Date: 2013-05-02
From: Damascus

To: campsite passed Wise Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Fifty Five - Damascus to campsite passes Wise ShelterThis morning was a bit hectic because we still had so much to do. After another great breakfast from Crazy Larry, he took me over to the coffee shop where I met Lone Wolf. It turns out that the outfitter next door didn't open until 9 not 8am like the sign suggested so I headed downtown first to resupply food and then back to the outfitter to find shoes. Unfortunately they didn't have Keens in my size and I ended up buying Salomons (a brand I have never worn before). I hope they work out okay, all day today my feet were sore except when I was on level ground. Not a good sign. Dave our shuttle guy made a few extra stops for us and brought us to an old wooden church that had been made with logs from an even older church. By the time we got back to the trail it was lunchtime so when Hobo needed to stop for something I found a rock to sit on and pulled out a subway sub and ate. Hobo caught up and laughed when he saw me eating already. About an hour later we came to Elk Park and saw our first pony. I'm glad I got a picture because later Melkie would have chased him away. We hiked up towards Mount Rogers but we didn't take the half mile side trail to the top instead we continued on the AT to the Thomas Knob Shelter. It was a piece of art! It looked like a cabin and had a window and an upstairs. Hobo started reading the trail log an saw that lots of people had seen the ponies already I could tell that he was thinking of staying so that he could see the ponies too. We decided we hadn't hiked enough miles yet so we continued on. The Grayson Highland area is absolutely gorgeous! It had a ruggedness that reminds me of Scotland with rolling hills and rock outcroppings but on the horizon you can still see bigger mountains that look blue in comparison to the grassy hills filled with pines. The trail was a pile of rocks and boulders that made the going more difficult especially with the new shoes on but the scenery took my mind off of the pain and it was fun going through "the fat man squeeze" (giant rocks that are so close together you have to squeeze through them). As we were walking down a hill I spotted the wild ponies! I had to put Melkie on a leash so he wouldn't chase them off but Hobo got to go right up to them! How cool is that! I thought for sure that we wouldn't even see them because of Melkie. Then about a half mile down the trail Melkie started barking again. This time it was at long horned cows and within view of the cows were more wild ponies! I couldn't believe it! It was getting late and we still had miles to go but finally we hit the five hundred mile marker (the Wise Shelter)! The shelter was full but we saw Zen there who we hadn't seen since before the Smokies. He was just about to leave for some night hiking. There was a campfire going so we decided to roast our hotdogs and have our celebratory meal before pushing on to a place where we could camp (there is no tenting permitted in the Grayson Highlands). My feet were so sore that I actually wore my crocs for the last mile to our campsite. It's beautiful here, I can hear the stream from in my hammock and we were told that we might have four legged visitors in the night (I guess the cows roam free here too)! I am totally exhausted but can't wait to do it all again tomorrow! Good night world!Confessions of a thruhiker:This is part of a real conversation that took place at a shelter between two thruhikers: " Did you see all the food in the garbage in that restroom?" "Yes, did you take the broccoli? It looked so good."TroubleGo confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ¢Hanry David Thoreau