Damascus or bust 4/22 We were all up early today because Damascus was only 18-1/2 miles away and the trail was looking level. Yahoo. After the standard breakfast I hit the road by 8:30. It was a good footpath, a very low rock factor. My three shelter mates from the previous night passed me as I was taking a break at the road, 421. We all headed out pretty much together but the differences in our walking rates quickly separated us. ‘Bee’ and I stayed together for a while and as we were heading up a small rise we passed a guy headed south with a shotgun slung over his shoulder. Now that’s a scary sight since guns are supposedly not permitted on the trail. He just kept on a going and we did likewise. Stopped for a bit to check out the “Holiday Inn” shelter that was just past McQueen’s Knob. It was an old fire warden’s cabin that had been renovated as an emergency shelter. My guess was that it could hold maybe 3 people, but only if they took off their legs first. From there it was an easy walk on over to Abington Gap shelter. I passed a gentleman and his 10-month-old daughter out in the woods gathering Ramps. Actually he was doing the gathering and she was just hanging out in her carrier. He’d thru-hiked in 89 after having an artificial hip installed in 79. He had a very definite limp to his walk. I took a fairly long break at the shelter partially because it was about .4 down to the water source and I do mean down. There were times when I thought I would have been better off to have just hiked on into Damascus. About 3:00 and with much fanfare I finally crossed the official Tennessee/Virginia state line and it was interesting to note how the condition of the footpath appeared to improve substantially. I’m sure it was just an illusion but it really did look better to me. The last bit down into Damascus was a bit steep and coming at the end of a long and somewhat warmish day made it a bit more difficult. I wandered into town and was immediately disoriented by the choice of roads to take. I stopped at the restrooms where the old train engine is and filled up my belly with water. I called Wendy to let her know I’d made it to town before heading into the huge metropolis. ‘Half Moon’ met me just in front of Quincy’s and guided me on over to “The Place”. After a quick look inside it was very apparent that outside was much better even though there were a dozen tents already set up. ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Gravy’, ‘Wraparound’ and ‘Peanut Butter’, were outside. As I rest a bit after taking a shower the “Ramp Guy” pulls up with ‘Mo’s’ pack in his truck. Seems they’d met at the last road crossing and she’d talked him into slacking her on into Damascus. She truly had the gift of yogi. After chatting a bit I went over to the Dairy King for a double cheeseburger, fries, and something I’d been thinking about for days, a strawberry shake. Left there and immediately went on over to Quincy’s for ... pizza. full moon and sundog
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 02:51:15 +0000
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