Date: 2005-10-01
From: Buzzard Rock (Southbound)

To: Damascus, VA (Southbound)
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

During the night, a gusty wind came along, and the meadow, and my Tarptent, became saturated with condensation. I woke up each time the wind shook the tent, sending a shower of dewdrops down on me. But my sleeping bag was too warm and cozy for me to want to restake the tent in the 45-degree weather like I should have. So I just put up with it and enjoyed my wakefulness by sticking me head out the front door to gaze at the Milky Way, the constellations, and a mysterious bright light that may have been a planet.I watched a pink glow in the west over a carpet of low clouds as the sun rose, and ate a breakfast in bed of Li'l Debbies and Snickers.As I finally begain the trek down the mountain, I passed a hunter who had given up his morning on the first day of deer season to perch meditatively on a rock and watch the world wake up.Today's scenery wasn't as distinctive as yesterday's, so I spent a lot of time thinking as I walked. I passed more hunters, then shortly scared off some deer, so I like to think that I saved their lives. Then I met the two people I had shuttled with from the outfitters. We agreed to meet again for lunch in town on Sunday. They seemed unduly impressed with the idea of a woman hiking alone, but I certainly haven't had any significant gender-specific challenges. The trail briefly paralleled and joined the Virginia Creeper Trail, a rails-to-trails path that is a popular family mountain biking excursion. At least a hundred bikers whizzed by, gradually easing me back into civilization over the last 10 miles.I got back to Damascus at 3:30, celebrated with a milkshake, and found a beautiful B&B called the Victorian Inn to splurge at. The owners invited me to dinner and bluegrass music, so I traipsed around town looking to "get me a town dress." Damascus is a town of about 1,500, and I visited almost every business. Only the Family Dollar store sold clothes, and I bought 3 outfits there. A $3 dress fit well enough to do the job. It's nice not to have to wear my single hiking outfit for the 30th time in a row! (Yes, I washed it in a laundromat every few days, but I really did wear it every single day, since my only other clothing was my rainsuit.) So I think I can pass for a normal person now.Dinner was a fish fry and bluegrass jam along the Creeper Trail in Taylor Valley. It was a truly local event, where most of the musicians and diners knew each other, many people could mouth the songs, and some of the musicians even swapped instruments. Conversations touched mentioned that a local young man who used to play there had just hit it big and was about to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. The musicians tried to get people in the audience to step up and join in, and over time about ten different people performed on guitars, mandolins, a bass, an accordion, banjos, and voice. I saw two different banjo styles, both plucking and strumming. I don't know bluegrass at all, but I loved it, especially the way it disarmed people, and even gruff, reticent older men belted out plaintive love songs. I was also treated to flatfooting, an Appalachian dance style similar to Irish dancing. After dinner, we went to the Moreland General Store in Sugar Creek, Tennessee for more music and local color. Only a couple dozen people were there, and the store was really just a tiny music venue, with lots of music posters, chairs and sofas, but just two shelves of candy and nonperishables for sale. The Victoria Inn owners coaxed me to get my picture taken with the musicians, who played similar music to those in Taylor Valley, but also had a steel guitar. Thanks to their hospitality, I had a town experience I won't forget.I'll need to write a conclusion later, but what a way this was to celebrate the end of the trail!