Date: 2008-05-18
From: Merlefest 2008

To: Trail Days, Damascus VA
Miles today: 98.2
Weather: light rain

I'm still hiking! Sorry for not posting for so long. It's actually a hassle trying to keep an ideal journal. It's a lot of work. So I'm going to bring this up to date with one large entry, picking back up at Merlefest and covering the time line up to Trail Days in Damascus, VA.         Merlefest was a blast! After the 4 day event was over we hooked up with Miss Janet for awhile. Miss Janet is well known in the AT community. She previously operated a wonderful hostel in Erwin, TN. She offered to give us a ride back to the trail. So we hopped in her big van, stopped in Boone, NC for a nice meal, then made it back to the trail after dark. Thanks Miss Janet! Your the best!        So we were hiking again. We hiked a section southbound for 2 days, finishing off North Carolina for good, then hitched back and started north through Tennessee again. We hiked to an awesome hostel called Kincora in Dennis Cove TN, operated by Bob and Pat Peoples. Bob is also well known in the AT world for his "Hardcore" program and many hours of trail maintenace. It was a pleasure meeting him and staying at his place. After leaving Kincora, we hiked on north past Watauga Lake and then hiked the last forty or so miles of Tennessee. I did this in my crocs because my boots hurt my feet so bad, but I made it. Not far after reaching the Virginia state line, we were in Damascus, "Friendliest town on the Trail", and home of "Trail Days". We hooked up with one of the coolest cats in the world when we got to town, Mr. "Back-Nasty" Parkay. Now a proud resident of Damascus, Parkay took us all into his home for showers, laundry, and a place to stay. Parkay completed the AT in 2006 and the PCT in 2007. He knows the needs of a hiker and made us feel right at home. We stayed with Parkay for 2 nights before heading out. With Trail Days in about a week, we knew we would be back in Damascus soon.         We hiked out of town on the VA Creeper Trail, an old railway that's now a smooth, gently graded trail, that's popular with hikers and cyclists alike. It was a nice change and so easy to walk. We hiked about 11 miles before cutting back onto the AT. We hiked to the Lost Mountain Shelter, 6 or so miles more, to stay the night. The next morning was really windy and overcast and we were about to climb to a high elevation on the trail, the highest in VA, so we knew it would be bad up on top....it was! A thunderstorm rolled in as we climbed, and the wind and rain got even worse. By the time we reached Thomas knob Shelter, the temperature had dropped significantly. We huddled inside for the night to wait out the storm, and we were not alone. The shelter was said to hold 16 people. We had 22 and a dog! The weather blasted the shelter all night with rain, sleet, and 60-70 mph winds. I seriously thought that the place just might blow away. In the morning it was still bad, so we packed up and tried to get to lower ground. To do this, we had to take a side trail off the mountain. So we made it to the valley where things were much more tame, and found our way to a church hostel in Troutdale, VA. There was a restaurant there as well so we had a nice hot meal. The next day was much better, so we hiked about 10 miles north before hitching back to the hostel. The next day we hitched back to Damascus for Trail Days. Trail Days is the biggest hiker gathering in the world! There's no way we'd miss it. Its also a 4 day event with hiker feeds, gear vendors, prize give-aways, drawings, raffles, food, a talent show, and a thru-hiker parade which is basically a town wide water battle. Water guns and water balloons everywhere! Walking down the streets was more like walking through a guantlet of continuous water explosions from either side. I was soaked after the first 150 yards, from some guy with a bucket. I wasn't his target but got the worst of his 5 gallon assault. Luckily it was a hot day so it wasn't bad. It was a lot of fun! We all stayed in Tent City, a huge area used for Trail Days for years. We found a nice area in the woods for our camp. After setting up, tents, tarps, chairs, and rolling a 600 pound log for about 200 yards just for more seating, we needed this camp to have a name, being customary to the campsites here in tent city, and we came up with a great one: "Camp John Cougar Mellencamp" It was a great place to be! We had a ton of people partying with us there. We got to hang out with a lot of people we havn't seen in awhile too. Parkay, Leprachaun, Grey Fox, Tree, Moon Pie, Moses, Ramsey, Shua, Chewbaca. Resin was there, New Guy, Half-Elvis, Hot Tang, Mezungu, Earthbound, Ufda, Gouda and Taba, Pips, Kraut, Mic, and of course Big Cat Stategy 4, Dirt, Pilot, Dirty Girl and myself. It was an awesome weekend to say the least!         Now we need to get serious. We've taken a lot of time off since we started this hike and now need to pick up the slack and cover some miles. We are planning to hike through Virginia as quickly as possible. I will try my best at keeping my journal updated, but bear with me. Ill be getting back to the MD/PA area within the month so look for me crossing a road at a trail crossing near you.