Date: 2005-05-11
From: Campsite below Hurricane Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

Weather: Rained overnight¢¦nice morning...mostly sunny and warm.I was up today shortly after six. I tried to wipe down my Nomad Lite the best I could¢¦not so much to eliminate the extra weight but to try and keep it clean. The new Hurricane Shelter was just up the hill a hundred yards so I stopped in to check it out¢¦nice¢¦it has that nice overhang like the ones they remodeled back in the Smokies. Curly stayed there as he had broken one of his tent poles. When I met him back at Wise he said he usually sleeps until ten¢¦not today and everyone was up and around. He also made it in before the rain hit.When I reached Dickey Gap in about an hour my plan was to hitch down to Troutdale and have breakfast a little corner place where Charlie and I had lunch in ¢03. There were already 4 young folks trying to hitch a ride so I hung back in the woods. There wasn¢t a lot of traffic and what there was did not seem interested in picking anyone up. I then walked up the road several hundred yards at a pull off out of sight of the others, so they would get picked up first. After a half hour or so of waiting I decided to walk since Troutdale was only 2.6 miles off the Trail¢¦and 90% of it was downhill. I got about 34 of the way there and a nice young couple in a Mustang picked me up. They said they would be back this way in about an hour and a half and would stop at the store to see if I needed a ride.I sat down and ordered a nice breakfast. Not long afterwards the four others walked in followed by Curly. I invited Curly to join me at my table and we chatted over breakfast. He is going to stay at the church hostel next door as he wants to clean up and do his wash.While waiting outside and mulling over the possibility of returning to Damascus a gentleman asked me if I wanted a ride back to the Trail. I took him up on it. We got to talking and he told me he has a business that makes lamp shades with wild flowers. He developed the process and has a franchise store in Columbus, Ohio. He dropped me off and I was hiking by 10:30.The 12 miles to Partnership went well. Met Snow Bunny and her friend and we chatted a bit. I came upon Gypsy Lulu and Tupe (?) taking a rest next to the Trail. Very nice young ladies who seemed to be enjoying themselves.I arrived at Partnership and the Mt Rogers NRA Headquarters just beyond it a few minutes before closing¢¦just in time to enjoy a cold Dr Pepper out of the machine before they locked up. The ranger there was great¢¦when I asked him for a map of the local area and I told him I would be hitching back to Damascus tonight he offered me a ride out to the interstate.I can¢t believe my luck in hitching rides and getting from one place to another. I was thumbing on the ramp only 10 minutes or so when this cool dude, about my age, pulls over, backs up and picks me up in this polished red sports car with the top down. He told me all about it¢¦I believe it was a 10 year old Mazda with 100K plus miles, but it absolutely looked brand new¢¦I offered to buy it from him but he wasn¢t interested in selling. Anyway, his name is Frank and he turns out to be one great guy. He is retired, kids gone and had lost his wife.   He has a home nearby but spends a lot of his time south of the border in Mexico. We had a great conversation going and he ended up taking me to the door of my camper at Iron Horse. Before that we stopped at the Old Mill in Damascus where we had beer on the veranda. I often talked about the nice folks who would give me rides on my thru-hike. Frank topped them all¢¦thanks again Frank if you get to read this. Later this evening, when I was grabbing a bite to eat at the Dairy King, in the booth next to me was SWIFT (So What¢d I Forget Today) who I had met in Hanover on my thru-hike. He was the guy who developed a serious leg injury, fell and passed out on the Trail and subsequently had to go home at Glencliff. Today he was with OC1 who had just spent thousands on all new gear. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and were planning on not staying but returning to the Trail in the morning. When I offered them a ride to the Trail they immediately packed up and I drove them back to the Trail. Tomorrow I will take the Blazer up the Trail to Adkins and see if anyone needs a ride back to Trail Days.