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4/24/01, day 41. Lazy Fox Inn in Damascus, VA. 0m Well first, about yesterday: I started hiking with T and W, and the three of us got to our lunch shelter way before we expected, averaging a little over 3 mph, which at least for me rivals the speed of light itself, so we get it in our little heads to hike all the fucking way to Damascus. Why? I really don't know. So fro then on the day was filled with numbers: 3.5m to the next POI at 3 mph leaving at 12:43 gets me there at 1:53, etc., etc. When you're doing a long day, you gotta think about not much else besides daylight. It's certainly a different sort of hike than I'm used to, but it was fun in the end. I'm lucky there was no water the last 10m, else I would have sissied out and camped. At the VA/TN border I found a nice note from T and W and got a second wind. Damascus is another real trail town, with the AT going straight through the main drag. I sauntered in, thoroughly exhausted, at about 8. The Trail happens to go right in front of Quincy's pizza, where we agreed to meet, so I stopped there and had a large mushroom and onion with extra cheese while the 3 of us congratulated each other. Then it was off to "The Place," a unique hostel where hikers take over this random building and leave a few bucks in a strongbox. Then it was off to the bar to meet people. We saw Robyn on the way, which was damn cool. I stayed about four seconds at the bar and headed back for a little nice conversation with Captain Giardia, Leslie, et. al. I tried to get to sleep after that, but it was too freakin' hot and there were too many rowdy drunks, so really I only got a couple hours decent sleep. Today was a zero day, just prancing about this beautiful town and getting business done. I got my pack (hopefully) better adjusted for a person of my height, sent some winter shit home, transcribed my journal for the web, did laundry, shopped for food and fuel, etc. T's mom, being wonderful, offered to pay for a room at a B&B tonight, so we're at this beautiful place for the night. T's saying she doesn't ever want to leave, and W is currently on the receiving end of a lengthy massage, so perhaps I'll be departing alone tomorrow. Also of note: Bob has rejoined the WOE for a little bit, which is great, as Bob has a smile to brighten the darkest day. It's time to sleep, but since I haven't done anything today, I'm not that tired... 4/25/01, day 42. ~16m Today was a day. I ate a huge breakfast then walked with heavy shit on my back. I scored this boss campsite by a pond and put up my tent, but T and W told me to move on with them. I do what they say. I bet W that I could break camp before he finished his bagel. I ripped my tent off the ground, shoved it in my pack, and ran away, almost killing myself in the process. W might tell you otherwise, but I kicked his ass. T and W think we should be an "official" group. :-) 4/26/01, day 43. 12.3m Today was the laziest of lazy days. It was just plain gorgeous today, with plenty of soft places to sit your butt down. So nothing much got done, and the three of us took our damn sweet time going essentially nowhere, which was pretty damn fine. I decided at some point to hit a restaurant from a road without traffic, but after awhile sticking my thumb at nothing I realized that I would have to push on. So here I am sitting around a campfire with T and W, Ken, Leslie, Patty, Bob, and Odaat, talking about how much we want fat. 4/27/01, day 44. 19m in 12.5h I'm writing the morning after once again. yesterday we started out on the most beautiful ridgewalk -- probably the best views on the Trail so far. We had a blast letting freakin' wild ponies lick our hands. Once again, the phrase "life is good" came up more than once. After that it was a casual day -- I took a good three hour nap -- then I sauntered into the shelter, where the register informed me that the pizza eating contest between Terri and T would take place at Partnership shelter, a good 25m away. So I hauled ass into the night to kill some miles. I stopped in the middle of the Trail by a puddle for some dinner, and kept walkin' until I found T, W, Patty, Bob, and Terri sittin' around a campfire with all the necessities for s'mores, which I made and shoved in my face. Then I tripped over some rocks in the dark until one of the rocks asked me not to step on it -- Skunky. So I laid down next to Odaat and zonked. It drizzled a little on my face, which was fairly good. Good. 4/28/01, day 45. 16.7m in 10h Today was a nice, lazy walk with the thought of pizza on everyone's mind to keep us going. When we finally got to this shelter -- another hilton -- we walked the 100ft or so to the riad and ordered some pizza. The eating contest commenced, T lost -- barely -- and walked around holding her belly and complaining that it was the stupidest thing she's ever done. Each one ate 1/2 canoli, 1/2 cheesecake, garlic bread, 10 slices of pizza, and part of an 11th. Cy, Zack, Adder, Odaat, Fester, W, and I had a good time cheering people on and doing the wave. it was a huge fun, and now I'm going to sleep talking nonsense with T and W. Life is good. 4/29/01, day 46. Village Motel in Atkins, VA. 11.7m in ~6h The AT today was just splendid. Damn, I love the AT. In one of the registers today I noted that a James Taylor song works well when applied to the Trail, "something in the way she moves." I had a great time moseying along. Sometimes I get a little upset with myself when I'm always the slowest hiker on the Trail, but today I was relishing it. It's wonderful when you can enjoy each step, smell each smell, etc. There's so much dirt and rock to walk over, yet every bit of