TTEC Training

DONNA EVANS 
Homeschoolers, Sterling, VA

2015 TTEC Cohort

During the TTEC summer workshop in Shepherdstown, WV, we took a side trip to Harpers Ferry, the current mid-point of the Appalachian Trail.  Although we approached the AT from the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy), passing the Stephen P. Mather Training Center and walking down some steep steps to touch the trail, we did not actually go walking on it.  This Blog post is to encourage you to come back and take that short trail down into historic Harpers Ferry  and also to share with you a few sights through photos of what you would see if you hiked this short little section of the AT.

I got so excited after the first TTEC training that my family and I explored the AT trail in Harpers Ferry in order to learn more and that is how I can share this with you. 

PLANT LIFE: After you walk down the steep stairs onto the trail – just outside and not far from the Mather Building – you’ll see mullein, garlic mustard, hackberry, maple and tulip poplar trees, to name a few of the plants there.

A SHACK: You’ll see an old abandoned building that looks like a shack.  Can anyone from the area tell me what it is?

A SIGN: You’ll see a sign that points to the Appalachian Training Conference, which presented a learning point for me that the ATC used to be called by that name but in 2005, the C in ATC was changed from Conference to Conservancy. 

A ROCK WITH A VIEW: You’ll See Jefferson Rock.  Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Notes on the State of Virginia that the scene from Jefferson Rock was “worth a voyage across the Atlantic.”  Right from the Jefferson’s Rock monument which is right on the Appalachian Trail, you see a view of the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.  It is pretty – an amazing part of the AT.

A TRAIN: Amtrak goes through the local Harpers Ferry Train Station as well as the MARC commuter train that services Washington DC And Baltimore, MD. You can see the train coming over a bridge and pulling in to an historic building train station built in the late 1800s.

LOCATION OF JOHN BROWN’S RAID: You will see a building in downtown historic Harpers Ferry showing the place where abolitionist John Brown tried to start an armed slave revolt in 1859.  He attempted to seize the arsenal at Harpers Ferry but was defeated by US Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee.

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN HARPERS FERRY:  You could wander through the historic part of Harpers Ferry.  There are historic buildings and museums on the main street and a cool gift shop/bookstore featuring lots of titles about the Civil War.

COOL APPALACHIAN TRAIL SIGNS:  There is a sign showing how Harpers Ferry is the mid-point of the Appalachian Trail, with 1165 miles left to Maine and 1013 miles to Georgia and signs to send you on your way in either direction.

So, I hope you enjoy these few pictures and narratives and that you will have the opportunity to enjoy this part of the trail.  Happy trails to you!