Date: 2005-05-10
From: Campsite at Backbone Mountain Trailhead

To: Damascus
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: light rain

Now that this hike¢s nearly complete, I have some observations about this year¢s hikers, most of who started around April 1 in contrast to the through hikers I met last year who began in early March. Because of my Roan Mountain Yellow Blaze, I¢ve gotten to know two sets of hikers ¢ pre-Roan Mountain and post-Roan. First, like last year, the vast majority of hikers are male and of these, most are young men in their 20s. There are also a fair amount of retirees like me and some, but not as many, guys in their 30s and 40s, perhaps between jobs. Along these lines, the only women on the Trail in my first 8 days were hiking with men, i.e. husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. I believe one couple had met and paired up on the Trail; otherwise, they had started hiking together. It wasn¢t until my 9th day of hiking (post-Roan) that I encountered women who were hiking solo or with other women. This was amazing in that 2004 March starters from the outset included many more women both young and some middle aged hiking solo or with other women. Another surprising observation was how many hikers ¢ of all ages and genders ¢ smoke cigarettes. I recall some last year but it seemed like the majority of those I met in these 12 days were smokers. And finally, I noticed that nearly all hikers were later risers than me, quite a few being very late risers, i.e. still in bed when I left camp. The only hikers I recall with similar rising hours to me (6-6:30) were Walt, Sam, and Vermont. I believe Grateful was also an early riser but I never shared a camping locale with her. Accordingly, I tried to move noiselessly but was always concerned about disturbing my campmates. At least my last three nights (1 hostel and 2 tenting sites away from shelters) did not present this problem.All right, back to the hike. Between the warmth, cloud cover, and slope, it wasn¢t a real comfortable night. This winter bag which served me well in the early days of this hike was too warm for last night¢s conditions. It¢s back to the 3-season bag when I hike NY in early June. Despite the more humid uncomfortable air (I prefer a morning chill), the ground was dry so at least I wasn¢t packing a wet, dew-laden tent. Damascus being only 4.6 miles, I decided to skip breakfast and drink all my water in light of my dehydration problem. Yesterday¢s warm sun had melted the chocolate in my gorp turning it into a sticky mess. That¢s the last time I include chocolate in my trail mix until late fall or winter. The Trail was mostly easy today with a few uphill knobs. But with the humidity, my dehydration problem, and a feeling of general griminess, I was eagerly looking forward to Damascus. Once past the state line and the entrance to Mt. Rogers NRA, I disciplined myself to not look at my watch until my feet touched the pavement of a Damascus street. It was 8:19 AM. This section hike was officially complete when I reached the arch.As I strode to the Mt. Rogers Outfitters hostel where my car awaited me, I met Grateful. She and Sunshine covered 38 miles in 2 days so they¢re savoring a zero day today after which they¢ll get a shuttle 2 days worth of hiking north and hike back to Damascus for Trail Days. After taking off the pack and leaving it in back of the car, I headed to MRO across the street for my keys. Closed until 9:00. On the way back to the hostel, a familiar-looking guy in curly gray hair asked me if I had seen Fishing Fred. ¢No, I don¢t think so. I just met him a few days ago.¢ Then I recognized him ¢ it was Barry, former caretaker of the now-defunct Rainbow Springs Campground. He recognized my face but didn¢t know my name so I introduced myself. He told me about the Trail Magic meals they served at the base of Albert Mountain. 32 days. Wow! Some Trail Angels!As soon as I saw Tom from MRO unlock the door, I was through it and retrieved my keys along with a towel for the hostel. Then the welcome shower followed by breakfast at a restaurant a few miles west on Rt. 58 (owned by former Silver Spring residents) and then back to Damascus for laundry. Grits happened to be doing his laundry when I appeared so we talked. He¢s decided not to return for Trail Days ¢ he¢s leaving town soon as his laundry¢s finished. Told him I hoped to see him in Shenandoah in June or Maine in August. While my clothes were washing and drying, I worked on my laptop in the laundromat and talked to Sunshine and later Grateful to find out her schedule for arriving at Shenandoah. I¢ve started asking this of other hikers as well because I¢ve decided I¢d like to spread some Trail Magic in early June, perhaps at Lewis Mountain campground. We¢ll see. In that timeframe, I¢m also hiking 45 miles in New York and participating in the Race for the Cure.After checking e-mail at the library and picking up some groceries (fresh, locally grown strawberries ¢ I ate a whole quart), I headed to Bland to begin a 2-day section hike in which I¢ll finally finish Virginia. And again, my extreme good fortune with the weather continues. En-route to Bland, the skies opened up with clamoring thunder and bolts of lightening. And I¢m warm and dry in the Big Walker motel tonight!