the Trail is unique in some way. if you don't see that, it's got to drive you insane eventually. Anyway, it was good to see that Terri and T had recovered somewhat from the evening previous and were able to hike. it was a fairly short day to this motel on the interstate right on the AT. I'm squeezed in a room with Terri, Patty, and my hiking companions. I suppose T, W, and I are somewhat of a group now. I always thought that I would be hiking the entirety of the Trail pretty much alone, but these two really suit my style. They enjoy the trail as I do -- on our backs. I know that if they're less than an hour ahead I can count on finding them chilling out in some meadow or an overlook, in exactly the same spots that I want to plop down on. Some people on the Trail seem so focused on the miles, which certainly isn't my thing. Anyway, they're becoming fast friends and are really adding enjoyment to my hike. Of note, we all stopped at the "settler's museum" right on the Trail a coupla miles back. I'm in the hotel room alone right now -- where the Hell is everybody? 4/30/01, day 47. Camping 1m north of Knot Maul Shelter. Today was one of the best days I've had on the Trail. It's always great to get out of town and into the woods, of course, but today I was feeling introspective and really loving the Trail for some reason. i was just relishing every step and thinking about how special and unique my hike is. Some people are out here to hike and everybody (or at least every thru-hiker) hikes faster than me, seeming to have some sort of agenda to get to the shelter for the night. So it was a long and relaxing walk through VA farmland. I had most of the day to myself, just thinking about how wonderful my Trail life is. I was joined later by T and W (it's just so damn pleasant to see them) and we and a bunch of others sat on a bridge with some dog and soaked our feet. So I'm at a campsite now with Patti, Odaat, Adder, W, and T. Turtle gave me this luscious foot massage, simply because she kicks ass. I can feel my toes! My feet feel normal again, and simple "thank you's" don't do quite enough. :-) 5/1/01, day 48. Jenkins Shelter. 17.8m in 11.5h My feet feel like I've spent the day hauling heavy shit over rocks. I've been dealing with this foot pain for quite some time, and something's got to be done if I'm to say on the Trail. In a few days I'll be in Parisburg, where I'll purchase some insoles or new boots or somethin'. Pain sucks. Other than that, though, today was a splendid day. Lunch on Chestnut Knob provided some excellent views, and Adder provided some tortillas with mouse bites in them, of which I ate six (against T's stern warning). Once again, she was right, as 15 min later I started to get somewhat ill. However, as the bad tummy passed a beautiful, warm, gentle rain commenced, with the distant rumble of thunder. I took off my shirt and let the water run down my body. It was so pure; it gave me the energy to push on through to the shelter. Now I get to do one of my favorite things in the whole world: sit and listen to the raindrops. There's talk of dairy queen tomorrow! 5/2/01, day 49. ~16m in 10.5h Today I woke up in a shitty mood for no apparent reason at all. But the AT! Who can be sullen on the AT? So I hauled ass to the dairy queen, got a ride from this dude in this sad Winnebago been section hiking since the 80s. The guy's handicapped, has hernias, dealt with cancer -- the works, but he's committed to this bullshit Trail, just like the rest of us. Anyway, it was off to DQ, where my friends had just left after being there for two hours. So I tanked up and headed out with this guy. Back where I left off, the Trail follows a road for about 0.7m, and the guy insisted on driving me down the road. I told him that I really wanted to hike every bit of the AT on foot, but he just didn't quite get it. In the end he just took me back up the hill and dropped me off, and I walked all the way back down the hill, to where T and W were handing out by a creek. We hung for a large while, tanked up on ass-water (lord, it was bad!) and looked for a campsite. T went first, so we had to keep going until we found her. The dude passed up so many good sites. Anyway, we've plopped down on this site in the middle of nowhere, talking about nothing. I got this boss hammock from Zack, and W the eagle scout taught me how to tie some badass knots. So now we're out in our baegs in the near full moon making fun of T and talking about nothing. Life is indeed good. 5/3/01, day 50. Camping at Dismal Creek Falls. ~14.5m in 10h. Too often on the AT I stop and think -- "life can't get better than this." But then it does. Although it sucks to be proven wrong so often, it's great that the Trail provides such uniqueness every day. I started out the day with T and W, and hiked with them for about 7 seconds before I was smoked like a salmon. I haven't seen them since. They probably decided to do the 20m day that was discussed. It was a shame not seeing them -- they're a blast and a half -- but it is nice to find some solitude on this Trail. I took an easy day with several naps and still got to my campsite with plenty of daylight to spare. When I got here some weekenders were kind enough to show me where I could jump off a big rock into freezing cold water, which I promptly did. That done, Leslie, Newton, and the King took the plunge. I set up camp in this gorgeous spot right at the falls. I'm full of mac and cheese, got some white noise to go to sleep to, and a hammock pointing my face at the rising, near-full moon. I intend to start my day tomorrow with a buck-naked, ice-cold plunge. Lie is indeed good.
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