Damascus, VA

5/10/08

Rain early, but sun was out by the time I crossed the Virginia line. By 1:30, I’d done 10 easy downhill miles into Damascus.

Damascus, VA isn’t a trail town; it is the trail town, and reaching it is a major milestone. It’s often referred to as the ¼ mark, even though in actual miles it’s something more like 21 %. But time wise, most people reach Damascus about a month or two into their hikes. It’s the start of Virginia, which is where the next 400 – some miles lay. It’s where the terrain supposedly starts getting easier, which I’ll believe when I see. And most importantly, it’s home to Trail Days, which starts next Friday. Thousands of former thru-hikers, as well as the large majority of the ones who are still on the trail this year, will find their way back here for a weekend of … Well, I’m not totally sure, having never been to one.

Just in its own right, Damascus is a wonderful place. Coming north on the AT, you leave the woods and basically enter town through someone’s back yard.

Not that they mind – a little girl is playing outside and says hi as you walk by. After that you walk through the public park, alongside one of the two creeks that run through town, then through the town’s main drag, Laurel Ave/US58.

Everywhere, there are yard sales – it’s become a tradition for everyone to have on the Saturday before Trail Days. Everywhere, there are people walking around on what has turned into a glorious spring day. And everywhere you see the signs telling you you’ve reached something like home. Half the businesses have “Trail” or “Blaze” or some other kind of identifier in their name. First Baptist has a sign out front announcing that they love hikers. More impressively, the people themselves are incredibly nice. One of the first people I met was a senior citizen in the park with his granddaughter. He asked me how I was doing, and I, sweaty, dirty, and smelly from the trail, said, “Glad to be here.” He answered, “Well, we’re sure glad to have you.” That would be nice – nicer was having nearly the same exchange ten minutes later with someone else.

Of course, the cynic can point out that the AT, (as well as the other hiking, biking and equestrian trails in the area) pumps a huge amount of money into the local economy, and that explains it all. Screw the cynic. There’s no economic motivation for people to stop their cars on US 58 in order to wave pedestrians across the street. There is sure no economic motivation for the guy who sets up a phone on his front porch and invites anyone to use it. It’s simply a Norman Rockwell kind of town.

By 6pm, I’ve picked up my mail drop from the outfitter’s (thanks, Mom!), dropped my stuff at The Place (a hostel run by First Methodist), showered, done laundry, eaten a stromboli, and met up with quite a few familiar faces – Guns, who I hadn’t seen in two weeks; Mustang Sally, who I hadn’t seen in three; Matthewski, who I hadn’t seen in four. (Matty says he didn’t recognize me because I’d lost so much weight – according to the scale at the outfitters, I’m down something like 45 pounds (and by the way, this is an interesting trail thing – all those dates are guesses. You don’t really think in terms of time, you think in terms of trail – you think in terms of where on the trail you’ve seen them – Erwin, Hot Springs, Standing Bear).

My chores done, I have time to find Damascus’ one tavern nightlife finish off the day.

PS, 9pm: across from the fire-station, under the roofed used car lot, an impromptu bluegrass band is playing; members range in age from about 10 to about 65. People are square dancing.

5/11/08

Zero day in Damascus. It’s been eleven days since my last zero, so I guess it’s okay for me to take one, but it wasn’t necessarily my plan. The Forecast was for heavy thunderstorms all day, but in actuality, the weather alternated between terrific and crappy-rain, sun, rain, sun, and rain. I entertained the idea of hiking out until about 3pm, but finally decided to stay. It’s probably just as well, since I’ve had an achy knee the last few days as well as a couple of proto-blisters.

Today I also ran into my old pal Cool Breeze. He and Guns have both decided to pass on thru-hiking, and are just going to do sections. Guns has his car here, and they’re gonna skip up to Shenandoah and do that and maybe some other parts. They’re happy, and I’m sure they’re gonna have fun-but for me it’s a damn shame to see my friends dropping out.