Date: 2019-05-15
From: Rabbit Hole Hostel

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 21.3

Today people started getting going around 8ish. Hiker Dan and Flowers took the first ride back to the trailhead and I waited for the next. I left around 9:45. It was a chilly day again, but the sun was out. The start of the day was through a cow pasture, which was actually pretty cool! It crossed a few fences and then headed into the woods. There were a lot of teeny tiny uphills and that was annoying, but it wasn¢t bad without pack. I ran into Raisin and her owners. I quickly made it to Low Gap (the five millionth Low Gap) and there was more trail magic!! It was the same guy from yesterday. He was making hot dogs and had lots of snacks. Such a cool guy! I had a hot dog and soda and cookies, but of course that stuff doesn¢t always sit well with you when you¢re hiking. It was uphill out of Low Gap, of course. So I could feel that hot dog and soda as I climbed and felt sluggish. I felt that way for a few more hours and then finally it all settled and I was good. And I ran into Hiker Dan and Flowers. They had joked with me about leaving late and catching up. Well I did!! I caught up to all of them! Hot Sauce and Hobo were there too. I passed them and stayed behind Hot Sauce. We were going to cross the border soon into Virginia and I really wanted to get pics there.We made it to the border!! Yay!! It felt so good!! It took so long to finally leave Tennessee. We were back and forth with North Carolina and Tennessee for so long, and now we were done with both states!! Yay!! Virginia is going to be a long haul. They actually call it the Virginia blues because it¢s close to 500 miles in Virginia alone. But I was still happy to have another accomplishment and feel that progress. We took a ton of pics and got a group pic too. Hot Sauce left first, but I caught up to her. We headed into Damascus together and took pictures under the wooden arch. It was so exciting!! Damascus is a big deal because they host Trail Days, the biggest hiker festival of the year. We could see the flags lining the sidewalk and tents up everywhere. They were still setting up, but it was so exciting to be here!! And we had done 42 miles in two days. And about 7 hours each day for me, which means I went about 3 miles per hour for 21 miles each day, and that makes me so happy! I waited for Hiker Dan and Flowers and called Rabbit to tell him we had arrived. We didn¢t know where we were going to stay, but Prometheus had texted me that he was staying at the Broken Fiddle Hostel. I told Rabbit to meet us there and we all walked through town to the hostel. It was a long walk, but it was a cool town! The hostel had room for tenting, so we set up our tents in the backyard. I set up next to Prometheus¢ tent. There wasn¢t much room, so I decided to stay in his tent and have Hot Sauce in mine. I hadn¢t gotten any time with him either and wanted to watch a movie and chat. Prometheus and Hot Sauce came back and we headed to dinner together. I got pizza and chicken tenders and it was all delicious, but I couldn¢t finish it. I have no idea why, considering that I just hiked 21 miles. My lack of appetite really is frustrating. We walked back and headed to bed. Prometheus and I didn¢t watch our movie; we were just too tired. But I was happy to be reunited with him and try to get as much time as we could before he leaves. Little Debbie