West Virginia

Trail Miles: 2.4 (another 20 or so follows the Virginia-West Virginia border)
Highest Point: Peter's Mountain, 3,484 feet

The section of trail in West Virginia is by far the shortest of any state, but it is still very important.  The headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (formerly known as the Appalachian Trail Conference) is located in Harper's Ferry.  It is seen as the symbolic halfway point of the AT, although the actual halfway point is up the trail up the trail in Pennsylvania.  Thru-hikers are encouraged to stop here and have Polaroid photos taken to document their reaching the "halfway" point.

Another important landmark on the trail in West Virginia is Jefferson Rock.

Jefferson Rock.  By Pubdog (talk).Pubdog at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Thomas Jefferson stood on this rock on October 25,1783 and looked down over Harper's Ferry and the Potomac River Watergap below.  He reportedly claimed, "This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."  Thru-hikers who pass through here 230 years later can now behold a scene that is worth a hike of almost a thousand miles.