After the CASA ride in Shepherdstown, my friend and I drove the ten miles to Harpers Ferry to visit the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The ATC headquarters is located on the edge of the historic district in the town, next to the buildings of Storer College. We parked at a church a block from the headquarters and followed the backpackers.
The ATC consists of a store, a scale model of the trail, some displays about notable hikers and the history of the trail, and a hiker’s lounge with a bathroom, shower, couches, microwave, and a hiker’s box. In addition there’s a bulletin board outside the building for messages. The displays were interesting, although not as extensive as those at the AT Museum in Pine Grove Furnace. I searched for a panel on Mark Sanford, perhaps the only politician ever to use hiking the AT as a cover story for cheating on his wife, but he was missing. Oh well, perhaps next year.
