These two bridges both carry railroad traffic across the Potomac between Maryland and Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. The closer one, with the strut supports, also includes a pedestrian bridge, on which the Appalachian Trail crosses the river. On the Maryland side, the pedestrian walkway is high up in the air, and hikers ascend/descend a spiral staircase. I find the height a little intimidating, but the stairs work and don't shake too much. As a matter of history, the small islands just this side of the bridges are the remains of caissons for a third bridge that once stood there but washed away in one of the many floods that have bedeviled Harper's Ferry over the years. Incidentally, this picture was taken from high up on Loudoun Heights in Virginia, which enjoys a beautiful panoramic view of Harper's Ferry, the Shenandoah River, the Potomac River, and the surrounding hills.

If you are doing the Maryland Challenge (hiking the entire length of the AT in Maryland in one day), remember that you are not finished until you cross the Potomac River, which resides in Maryland. Hikers cross the Potomac on this pedestrian bridge which shares the bridge with the railroad. This image provides a great view of the Maryland Heights rock outcropping. In 1906 the Mennan company painted an advertisement for their "Borated Toilet Powder," on the side of this rock outcropping, in order to market it to passengers on the trains. You can faintly make out in this picture the corporate graffiti marring the hillside.