Harper's Ferry - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Is this a good place to resupply by store or by drop?

Dawg

#2

if you are gonna resupply here, send a maildrop to the ATC office which is open 7 days a week not the PO. There is virtually no place to resupply here not kidding. A 711 is a couple miles down the road, which has shotty resupply. Some people hitch to Charlestown where a big supermarket is, but i’d say this is one of the only spots you want a drop for sure.
I carried 5 days of food from here to Boiling Springs

A-Train

#3

Drop it is then. Thanks. Dawg.

Dawg

#4

We easily got a ride over to Charlestown to the “big store”. I still had a drop, but again, my drops weren’t for food. Seeing as how this is considered the halfway point this is where my drop had a new toothbrush (yes I bought this kind of stuff ahead of time), a new camera battery (very good thing to do, if you’re using the type that has one of those fat little batteries that might be hard to find). The ATC is a better spot, although for some reason I never had the Saturday problem with the POs - just the way my hike worked out. I walked into Harper’s Ferry on a rainy Friday night. What a milestone walking across the Shenandoah River.

Bluebearee

#5

HF is a great place to meet your loved one for a few zeros. There are some great motels, restaurants out by the interstate…even some gear. The town’s got some great history for those not into hiking and you can hang out at the AT center too. Great idea to have your mail drop there.

Skeemer

#6

You have some options in H.F., but as other folks have mentioned, they aren’t that extensive:

  1. Bear’s Den Hostel, before you get to town, has limited resupply.

  2. The Outfitter in Harper’s Ferry has some food/snacks as well; you should stop in here anyway as it’s one of the 2 or 3 most thru-hiker friendly outfitters on the Trail.

  3. The AYH Hostel at Sandy Hook, just north of Town, is near a market.

  4. There’s a 7-11 convenience store in town, but it’s a bit of a walk.

  5. There is bus service to nearby Charles Town, where there are restaurants, enormous supermarkets, etc. Ask at ATC office for bus service details. Hitching to Charles Town is ill-advised, as it’s illegal and involves a VERY busy highway.

  6. There MAY, repeat may be a new hostel in town next summer that may provide shuttle service to Charles Town. This is up in the air at the moment and will not be certain til spring.

  7. A maildrop, preferably sent to the ATC office (since it’s open 7 days a week in the summer as opposed to the Post Office) is still a very sensible option.

Jack Tarlin

#7

About 4 miles northwest out of town is an area with a stripmall. Theres a FoodLion there. Also acorss the river on the Virginia side,theres a small store that has some stuff.

Virginian

#8

dawg,
harper’s ferry is a good place to get a maildrop. other towns that i went to and felt had limited resupply were:
-fontana dam, unless you stay at the hike inn. in 2003, jeff and nancy were still running it and taking hikers to a nearby town.
-hot springs
-damascus
-atkins/bland
-catawba
-glasgow
-boiling springs
-port clinton
-delaware water gap
-north woodstock
-andover
-caratunk
-monson
to qualify this a little, i was pretty picky about what i wanted to eat. if you feel like you can just pick whatever off the shelf, then there are some little convenience stores and whatnot in the majority of these towns.

zero