Friday, June 1, 2007
Into West Virginia & the Long Drag
I left the Valley Pike, and took the Old Charles Town Road toward Summit Point and Charles Town. I had misjudged the distance, thinking it was 10 miles, when in fact it was about 14. I stopped for the night outside Charles Town. A cool clear evening. Up early, I continued through Charles Town towards Harper's Ferry. I reached Halltown around 11:00 am. Then continued on to Bolivar Heights. Returning to Halltown, I looked for a place to spend the night. The Old Colored Sunday School looked inviting. It is a pleasant stone structure, built around a century ago. After finding the name of the owner (Lucky), I spoke to him about my staying on the grounds. Lucky's grandfather had built the church. He generously agreed that I could sleep on the grounds. I slept, with the long walk of May 31st hanging over me.
I got up very early (4:40 am), and was no the road by 5:00 am. After a brief chat with three officers of Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, I was able to put Charles Town behind me before 7:00 am. At the White House Tavern, I met the current owner, Mr. Mason, a retired oceanographer, whose family comes from Connecticut. I crossed over into Virginia around noon, made the Valley Pike around 2:00 pm, and Winchester around 4:30. Thus I made better time than the Stonewall Brigade.
In Winchester, I saw Ed Ferrell, of the Winchester Star, and Rainer Swafford, this time with his son, Rory. Rory is considering attending VMI. The Swaffords were kind enough to meet me with a bottle of cool water. I finished the walk around 6:00 pm having made 30 miles. I felt surprisingly good, however.
Today, I continue south along the Valley Pike to near Tom's Brook.
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