Date: 2009-04-24
From: Abington Gap Shelter, TN 

To: Damascus, VIRGINIA!
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Cell noneOG notesToday we made record time getting into town. It's amazing what we'll do for a hot shower, hot meal, and real bed. We hiked 10 miles in 4 hours, there weren't that many difficult climbs so it felt like it was mostly downhill.The first thing we did once we arrived in town was pick up our mail from the outfitter. We then asked about the way C6s backpack was sitting on her back. Unfortunately, they are not the dealer of her brand of pack and they recommended we go to another outfitter that does handle that brand. The reason they said that was the only thing they could do for us was to sell us a different brand pack. We did go to the other outfitter this morning (Saturday) and were told she has the wrong size pack, she should have the next size larger pack. It is amazing how many people are sold the wrong size pack, most don't realize it. A long distance hiker (thru-hiker) lives with the pack day in and day out. They are the ones who bring out the problems and have trouble. The other hikers use their packs a few days and figure the problems are from not being used to having a pack on.We now have to call the manufacturer and explain our situation and hope they will correct it for us. Back to Friday: We both took showers and took off our sweaty smelly clothes. We took the clothes and went to the laundermat to wash them. While the clothes were in the washer we had lunch at the Exxon Station (Cowboys) - cheeseburgers and fries. Did I ever mention that there are two kinds of town food? Hamburgers / cheeseburgers and pizza. Occasionally we'll find a steak or a Chinese buffet. Damascus has both pizza and burgers, but no Chinese.It will be nice to sleep in a bed tonight. The sleeping bag is comfortable and warm, but it isn't as nice as a real bed. I like the outdoors, but I love the creature comforts of 2009, too.I've already given away that I'm writing this a day later so I'll stop for now and write today's entry later. C6 notesMy goodness, it was hot out today! OG heard it reached 85 degrees in Damascus! It was a nice day for hiking though because as long as we were on the mountain there was a comfortable wind blowing. My mental state has been much better since the day I got mad at OG. I realize I was looking at the uphills negatively and getting defeated by them. I decided to accept the fact that no day will be without difficulty or pain. I still have a lot of problems with my shoulders hurting a lot, and I'm having a problem with my right foot still. We will never have a day without uphills, and most likely always have difficult uphills, so I have to accept that, too, and stop wishing for easier days. Looking at the AT that way has made the past 4 days not be emotional days for me. The fact that we've had beautiful sunny days helps a lot, too, however. I also accept that bad weather is an unavoidable part of this adventure. We are in Damascus, VA, now and plan to enjoy 2 days off here. Tomorrow we're going to pack my pack and go to one of the Outfitters (who sells packs made by the company from whom we bought my pack) and see if they can help find a solution to help ease my shoulder pain. If that doesn't help, then I just have to accept that the shoulder pain is just going to be a constant part of my hike.As for my right foot, OG and I are thinking I might have a problem with my Planter's Faciatis (sp?). He had a problem with his before his 2006 hike and was able to complete the hike with a special orthotic. I don't know what we'll do to solve this for me, but I'm doing the foot exercises he was told to do and it doesn't bother me on the uphills and downhills, so I've been able to keep hiking okay so far. Success for an AT thru-hike is mostly in the attitude, so I'm working on my attitude about the challenges. I just hope the physical isses don't defeat me...so I'll keep working on keeping a positive, and "can do," attitiude and work through the physical issues.Old Goat & Check Six