Date: 2009-05-02
From: Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 120.0

Dear readers,Hello from Bland,Virginia! Despite what people dub Damascus, thus far, Bland has had the friendliest people (most of them seem over 60). Everyone says hello, asks us how our hike is going, and says "Welcome to Bland", even when our gear is spread out all over the place in front of their post office.Gosh, the problem with only getting to a computer once a week or so is I never know where to begin when I finally can sit down and update TJ. Luckily, I've taken to jotting down bullet points in my journal of things I want to mention in my next entry.First of all, Virginia has been BEAUTIFUL! I have loved every step of the way. I can't imagine feeling the "Virginia Blues" that many speak of, but maybe I'll feel differently in 400 miles. The weather has been gorgeous - sunny and hot! Although, rain seems to be passing through the next few days. We've been cruising, averaging 20 mile days for the past week. Scenery has consisted of meadows, farmland, countryside, cows, vistas, ponies, horses, barns, etc. Grayson Highlands lived up to expectations and was gorgeous and the wild ponies were abundant which had me thrilled. Bets were taken at the shelter as to how many photos I took of them. Less than ten, but they didn't consider my video footage!I had one of my most scared moments of the trail two days ago. A cow came trotting up the trail towards me at the edge of a forest. Why? I'm not sure, but it felt the need to run towards me as I came into view around a switchback. You are probably laughing, and yes, looking back, it's funny. At the time, it was not funny. I knew Saint and Hermes were minutes behind me, so I waited out of sight from the cow for them. Actually, they asked "why are you hiking southbound with a panicked look on your face?" as I approached them coming down the trail. Of course they thought it was hysterical, made loud noises, clapped their trekking poles together and the cow finally got out of the way. Why it didn't run after them, I'm not sure. Maybe they can sense fear? Cows are unpredictable. Laugh all you want, it was my scariest AT experience to date.On that note, I saw another bear a few days ago. It was only for a fleeting moment, though. I heard a loud noise in the leaves ahead of me as I came around a bend and looked up just in time to see a big, round, black butt dart away. We hadn't been bear bagging our food since entering Virginia, but needless to say, we bear bagged them that night.Gangsta and I have discovered the perfect trail food recently. Smucker's Uncrustables!!!!!!! Yes, they are the epitomy of America. Convenienced-based, overpriced, frozen food geared towards America's middle-upper class too lazy to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich themselves to throw in their child's lunch box. I hope that down the road, when I'm a mother, I will never reach that point, however, as a long distance thru-hiker, the $2.99 a box is well worth being able to pull out a ready-to-eat PB and J sandwich that is sealed around the edges (no sticky mess) and does not require me carrying a jar of peanut butter, jelly and a loaf of bread. Thank you Smucker's. Oh! I shaved my legs for the first time last night! That was exciting (and time consuming). Just in time to sport the skirt my mom sent me as an Easter present! A lot of the guys have been starting to wear a "kilt" made by Outdoor Research and rave about the airflow it delivers. What can I say? I was jealous. I saw the Women's OR Expressa skort in an outfitter, tried it on and loved it! Luckily,it's a skort, so I don't need to worry about always sitting in ladylike fashion- we all know that doesn't happen too often out here.The forest has exploded into a sea of green within the last 4 days. It's been beautiful. Wildflowers are starting to pop up and dogwood trees are in full bloom. Their white petals are a beautiful contrast to the green backdrop. I also heard my first whipoorwill (spelling?) a few nights ago! That was exciting. Except it wouldn't shut up. Even mother nature has her own equivelant of car alarms going off in the night, I guess. Gangsta was a Wildlife major in college and birds are her specialty so she's a great source to have around!The crew is going to be disbanding for awhile. Everyone is kinda doing their own thing the next few days- visiting family, taking zeroes, pushing ahead,etc. But as the trail seems to go, I'm sure I'll see them again. Gangsta and I will continue to hike together. We are on a mission to get to Catawba, VA by next Sunday 4pm because there is a "don't miss" restaurant called the Homeplace. All You Can Eat country homestyle cookin' that is only open Thurs-Sunday. We'll be pulling some big miles and long days, but it will definitely be worth it.For the first time in my life, I'm counting calories- to make sure I'm getting enough. My calorie consumpion has been around 3,000/day which is pretty good. I eat around 6-800 for breakfast, 1200 in snacks throughout the day, and another 1000 or so for dinner. The best "bang for your buck" when it comes to calories hands down are the Little Debbie fruit pies that come in individual servings in the boxes and only cost 50 cents (actually they tie with the Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies)! Well, actually Ben and Jerry win the award for most calories per dollar but since I can't take ice cream on the trail, it doesn't count. Unfortunately, they (fruit pies) are heavy, but well worth it!Alright, time to wrap this up. I'm zeroing here in Bland and might have time for one more entry before I hit the trail again, but if not, I'll be in Pearisburg on Tuesday. I'm hot on the heels of the Packadivas (Loon, Rocket, Storm, Gromet) and will be hopefully catching them soon! I missed them by a few hours at a road crossing yesterday. Happy Trails,WagsPS- big shoutout to Jason J, the Ransdells, my parents, and Risa for the cards, goodies, and care packages sent to my Bland maildrop. It felt like Christmas in May!