Date: 2009-04-24
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Dear readers, Don't you love getting two updates from me in two days!? The joys of zero days. My first 24 hours in Damascus has been wonderful! I truly feel as if I'm on vacation today. Except for a trip to the post office and grocery shopping, my day is full of maxin' relaxin! I'm staying at "the Place", a hostel run by a local church. Hostel is a bit of an overstatement. Basically, it's a big, old, house owned by the church that they leave open for hikers to come and go as we please.There's not much furniture, just a bunch of bedrooms with bunks in all of them (but no mattresses, BYOM). When I walked in I was transported back to the days of fraternity houses... minus the kegs and trashy posters on the walls. Not that I spent much time in frat houses, but it's exactly what it reminded me of, so basically it's a dump. But hey, for $4 donation/night I can't complain. A cop swung through yesterday to keep tabs on the place. I guess with no caretaker or anybody running it and no locks on the doors, the house could go down the tubes pretty quickly. They've had problems with drugs and squatters before, I think. Ya get what ya pay for. It does have a beautiful porch with rocking chairs on it, though! After rolling out of bed, I took my book and spent some time reading on the porch in the early morning sun (I can't sleep past 7:30 anymore). Then I had a delicious breakfast and spent a few hours at a local coffee shop journaling and socializing with all of the other hikers there. Almost every hiker takes one or more zero days in Damascus, so you reunite with many you haven't seen in a long time, or many that were ahead of you who you've never met, other than through their entries in trail registers. For those that don't know, every shelter has a "register". It's simply a notebook for every hiker to sign when they get to a shelter. Hikers leave messages for people behind them, poems, their plans for the day, random useless thoughts, etc. It's how news travels throughout the trail community and you can tell how far ahead someone is by when they signed the register. The day I decided to officially go by Wags, I got creative and wrote a poem in the register of the shelter we were having lunch at. It gave me something to think about while I hiked the last mile or two to keep my mind off how hungry I was: I tried my best to rid you,a name that couldn't besigning registers and telling othersnew names referring to meBut those didn't lastno they didn't stick at allWags it is forevermy trailname I'm called. You wouldn't believe the comments everyone had about that poem when they all caught up to us as we nero'ed at Kincora Hostel! Apparently, everybody reads the registers! But anyway, yes, today is the ultimate vacation. I believe a nap outdoors is in my very near future, as well as another trip to the Dairy King. I have become obsessed with chocolate banana milkshakes! Oh, and on the topic of cravings, another one on the list is bacon. Don't ask me why. I've never been a big bacon person, but recently, I've wanted anything and everything that has bacon on it. Usually in the form of burger, omelette, or salad. I don't want bacon plain, though, weird. Last night, we had some drinks at the local dive bar, Dot's. They had a jukebox and music never sounded so good. It was a good time with great tunes- almost all country! Even better! You really crave music out on the trail. My shuffle ran outta juice a week or so ago and I haven't recharged it yet... I feel like most of my trailjournal highlights all the good times and great people. Know that there are bad times, but luckily, for me they are few and far between. I've made a point to talk about them in here. Also, yes there are some weirdos out on the trail. I don't bother talking about them because it's not really worth my precious internet time, but they exist. For the most part they are harmless, though. And everybody knows exactly who they are. People DEFINITELY get reputations out here... their reps often precede them. And when it comes to creepy people, everybody looks out for each other when they are in the vicinity, but like I said, they are all harmless. Often times, just anti-social, introverts. Sometimes it will affect whether I choose to sleep in a shelter or tent, but really I can only think of 4 or 5 I have come across in the hundreds of hikers I've met who give me the creeps or I simply just don't like. Okay, time's about to expire. Gotta go. Til next time, whenever that may be... Happy Trails,Wags