return to harper's ferry

Last weekend Ross and I took a Memorial Day hike to Maryland Heights, a short-ish (but demanding) hike that climbs to some cliffs overlooking the über historical town of Harper's Ferry. 

This was not our first trip to Harper's Ferry. Last year we went camping nearby over the Fourth of July weekend and completely fell in love with the town. Not only does it satisfy my nerdiest impulses, but it also happens to be in a breathtakingly beautiful location and not too far (about an hour) from our house. Maryland/West Virginia for the win! 

Before we visited the town, though, we hiked to the top of the cliffs, where we took in the view and made tiny, tiny little rock pylons. Here's mine:

And here's Ross'. His is taller, but mine is better lit.

Ross and Haylie and history:

To get from where we parked across the river to the town we walked for a while along the Appalachian Trail. I'm one of those people who's always secretly wanted to do the whole six month trip, so just walking on the trail for a few minutes was thrilling.

Although Harper's Ferry was much quieter than the last time we were there, we still got to see some reenactors. Love.

As is de rigeur for a trip to Harper's Ferry, I learned something! This time I learned (as will you, if you read the below sign) that Meriwether Lewis stopped in Harper's Ferry to gather supplies for his trip. It was cool to feel like there was a direct relationship between Portland and our new part of the world.

The hike Ross and I took is partially constructed based on old civil war roads. We thought a lot about the people (both Union and Confederate soldiers... Harper's Ferry changed hands a million times) who had taken these roads, and did some old fashioned pretending. I was Captain Pritchett, and Ross was Lieutenant Douglas. We were Union soldiers, for the record, although I have lots of Confederate heritage.

Until next time, Harper's Ferry.