Date: 2009-10-04
From: Daleville, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Since my last update, things have been pretty normal. We've really made some headway. We're now in Damascus, "the" trail town on the trail. It's been quite good to us and we've had the chance to meet some SOBO's that were behind us. It's great to finally meet some new people! They evidently have been trying to catch us since the beginning of the trail! They seem like really nice guys and I'm excited to get to chat with them later on in the evening. After Daleville we had some really nice hiking. Finally the weather started to turn and get cold yet once again! When we made it into Pearisburg we really had some great trail luck. We were at first going to go to a "new" hostel but found out that it was just a guys house! So we walked across the street to the PO and a guy offered us a ride to the Catholic Church where the Real Hostel was! Talk about a really cool Hostel. Just an old Converted barn with some mattresses and a small reading room and kitchen! We had 2 occasions where we were thumbing in town and people turned around to pick us up and take us where we needed to go! Talk about really nice people! It was here that I also had the chance to finish up my Applications to MUSC and USC PT schools! Wish me luck!   When we left we climbed up to Angels Rest which gave us a really nice view of the Valley Below. From Pearisburg we made a short day to another Hostel called Woods Hole! This was a pretty cool place that used to be an old homestead. The Granddaughter of the lady that first owned the place is now running the place and was really hospitable and hooked us up with some REALLY good food! It was at Woods Hole that we also got to finally get to catch up with Pooh Bear and his friend Mighty Mouse! It was great to finally see Pooh Since we haven't seen him since NH! What a nice SOBO Reunion! Once again we hit the trail and with Catfish around we made some really great miles. It is pretty common that in the Southwest of VA that "the green tunnel" sort of hits. We walked through some really beautiful groves of Rhododendron. But still, I was amazed with the simple beauty. A few days after Pearisburg we made it to a small southern town, Bland, VA. It was there that Brewer's Girlfriend picked Catfish, Brewer and I up and took us back to Pearisburg. It was nice to be back in such a great town. We had a blast and were lucky in taking our zero day because the entire day we zeroed it was Very COLD and Rainy! We ate at an all you can eat Chinese place and had some Pizza while we were in town. It was great to finally meet Kim (brewer's Girlfriend) and spend some time resting my body! Kim took us back to Bland, and we continued our hike south.The next big stop on the trail for us was Troutdale. The funny thing about this town was that it doesn't really have a town feel. Pretty much the only thing that we did in Troutdale is resupply and spend a good bit of time at Jerry's Restaraunt and Goods. Now that was some great home cooking and finally I got some legit southern sweet tea! Thanks to Jerry for the ride back to the trail. This was awesome because the hitch into town took us 45minutes to try and get a ride, there just wasn't a lot of traffic and we didn't feel like walking...we've walked far enough....And Finally from Troutdale we made the travel to Damascus. This trek from Troutdale to Damascus was one of my favorite sections of trail and I look forward to doing more hiking in this section of VA. The Grayson Highlands, were absolutely AMAZING!!!! Beautiful rolling hills similar to that of Montana. This area is also known for wild ponnies that roam the area. We first walked into the Highlands and were taken aback by the beauty and how amazing the trail, and surroundings were. We then found ourselves distracted by a small group of 6-8 ponies that walked right up to us while on the trail. The ponies use the trail just as much as many of the hikers! Brewer and I had been talking about how awesome it would be to tame the "heafty Steeds" well the steeds turned out to be very small, about the size of a really big dog. We mounted them video in hand. We found that the videos were hillarious and we couldn't keep the horses from licking our legs...so I guess you could say we got a free shower?   Also while we were walking through the Highlands two 1950's fighter jets flew over! It was a weird sighting but awesome nontheless!!! My days in the highlands were wonderful and filled with many beautiful distractions and shorter mile days. Brewer and I have slowed our pace to really enjoy the start of the changing fall colors and the wonderful views. Damascus has been a great town as well. It truely is "the" hiker town. It is filled with bikers and hikers. I've found myself craving my bike...I have a few aspirations dealing with bikes upon my return home....we'll see how that plays out. Our hiker friend Pooh Bear attempted the Fatty's 6 lb. cheeseburger.   Failure to consume set in after only 40 minutes...way to go Pooh, I'm proud that you even tried...after the Godzilla, no more food challenges for me! Tonight will be filled with some great conversation with the SOBO's that caught up with us. Oh yeah, we're staying at a church hostel called "the place." It's pretty cool but we had a sketchy guy come in and were afraid that he might try and steal some of our stuff so we packed up and left to go stay at Dave's place, a hostel run by Mt. Roger's Outfitters. Because of Mt. Rogers, and Dave I've got and itch to hike the PCT...we'll see about that. Maybe later in life. Oh since I've been out here my life list has gotten nothing but longer...Oh how adventures spawn the desire for more adventures! Well team, I'm out! Next stop looks like it's going to be with the Kimmel's in Banner Elk NC. Tomorrow, We'll finally set foot in TN after 540 miles of VA trail. Onward to Springer, only 460 miles to Springer!!!!