Chapter 12, Harpers Ferry West Virginia, Shenandoah National Park & The Tick Infestation
- traci wilson
- May 24, 2025
- 7 min read
We stayed at the Civil War Battlefields KOA in Harpers Ferry West Virginia. We chose this location due to its proximity to Shenandoah NP but learned that Harpers Ferry was its own attraction with a rich history and amazing proximity to the famed Appalachian Trail (A.T.).
The KOA actually sits on a historic site with a sign outside that states:
First Major Action
On Sept. 13, 1862, Stonewall Jackson’s forces approaching from the west were shelled by 2 union artillery guns under Col. Miles from this position. On Sept. 14, Gen. A.P. Hill outflanked these union troops while Jackson swept past this location Col. Wiles surrendered over 11,0000 men and valuable military stores. Sept. 15 he was killed by a stray shot.
This KOA was quite pricy for what we got (over $100/night), even charging a $3 per dog per day pet fee which is the first time we’ve encountered such a charge. What is that for anyway? The dogs stay in our RV with us! Doesn’t make sense to me. They do have some fun sounding things going on here such as a movie theater, take-out pizza, a coffee bar/ wine shop and a game room, but these are only available Friday-Sunday. Otherwise, it was just a big open gravel lot to park your RV on with a small strip of grass that badly needed mowing (this would prove significant later). Dave was also annoyed because the sewer hookup was much higher than the hose making it difficult to dump the waste. We generally like the KOAs we’ve stayed at, and this was the first time on the trip that we’ve had negative feelings towards one.
We had a short travel day coming in so after we got settled we decided to go check out Harpers Ferry and do a little hike on the A.T., as a section of the trail goes right through the town. We learned that Harpers Ferry is a National Historic site due to the major role it played in the civil war. This is the spot that the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge, making it a strategic location and transportation hub in its heyday. It’s also the site of a critical arms factory for the U.S. armory and the spot where abolitionist John Brown raided the arsenal attempting to ignite a slave insurrection. It was a super cute, quaint little town that we would have liked to spend more time in, but time didn’t allow for that (a reoccurring theme as it turns out). It’s also very old (as most of the places we’re encountering in this part of the country are), settled in 1733.
The hike itself was a two-and-a-half-mile stretch, green, lush, and rocky with quite a bit of climbing on a narrow, rugged trail. We were surprised, in fact, by how difficult this little section of the A.T. was considering its proximation to the Harpers Ferry community, and wondered if it’s indicative of the famed trail in general. This particular section is considered the “psychological halfway point” on the trail, which we thought was kind of cool.
Our route took us past “Jefferson’s Rock” perched high above the valley bellow, offering the perfect vantage point of the convergence of the two large rivers. In 1783 Thomas Jefferson sat atop this rock and contemplated the beauty of the place. After Jefferson Rock, the trail descended into the township, going past an old cemetery, a church and some very old houses, right through the heart of Harpers Ferry! There were historical markers along the route telling about the area’s fascinating past.
We only had one full day at this location and planned to visit Shenandoah National Park. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative, and we didn’t have any wiggle room since we were scheduled to leave the following morning. So on our one day in Shenandoah it was rainy, cool, and foggy. Despite this we were determined to one, have a good time, and two, go for a hike.
We asked the ranger at the visitors center what she would recommend considering the weather that day and she suggested a loop hike right near the visitors center that would take us by an old cemetery used by the homesteaders of the past who called this place their home, and by an old homestead farm, long since abandoned. Due to the fog we couldn’t see any of the vistas of the Shenandoah Valley, so this hike seemed to be a good choice as it went through mostly viewless forest.
We really enjoyed it despite the rain, which had thankfully slowed to a drizzle by the time we got to the trail, and the fog which gave it an almost otherworldly magical feel. It was lush and green with a little creek meandering through the forest, and lots of wildflowers—the rare American cancer root, and lesser yellow lady slippers were standouts. Also, lots of wild mushrooms, some absolutely covering downed rotting old trees.
At one point the vegetation created a tunnel effect that was so enchanting. We enjoyed walking through the old cemetery and reading the names and dates on the century old gravestones. We walked past the ruins of an old granary, and really found the ruins of the old Snead farm interesting. The house was gone with only the foundation remaining, but the barn was still there, fully intact. We wandered all around the place, imagining what it was like when the homesteaders lived and worked there. The hike was 5.25 miles long and so enjoyable. We were glad we weren’t put off by the forecast, even making tentative plans to return to the area in a few years when hopefully we would have clear skies and more time to explore as we’ve heard there are some breathtaking views of the Shenandoah Valley from the drive through the park.
On the way home, however, things took a turn for the worst when Dave found he had a tick burrowing into his ankle! We got back to the trailer and left the dogs in the truck while we ran in the trailer, and I pulled the tick off Dave with my tweezers. We stripped and checked ourselves thoroughly for other ticks. I found one scurrying up the inside of my thigh! I was so grossed out! We quickly changed clothes, threw everything in the wash, and went about the rather monumental task of checking each of the three dogs. This took a long time and was not easy considering Zoe is mostly black with long wavy hair and Kenai is mostly brown.
We found one tick on Zoe, crawling through the white fur on her chest, none on Kenai, and Maggie, well…she was a tick magnet! We pulled at least a half dozen out of her curly coat. Yuck!! I vacuumed the whole trailer, and threw their towels from the truck and Maggie's blanket in the wash. We thought we got them all and tried to relax. Unfortunately, it wasn’t over yet…
Dave found another tick on Maggie’s face while we were watching TV that evening. My skin was crawling just thinking about it all and by the time we went to bed I was so anxious I couldn’t sleep. I kept feeling like things were crawling all over me! I lay there tossing and turning with visions of ticks in my mind every time I closed my eyes. About 12:30 A.M. I felt something on the back of my neck at my hairline. I reached up, and feeling something hard, pinched it between my fingers and ran to the bathroom. My worst nightmare was realized when, to my horror, I saw it was a huge tick!
By this time I was so freaked out I couldn’t go back to bed. Dave had to talk me back off the cliff edge by suggesting I check the whole bed inch by inch. Of course, we checked each other…again. We didn’t find anything else so reluctantly, I agreed to go back to bed and tried to get some sleep with the help of a sleep aid. Needless to say, I slept very little. The next day I spent doing lots of research about ticks. And cleaning the whole trailer again. I was paranoid to take the dogs anywhere near long grass, which made it challenging since we had long grass right next to our trailer that the park hadn’t yet mowed. And $100 per night to boot! Curse them!
The dogs are treated for ticks, so Lyme disease isn’t an issue with them, but the problem is that it only works after the ticks bite the dogs. They can still carry them inside, which is how I think I ended up with a tick in bed with me. I think it hitchhiked in on Kenai and we just didn’t find it in his brown fur.
I found a product called a ‘tick mitt’ on the internet. We’re going to try and find one to add an extra layer of protection. It supposedly works by rubbing it over the dogs fur and the ticks are supposed to stick to it. Then you put it in this special bag and throw it in the dryer for ten minutes. You shake the dead ticks out and you’re good to go. We’ll see if we can find one and if it works. In the meantime, we’re going to use bug spray religiously before going to questionable areas and not take the dogs near any long grass or other places that might harbor the nasty little creatures! Unfortunately, where we’re headed next is the second worst state in the U.S. for ticks, Pennsylvania. We’re planning on spending about a week there all told. We’re also planning to spend a good amount of time in New York State, the number one state for ticks in the U.S. Wish us luck!
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