your feet and even with pretty scenery, the hiking is dull in comparison to being in the woods. We crossed the bridge into Harpers Ferry after 1 pm desperate for something nice and cold.
I got some black raspberry and cotton candy ice cream was just what I needed. This last section of backpacking to Harpers Ferry was 6.5-miles and we took a free shuttle the last two miles to the visitor’s center. Harpers Ferry National Park is a beautiful area that would be great to explore another time on non-tired feet.
As we were driving next to the mountains on the way back to my car, we were like… we just hiked all of this! We drove by South Mountain Creamery on the way to I-70 and we couldn’t resist. Some grasshopper mint and lemon meringue ice cream hit the spot.
Backpacking to Harpers Ferry this weekend was so much fun. We came back exhausted but happy from a great weekend in the woods together.
Want to try backpacking but don’t know where to start? Start with my Beginner Backpacker’s Packing List!
Check out some of our Backpacking Trips:
- Backpacking to Annapolis Rock on the Appalachian Trail – Our First Time Backpacking
- Backpacking through Washington Monument State Park in the Fall on the Appalachian Trail
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