View Full Version : Water between Harpers Ferry and Ed Garvey
ehmenten
05-14-2007, 19:05
Can anyone tell me about the water sources between Harpers Ferry and Ed Garvey shelter?
RockStar
05-14-2007, 19:29
Yeah I was told do NOT drink the water until you get to Ed Garvey. I was also told the water source was a long ways from the shelter. Boy is it. Several switchbacks to the source. Says .4 of a mile tot he source and seems like more! For a fatty like myself anyway! ;) Personally I would go to Gathland State park or bring lots of water with me to stay at the shelter. I'm Lazy though. If you decide to go to the source at Ed Garvey...the water comes out of a pipe. So getting it isn't as much a pain as getting TO IT.
chuckbuster
05-14-2007, 19:37
The only source between HF and Ed Garvey is the Potomac River and you don't want to drink that filtered or otherwise. You should be able to carry plenty of H2O from HF as its only 6.4 miles and only another 3.6 to Gathland SP. Don't forget to check out the views at Weverton Cliffs! The spring is as Rockstar mentions, a bit down hill!
Enjoy!
totally Boagus
05-14-2007, 19:41
If you choose to hike on to Crampton Gap Shelter (4.1) passed E.G.S. the water is very easy to get to. Also you you pass Gathland S.P. at about 3.7 from Ed Garvey and they have water and soda machine as well. The hiking is very easy on this part of the trail and the miles just fly by.
T.b.
ehmenten
05-14-2007, 19:47
Thanks. That's what I thought but I wanted confirmation. I will just carry it in. It's a short hike.
RockStar
05-14-2007, 20:05
If you choose to hike on to Crampton Gap Shelter (4.1) passed E.G.S. the water is very easy to get to. Also you you pass Gathland S.P. at about 3.7 from Ed Garvey and they have water and soda machine as well. The hiking is very easy on this part of the trail and the miles just fly by.
T.b.
Man those soda machines were SO beautiful! One had a HUGE orange with drops of water rolling off the shiny skin in all directions...right in the middle was a sign that said "Machines not in use during off season" I think I cried a little. :p It just isn't right leaving a picture like that up! I was thinking "Off season? We are people and here therfore it is ON season!" hehe Then I shut up sat on the bench and ate my jerky and Tuna lunch. :o Staring at the big orange.
If you hike to the shelter at Crampton Gap, get water at Gathland SP and carry it in. The spring there has been dry before.
Beware the porta potties at Gathland Park. The bushes are preferable.
RockStar
05-15-2007, 07:41
Beware the porta potties at Gathland Park. The bushes are preferable.
I second that!
ShakeyLeggs
05-15-2007, 07:53
Beware the porta potties at Gathland Park. The bushes are preferable.
When I was there on the 9th they removed them and opend the restrooms.
If you choose to hike on to Crampton Gap Shelter (4.1) passed E.G.S. the water is very easy to get to. Also you you pass Gathland S.P. at about 3.7 from Ed Garvey and they have water and soda machine as well. The hiking is very easy on this part of the trail and the miles just fly by.
When I did the MD section in June last year the bathrooms at Gathland were locked and the soda machines were not working. I can't remember if there was a pump or some source other source of water there.......
RockStar
05-16-2007, 08:45
There is a blue pump. I am from Alabamy so I had no CLUE what the hell it was until another hiker came up and showed me! lol
You can get water at the Harpers Ferry Hostel.
To get there on foot from Harpers Ferry, walk across the Potomac River footbridge. Then turn right and walk for two miles along the C&O Canal/Appalachian Trails (these two trails are one and the same thing for that segment). You will come to the big Route 340 highway bridge overhead, and at that point you can either turn left across the train tracks (Careful! You cross at your own risk.) and then right up the road to the hostel, or you can stay on the C&O/Appalachian Trails for another quarter mile until you come to a trail to the hostel on your left, marked by big blue dots painted on the trees. This blue-blazed trail is convenient for accessing the hostel, but it is steep at some points and crosses frequently used railroad tracks, so you take this route at your own risk. Please exercise caution and common sense. Whichever way you go, the distance from the C&O/Appalachian Trails to the hostel is a quarter mile.