May 12, 2008

Once again, I'm slow leaving town in the morning, but this time it's OK; I had a bunch of errands that were impossible to run yesterday. Damascus on a Sunday is basically a ghost town, with nobody around but a bunch of hikers saying how bored they are. By 1:00, though I've gone to the clinic (I have not lost 40 pounds as an aberrant set of scales made me think, but only 22), the pharmacy, the post office, the outfitter, the library, the grocery store, and put in a sympathy call to Lotus, who is still off the trail with her bad foot and is going stir-crazy at her parents' house. We chat for a while and I hit the road.

By 7, I've made about 13 miles and I camp, but I'm worried - both knees were really hurting today, and today's terrain was really, really easy. Tomorrow I go up 3000 feet, up to the top of Mt. Rogers.

I'm also wishing I hadn't mailed my gloves home - it was cool and cloudy all day, with temps in the 50s; but up on the ridge it's probably near freezing...


May 13, 2008

Well that was horrible. Woke up this morning coughing up phlegm. As the day went on, I was feverish and achy all day. - I've got the bug that's been going around the hikers. Was sick on side of trail at one point. - Not good to lose those calories.

Only 9 miles today, but a lot of altitude gained. Tomorrow level off then downhill.


May 14, 2008

Must have camped last night at spider central - woke up this AM with daddy longlegs everywhere - a half-dozen had taken up residence in my pants alone and had to be shaken out before I got dressed.

Still feeling ill this AM, but a little better later in the day. Feeling better by the time I come to one of the highlights of the trip, seeing the (cue seven-year old girl voice) PONIES!

Up in the Mt. Rogers area, the USFS maintains a herd of wild ponies. "Maintains" only in that they do an annual roundup to check for disease, and occasionally sell a few off if the herd gets too big; other than that, the ponies roam over a wide tract of land, grazing on the mountain meadows. I knew they were up here, and so came prepared - two apples hauled up from Damascus. I cut them into bite-sized portions, and the ponies eat them out of my hand. They also lick a lot - they like the salt in sweat.

The Grayson Highlands area in general is spectacular - I don't think the photos do it justice. Definitely one of the 2 or 3 areas I want to come back to someday. Made 12 miles today.


May 15, 2008

Two quick downhill miles, done before 9 am, and then the thumb goes out looking for a hitch back to Damascus. After an hour, there's three of us - I'm joined by Bulldog, a 5'6", fortyish retired Marine, and Bearbait, an attractive blonde of about 30. Stunningly we find it much easier to get a ride when Bulldog and I stand back from the road, and wait for Bearbait to stop a car and explain that "I've got these two friends..."

It actually takes us two rides - we get one to Troutdale, where we get off at a diner and eat breakfast, then get another back to Damascus, which we reach by about 1 pm.

Within a couple hours, I've met several people I've been looking forward to. Bilge Rat, is the guy who gave me my trail name (I don't know if I ever explained on here - Chainsaw stuck with everyone), and is responsible for more comedic mayhem than anyone on the trail. One of my favorite bits of his work was buying an electrical outlet, and packing it up to a shelter where he wedged into the wall. (This may not sound funny but it really is) He's here in overalls, straw hat and pink shoes. He's about a week ahead of me, and has been for a while.

Also here are Mozzie and Sprite. They're 100 miles or so behind me. Mozzie alternately thrills and terrifies me. He's a 47 year old who would have a decent chance of passing either for Santa Claus or Ernest Hemingway. On Halloween 2006, a freak accident left his leg broken in six places. He spent the next 11 months in bed. When he got out, they told him he'd need two years of physical therapy. He decided instead to go to Springer Mountain and walk north. He takes it slow, averaging about 5 miles a day, but he's made about 400 miles so far. Sprite is a 23 year old librarian who has become Mozzie's nurse and conspirator since they met in Georgia.

After catching up with all the above, I head over to the rapidly forming Tent City. Thousands of people will be camping throughout an area of over a hundred wooded acres on the edge of Damascus. I've just finished setting up my camp when I run into Cannibal. Cannibal is from Florida, and was an enormous help to me in planning my hike especially, in setting up my hammock rig. He started two weeks ahead of me, and it's been really good to finally catch up with him.

In the evening, First Baptist Church sponsors both a huge hiker feed with fried chicken, chili, burgers and tons more, and not one, but two eating contests. - the first being hot dogs, the second being no-hands birthday cake.


May 16, 2008

Started the day by dropping off both my pack and my poles at their manufacturer's booths to get worked on. After that, I head downtown to catch a presentation by Gene Epsy, the second man to do a thru-hike, back in 1951.

After that, I spend time exploring the vendor booths downtown - a lot of hiking-gear vendors, but also the usual arts-and-crafts flea-market stuff. The vast majority of people in town for Trail Days are not current thru-hikers and so can buy a handwoven blanket and drive home with it.

In the afternoon it's back to Tent City. I'm changing to a different hammock for summer, so I spend some time fiddling with knots and lines and straps.

Dinner is free venison stew, provided by, I think, Granite Gear. The evening consists mainly of spending time among a few of the dozens of different campfires all over Tent City.

I've started to think today about the possibility of doing some yellow blazing. I probably need to explain that. The AT is marked with white rectangles painted on trees called blazes. Side trails or alternate routes are marked with blue blazes - hence someone who does not follow the offical AT route is "bue blazing." Yellow blazing refers to skipping portions of the AT altogether, and jumping ahead via car (the dotted center lines being the yellow blazes).

Strictly speaking, of course, this is sort of cheating. But there tends not to be a lot of strict speaking on the AT. The large majority of thru-hikers do not worry about making sure they traverse every inch of 2175 miles. If you skip a mile or five here or there, most people don't really care. The ATC, which records the names of all thru-hikers, does so entirely on the honor system. Essentially, it's up to you and your conscience as to how many corners you want to cut.

If this seems wrong, consider why most of us are out here. Most people go to the woods looking to get away from requirements and regulations from authority figures telling you where and when you can go. They're here to have fun, have an adventure, to explore... When you have that in mind, scrupulously following an exact predetermined route seems kind of against the point.

I'm thinking of yellow blazing because I'm about 50-100 miles behind a lot of people I'd like to be hiking with. If I skipped ahead now, I could, if I wanted to, come back up here this winter and fill it in. I've mentioned the idea to a few people, and they all say I should do it.

But the cardinal rule out here "hike your own hike," meaning "only you know why you're out here and what you want to get out of it." Thinking about this has really made me wonder what my hike is about. Is it about solitude, or about other people? Is it about having fun, or about setting a challenge and achieving it? And whatever I thought the goals of this hike were before I started - are they ones I still want? And why do I have to make every decision in my life into an angst-ridden crisis? I dunno, but I've got 24 hours to decide.