Date: 2004-05-13
From: Groseclose, VA (near Atkins, VA)

To: Damascus, VA for Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

March 13 through 15:How do I describe Trail Days? On one hand it is a outdoor convention for hikers where vendors line the park and hold seminars and free give-aways. On another hand, it is a reunion of all the hikers. It is also a drinking fest reminiscent of college parties. And lastly, it is a wholesome way for the town of Damascus to celebrate something. In fact, I would say the locals outnumbered the hikers this weekend.Thursday morning, after an early breakfast, Wizard and I bagged a ride from a Home Health Physical Therapist. She could only take us as far as Abington so we thumbed for a second ride and were picked up by some section hikers we passed on the Trail. We got to Mt. Roger's Outfitters before Palmtree, Catdog, and Hawk even though they paid to shuttle to town. Their driver got a little lost.After milling around the store and post office, we headed to "Tent City", a field where hikers can set up their tents. After all the storms, the grounds were wet and muddy. We managed to find some shady spots to camp and then headed into town.My goal was to lighten up by sending some stuff home. Of course, I managed to drop quite a few bucks on lighter equipment at the outfitters. I replaced my sleeping bag with a fleece blanket. I replaced my thermarest with a Pro-light version, same size. Things like that. Probably one of the simplest purchases I made was buying some Titanium tent stakes that weigh nothing.Because a storm came in, we hung out at Sundog's for awhile and dropped some more cash on cool hiking merchandise. We were out of control. After a pot luck dinner at the Baptist Church, we headed over to a not-so-great seminar by Etowah--yawn--and then to a very intriguing seminar presented by FitSystem.* Since I was already looking for new boots, I wanted to sign up and have them check over my feet for the right fit. Unfortunately, the earliest I could get a spot was Saturday morning. Considering that my right leg still hurt, I welcomed the days off ahead.I left the seminar early to head over to the Old Mill and fraternize with the locals. Met up with Sundog employee, Reggie, who gave me the skinny on the town of Damascus. He loves it here considering you can walk out your backdoor and hit the mountains. Expenses for living in town are fairly low and everyone seems to know each other. Although he only did a section of the Trail and landed in Damascus years ago, people still assume he's a thru-hiker and ask him how his trip is going.Melissa, the bartender, kept lining up drinks for us. I saw Ski Bum and Lumber milling around waiting for the band to start. There was a very rambunctious thru-hiker named Bramble who seemed to be everywhere in the town at the same time. You couldn't miss him because he was rallying up the excitement of the Trail Days by yelling "Thru-hikers unite!" or something like that. The band was a combination of Reggae and Jazz with a lot of percussion and brass. Everyone was dancing. And after a few numbing beers, I joined in with my bumb leg and sore feet. There were seven members in Yo Momma's Fat Booty Band from Boone, NC, and at least two had dredlocks. That style appears to be big this year.I met Jan and Helen, mother/daughter section hikers from Ontario. Helen was in her late 60's or early 70's and thought Brambles dancing was worth the $3 cover charge alone. They also kept buying us drinks and eventually they joined us on the floor till last call came around.On Friday, our group was scattered because Tent City was way too noisy for us "old folk" and still nasty with deep mud puddles. So everyone packed up and headed to various destinations. I stashed my stuff at The Place and sometimes at Sundog's. Catdog went to the FitSystem tent to get custom boots and orthotics. Wizard and Palmtree planned to leave that day after Wizard also got some boots. Hawk found Peggy and hung out with her at their RV. They invited everyone over for dinner.It was around noontime that Saltlick, Coyote, Michigoose, and Lefty showed up. Saltlick and I spent a good part of the day together catching up. Coyote and he gave us the rundown of the terrain after Atkins to Bland. They made it sound awful.Saltlick, Coyote, Catdog, Michigoose, Lefty and I all headed to Peggy and Hawk's RV for dinner and to tease their cat named "Grumpy." Pretty easy to annoy but always coming back for more abuse from thru-hikers. We ended the evening at the Mill again but the band wasn't as good as the night before. Saw many hikers there including Granny Pants (who changed her name but I forgot), Stargaze and L.L.Fuzzy, the Hobbits, and Navigator.Everyone decided to get a mohawk it seemed. Even Sarge, the thru-hiker from New Orleans got one. He resembled Mr. T. When Saltlick and I were walking through The Place, a young guy said, "You guys don't even recognize me." After we looked at him confused, he said, "Bucket!" (we met him in Hiawassee, Ga. He had a Mohawk as well.)There were also a lot of kilts; the big seller at the vendors. I saw a man adorned with Harley Davidson digs from head to toe, but wearing a bright red Scottish kilt above his biker boots. Real intimidating.On Saturday, I spent five hours at the FitSystem tent getting custom orthotics and some new boots. After awhile I wasn't really thinking straight and wanted to get out of there. Needless to say, I dropped more money (this story does not have a good ending) on some boots.I ran off to get involved in the hiker parade, which in my opinion was the highlight of the weekend. All the hikers march down the main street of Damascus while the town throws water balloons at them. Actually it was easy to stay dry marching through town. The ones who were wettest were the ones carrying water balloons and water guns. The sun was intense so the water was welcoming.Catdog left town after the parade but I stuck around to make sure my boots were okay. I also had a ride with Hawk and Peggy early the next day.Saltlick and I headed over to their RV for another delicious meal. By now, everything was winding down for us and people were eager to leave and get into the mountains.All in all, I had a great time and consider Trail Days a worthwhile excursion and reprieve from the trail.* Later you will find that LD was not so happy with the FitSystem.