Trail Days - Damascus, VA

Caught a ride shortly after leaving that last entry with 4 others, 5 packs, and a german shepherd in a compact car - pretty cozy couple of hours.

The reason for our fashionable return to Damascus was "Trail Days" - it's essentially a celebration of hiking the AT for current and past hikers. Folks come set up tents for the weekend and enjoy lots of food, vendors, free gear repair, and of course catching up with other hikers that have since pushed forward or fallen behind.

Birthday on the 14th - sure was fun getting all that mail from Williamsport and State College! THANK YOU. The birthday ribbon earned me many high fives and free beers. And the cookies/chocolate made my day. I even shared a little... Not the hiking undies though.

A highlight of the weekend is a hiker parade in which all past and presents walk down the main streets of the town and essentially engage in a water brawl with the folks from Damascus. Silly costumes and water guns are obviously involved in this.

It also provided a great chance to re-group. I had a lot of gear fixed and replaced, as well as showers everyday (!... in a disaster relief truck) and a great deal of homemade food. Free doctor visits and bloodwork was also provided. Looks like I'm going to make it... Dizzy spells have stopped and the heels are officially healed.

On the last night Blessed and Stormcrowe talked me into contra dancing. Stormcrowes 2 adorable red-headed children joined us and we do-si-do'ed our butts off. If you've never done contra dancing I HIGHLY recommend it.

The next morning I also had the pleasure of hanging out with a friend from PSU, Lauren "Neon" Reed. Great to see a familiar face and meet all the folks I heard her talk about from her through hike last year.

Finally! Even after all these non-hiking days I signed up for something called "Hard Core." About 100 of us spent 2 days doing volunteer trail maintenance in North Carolina - this gave me a deep appreciation for all the man hours and dedication that go into the AT. Painting my own white blaze was a cool moment as well.

Recently it has been suggested to me that I slow the heck down. Somehow I've unconsciously started seeing the miles as markers of how well my day has gone and breezed past a lot of fun things. It feels good hiking fast and putting in the miles - but I keep losing track of folks I enjoy hiking with, good swimming holes here and there, etc.

THANK YOU again for the birthday love! xo Wampus Cat