Date: 2017-05-26
From: The Place -- Damascus, VA

To: Saunders shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: overcast clouds

From Fatboy:I didn't sleep much but we were under roof, warm, clean, and dry.  I finally got tired of flopping around in my bunk and got up at 0545 and made instant coffee in the microwave with tap water. It certainly was easier than firing up my stove and boiling spring water that I have to filter.  I remembered to be grateful for small things.  I woke Ginger at 0700 with coffee and she smiled.  That's one of the best parts of my day.  We were out of the hostel by 0900 and began our hike out of Damascus.  The weather was perfect and it was time to go.  We stopped for a big breakfast and we're joined by No Name so we had some good laughs as we prepared to enter the forest again.  My new shoes were feeling ok.  Not great but feeling like they were going to be better after a few trail miles.  There's only one way to find out. We stopped a couple of times so I could take my shoes off and rub my feet.  That always feels good but my legs tighten up while I'm sitting, so it's a mixed blessing.  We finished up at Saunders Shelter and called it an early day at about 1645.  I was done!  We had a cup of bouillon and beef stroganoff (and I added sourdough pretzels) for dinner.  It was a lot of salt but it was quite tasty.  I met a man who was hiking with his two sons.  He was 70 and had injured his foot.  I introduced myself and told him my background and he let me wrap his foot with an ace wrap.  I suggested he rest and elevate his foot as much as possible.  His one son asked me in private if he would be able to complete their section hike.  I offered my professional opinion of his injury but also suggested he would be the only person who could decide how much pain he could tolerate.  If I were 70 and hiking with my two kids it would likely take a very significant injury to make me leave the trail.  How many opportunities can you count on for a gift like spending this kind of time with your kids?  I've been hiking most of this trip with feet and legs that hurt enough that most people would likely have given up long ago.  I wouldn't miss this chance to share this experience with Ginger for anything.  It was a beautiful day with sunny skies.  This is as good as it gets.From Ginger:Today the trail was covered with green leaves from all the wind and rain we had. AAAAAAND, we saw quite a few AMERICAN chestnut trees! I now can differentiate them from Chinese chestnuts. Several of the American chestnuts were actual trees, not just saplings or small bushes. The rhododendrons have started blooming finally. Many of the blooms made brief carpets of petals from all the recent wind.The climb to Saunders shelter was a steep on -- shades of Unaka Mountain, without the stone-crafted steps or blazing sun. I felt terrific. Nathan's breaking in new shoes and says he feels less than terrific right now, but improving.This shelter area offers many flat, soft tenting spots, some in a small meadow, others under pine tree cover with beds of fallen needles.Today we also met Kiote, Foxy, Doc and Dexter the dog.And we watched a guy throw a line for his bear bag with his Croc. Bet we'll be talking about that one for a while. What happens if the Croc gets stuck, like we've seen so many rocks, sticks, bags and socks do?!