Hi Friends,

It is now October 1, 2007. We have just taken our second hike of this vacation. This hike is in section one of Virginia - West Virginia. On this part of the Appalachian Trail the trail is really the border between Virginia and West Virginia.

This section of the trail starts in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. This park has an old town that was fixed up to be like it was in 1862. This old town is important because the Civil War started here when a man named John Brown tried to free some slaves.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has their main office in Harpers Ferry. This is where all of the information about the trail and the hikers is kept. Before we started our hike we visited the headquarters building. This is a picture of me with people who work and volunteer at the headquarters.

A little bit later on the trail we came to Jefferson Rock. There is a great view from here. President Jefferson came here and said it was one of the best views he had ever seen.

The AT goes across a long bridge. This passes over the Shenandoah River. This was a little scary with all the cars going by so fast.

The trail crossed the road under the bridge. Here I am looking at the river from under the bridge. 

The AT is marked with white blaze trail markers.

Once in a while you find markers that are a different color. This orange blaze marker tells hikers about a different trail. This trail leads to the Loudoun Heights trail that will take a hiker up to Maryland. 

This is a picture of poison ivy. If you touch this kind of vine you will get blisters and really itch. What you should remember is, 'Leaves of three, let us be'.

You can tell if it's poison ivy because it always has groups of three leaves.

Hiking the AT can be very hard at times. It is good to take rests every once in a while. Here I am resting on a log and looking at the pretty sights.

When  hiking on the AT you can often find openings where there are power lines. This is how electric companies get electricity from one side of the mountain to the other side of the mountain. Here I am looking at the valley where there is a power line opening. This was near the end of our hike.

That is all I have to report on for this hike. I am really tired because this hike covered more than six and a half miles. My feet are really tired.

I'm still looking for you on the AT. Don't forget to send me your AT picture. My email address is stanley @ rohland.org. I just need to know your first name and where you hiked. I will put it on the Kids on the Appalachian Trail page.

I would like to hear about your AT adventures too. Send your story and picture to me and I will put them on my website. Don't forget to take me with you. You can get a picture of me to take along. Just go to http://www.flatstanley.com/template.htm.