Date: 2019-04-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm heading back to the trail to finish my final section, Route 19E to Damascus. Just 75 miles and I'm done. Hard to believe. Left home at 6:30am and have a shuttle lined up from Damascus to 19E at 7pm with Uncle Mike so I'll have some time to hopefully surprise the guys I was hiking with.Green is creeping up the mountainsides along I-81 in Virginia. Above 3500 feet the trees are still not in leaf. I stop for lunch in Salem outside Roanoke, then decide to detour by way of Lickskillet hostel where I stayed last year. It sounds stupid, but there's a short section of road walk I missed because my host Mongo picked me up at one trailhead and dropped me off at the other. It's been bugging me since. I'm the guy who exits a shelter on the same path I entered to avoid missing a few feet. So I meander on backroads through the New River Valley and isolated little valleys with cows grazing in the meadows. I walk the 200 yards on VA608 between the trail heads, laying a hand on the white blazes at each end as a way of bonding this into my hike. Then I drive the mile down to the hostel.No one is here, but it looks the same as last summer and just as tranquil. As I'm leaving a note a car pulls in and I step out on the porch to greet Mongo and his guest. Mongo remembers me - our tire blowout and my frozen midnight ribs atGarden Mountain hostel are hard to forget. And it was Mongo who named me Midnight. Garden Mountain hasn't improved much. Just last week a girl called from the trailhead for a ride, they said they were on the way, but didn't arrive for four hours. But Mongo is still living his dream - he earns a living by hanging out with cool people and he credits God for showing him the way. I'm happy for him.Back to the interstate, I get cell service again and find a text response from UNICEF that they just passed Elk Garden to enter Grayson Highlands. I don't know whether they'll hike through to Massie Gap, the next road access, or stay at Thomas Knob shelter. If the latter, I'll have a four mile hike both ways to find them. They undoubtedly lost service after passing Elk Garden so I'll have to take my chances.I hit Ingles for trail magic supplies: oranges, strawberries, blueberries, Cokes, and donuts. After a couple thousand miles I think I know what hikers crave. Then I try to make good time to Massie Gap, but it's an hour away over backroad route 16 that winds over the mountains. I'm stuck behind a Walmart tractor trailer much of the way - but there's no Walmart for a hundred miles in that direction so it's some strange shortcut.The final stretch on Route 58 is even windier with dozens of hairpin turns over a few miles. Finally I reach Grayson Highlands state park and Massie Gap. Cars are parked everywhere. There's a big charity walk ending here. The walkers hiked 30 miles from Damascus today and are celebrating with pizza and beer at the trailhead. I hike past the pizza party, determined to make it the four miles to Thomas Knob in an hour. Otherwise I'll be late for my shuttle. And of course I have no service to warn Uncle Mike. But soon after I reach the AT from the side trail I hear "Valley!" from up the trail. It's Clammy! He's a welcome sight, and saved me a lot of extra walking.Food Truck is with him, who I thought I'd never see again. He's the new Ringo. I approve. Couldn't have made a better choice.I lay out the spread and Clammy scarfs down donuts. Supergirl stops by, who I hadn't met before, then UNICEF, Downhill, Buzz, and Rocket Man show up. Reunion of all my favorite hikers!Since I last saw them they hiked through the Good Friday storm to Overmountain shelter where it was again packed. When they reached Damascus they hitched over to Abingdon to stay in another Super 8, eat at Taco Bell, then walk next door to Wendy's immediately after. They all seem pretty happy with the way it turned out. But they have no new songs for me! Fast Lane never shows up, but he did recover from his stomach bug. Apparently it's still making the rounds among hikers. J-Stroke, Taco and two guys I've never met appear and finish off the trail magic. After packing up and seeing off my crew with a promise to catch them again on my way home, I end up driving the other four down to the General Store, cramming all five of us and our packs in my Audi sedan.It's time to book for Damascus and my shuttle. Thirty miles of the incredibly twisty route 58 stands between us. It's like Dragon's Tail near Fontana, beloved by motorcyclists for its two hundred curves over fourteen miles, except twice as long!After an exhilarating ride and a little white-knuckling I reach Damascus and scan for Uncle Mike's car. Fortunately he's sitting right on the main drag of this small town. I park and we don't about an hour to Mountain Harbour hostel. A hiker/trail angel has brought in donuts and shares his frozen chimichangas so I make up for the dinner I missed in my rush.Also here are a tall girl named Sweet Tooth who I met hundreds of miles ago, a fiftyish guy named Gumby who swears we met, a career hiker named Gypsy, and The Colonel, a thirty-year Army vet thruhiking for a second time, and his visiting wife Maryann. The Colonel was hospitalized for an ankle issue and later for a kidney stone during his last hike. It took over seven months. He's looking to do this one in five.It's been a long day, time to rest.