It was a great vacation: a couple of days in Chicago, four days backpacking on the Appalachian trail, and three days exploring Harpers Ferry, W. Va., one of my favorite places.

Through the years, I have hiked all of the 2,200-mile trail, which follows the mountains from Georgia to Maine. But the 42-mile Maryland section is one of my favorites. It’s beautiful, it’s unusually historic, and it’s easy to get to, thanks to the Amtrak station in Harpers Ferry, right across the Potomac River.

This year’s hike was especially memorable because my hiking buddy was an old friend. Cliff Kinney and I met when we were first-graders in Mrs. Guess’ class at old Edison School in Westville, 50 years ago.

For years, we lived on the same street, had the same friends, and belonged to the same Scout troop. He lives in Pennsylvania now, and accepted my invitation to join me for a mountain hike.

For three days, we relived the old days and shared our love of the outdoors. We talked about hiking, camping, our families, our siblings, and a lot of Westville trivia.

We crept up rock-strewn mountainsides, drank spring water, sat beside campfires, and enjoyed a great, top-of-the-world view from a place called Annapolis Rock. He packed a tent; I packed a hammock.

Maryland presents relatively easy hiking, with an elevation change of only 1,650 feet. Still, with a full pack, it can be a workout. The weather and autumn leaves were delightful.

After Cliff headed home, I hiked the last 17 miles into Harpers Ferry by myself. The last night out, my campsite was overrun with stink bugs. They were in my boots, in my pack, even in my water bag.

In Harpers Ferry, I stayed in a little hostel called The Town’s Inn, which is housed in an 1840s stone dwelling on High Street. The “Friendship Room” offered a clean bunk, kitchenette, shower and restroom for $30 a night. I spent hours talking to other hikers from Taiwan, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Harpers Ferry is a national park. Scores of restored antebellum buildings line the narrow streets, many of them housing museums that tell the story of the town during the Civil War, of John Brown’s 1859 raid on the federal arsenal, of slaves, natural history and the like.

I visited them all, bought a couple of books, ate in little restaurants, and spent hours admiring the stupendous scenery.

Harpers Ferry was strategically important, years ago. It stands at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, at the point where the Potomac breaks through the Blue Ridge Mountains and proceeds east to the sea.

The rock-strewn rivers are exceedingly swift, and provided the power needed to run the mills and federal rifle works that made Harpers Ferry famous.

It’s always a thrill to sit at “The Point,” where the Shenandoah melts into the Potomac, and to try to imagine all the stirring events that happened, right there.

George Washington knew that spot. So did Meriwether Lewis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, George Armstrong Custer, Phil Sheridan, Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. DuBois.

Thomas Jefferson said Harpers Ferry presented a view worth a voyage across the Atlantic. I agree.

Danville native Kevin Cullen is a former Commercial-News reporter. Reach him at irishhiker@aol.com.