Date: 2005-04-09
From: Damascus, words from Scarecrow

To: Partnership Shelter, MP 523
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Scarecrow here again. I took an extra day off in Damascus for no particular reason. Some neat things have spiced up this hike! Here's a hilarious story...Lizard, Wiskers, and Evil Kenivel are thru-hikers from Ohio, geeky star trek fans, white as a sheet of paper, with glasses (the whole nerd nine yards) but they're great people with whom I'm very excited to be hiking! Anyway; Lizard, Snappy, Paladin, Cat, and I were at Dot's Inn having a pint (Dot's is a back country biker bar that always sees the same grizzled old hillbillies every night, and the transient hikers). Heavy drinking, cigarette smoke, and a noisy Juke Box playing some ancient Honky-Tonk country music surrounded these salty, bearded, tattooed locals.... Lizard, without thinking about it, puts a coin in the Juke Box and selects two LOUD Metallica songs. Looking back at the patrons through his thick dorky glasses, Lizard can feel the angry stares of dozens of gun-toting rednecks on his pasty white face. He sat back down at the bar and finished his beer without a word! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE GEEKS! This one is fearless!!Being not too excited about viewless Mt. Rogers and a few balds of the Grayson Highlands and anxious for a little adventure, I decided to take the Iron Mountain Trail out of Damascus. The IMT was the AT like 20+ years ago, and some bright- eyed gumshoe had the idea of rerouting the AT all over the place. The IMT is still maintained, WITH shelters, and meets the new AT (obviously). On the map, the IMT is straight as an arrow, level, and smooth for like 18 miles to Chestnut Flats, but the AT from Damascus, VA takes like 46 miles! After juggling unmarked sidetrails and reading a map I'd scribbled into the back cover of my guidebook, I found the new AT after a joyous venture on the IMT. The IMT shelter registers (a notebook and a pencil in every shelter) had last been signed like 2 months ago. NEAT! an old neglected trail!Today I arrived at the Partnership Shelter, which is the nicest shelter on the trail. A stone's throw away is the Mount Rogers Recreation Area headquarters with a phone (from which you can order pizza!) where I was able to call my younger brother Mark. He drove down, we had a short hike on a beautiful day, then he took me to Christiansburg, VA to my parent's house where I'm typing this right now! They'll be home from Texas tomorrow (sunday, April 10) and to their surprise, I'll be here raiding the fridge. A close friend of mine (in fact, the first person to ever mention the AT back in high school) has made plans to hike the trail southbound this year, starting late June. We'll see eachother in the woods! Best of luck Brad Boston! As you may be aware, I switched out my Granite Gear "Vapor Trail" backpack for one with a little more chesthair. While home, I'm also picking up my Hennessey Hammock, my summer sleeping bag, a lighter fleece, dropping off my gloves and hat, and possibly bringing an ipod-type device loaded with all my music. WOW! that was wierd! The bathroom is 10 feet away from this computer and I barely made it in time! I'm conditioned that whenever I feel the slightest pressure, I just go. I haven't needed to "hold it" for the past month and a half! Another odd thing I noticed is that even though I'm in great shape (walking up and down 1000 feet of steep rocky slope), I just got winded climbing the stairs. This hike does strange things. Well, that's more than enough info for the viewing audience. Until next time.... No Pain, No Rain, No MAINE!