Date: 2004-05-02
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: The Place, Damascus, VA
Miles today: 18.3

Start: 7:45 pmFinish: 5:15 pmHooray, Virginia! My fourth state so far on the A.T.! Goodbye, Tennessee ¢ beautiful, as long as you keep your eyes above all of the trash on the ground.Got out of camp an hour after Scholar and SamIAm this morning. It was misty or drizzling all day, with one terrific downpour around 3 p.m. (Found out later that there had been a tornado not too far away that downed a number of trees.) I had had my rain jacket and pack cover on, but by the time I could have got my rain pants out, it would have been too late, so sudden was the flood. My trousers were soaked through, and funneled water into my boots and socks, so my last two hours of walking were squishy and sloshy.The slackpackers from Laurel Fork Falls passed me again ¢ no packs, no rain gear, only camelbacks. I felt tired, but somewhat self-righteous also.Shuffled into town from where the trail runs through someone¢s back yard, through a small residential area to a small green park with a three-walled shelter beside a river, and on past the new swing sets and slide area to the Caboose ¢ a real caboose that serves as the town¢s information center. Across the river is main street Damascus.The Mount Rogers Outfitter was still open, but their hostel, Dave¢s Place, was all booked up, so I went on to The Place ¢ a hostel maintained by hikers and owned by the Methodist Church out front. I was expecting space on the floor of an auditorium, but instead it was a cavernous house with painted wooden floors, four to six simply-built grey-painted wooden bunks in each of six rooms, a comfy library full of couches, a dining area, kitchen and screen porch. I grabbed a towel and a bunk, stripped off my soaking clothes and headed for the laundromat in my rain gear.After washing my clothes and a few hostel towels, it was so wonderful to change into warm, dry, clean clothes, and sit for a while in the library, working the crossword and chatting with the other hikers there ¢ Franco and Benny, Crash!Bang!, SamIAm, Chris, and others ¢ about the trail ahead and behind and about where to eat in town (Dairy King vs. Side Track Caf©).Met Sox at the Laundromat. She told me that Scholar had saved a bunk for me at Dave¢s Place, but ¢Dave¢ forgot to tell me¢¦ ? Jill and Matt from Indiana are there, as is Jester. Jess and Eric have left the trail for two weeks ¢ hope to see them again after my own trail hiatus at the end of this month.Meanwhile, I¢m sharing a room with SamIAm, young Zach of the bountiful care package at Kincora, Franco and Benny, and Kaalogi (sp? aka Luke the middle school teacher). Elly, Chris and Sauerkraut are next door. Rael was here until this morning ¢ I just missed him!! Maybe when he takes his next zero day I can catch up to him. I¢d send him a postcard to his next mail drop, but I don¢t know his real name¢¦!Two groups of slackpackers arrived here ¢ Didi, Van Gogh, Chef Ra and LudaChris; and the ¢Other Five¢ (other than the ¢Fab Five¢ ¢ Queen Diva¢s posse), comprising Taiwan John, Switchback, Pokey, Zippy and Indy. All soaked to the skin, as I was. They filled up the remaining bunks in the house.Padre is downstairs, healing from a damaged ankle. His pals Adam and Pooja Blue (aka Sara from the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega!) have been checking in on him and waiting on him while he stays off of his foot. Tinker is also here! Was good to see his sweet mug when I first walked through the door; he was my first A.T. connection, met him at the REI in Framingham.So you see, it¢s one big happy hiker community here¢¦