Date: 2013-05-16
From: Mount Rogers Visitor Center

To: Trail days
Miles today: 0.0

Morning came and I made breakfast and blew off hiking halfway to Atkins and hiking back. Later I received a call from Honey Badger who asked if I would give some hikers a ride back to Damascus for Trail Days. Trail Days is a 3 day event held in honor of past and present thru hikers. Last year brought more than 15,000 hikers to Damascus for the 3 days. Vendors are there, medical checkups and vet clinics are set up for hikers, there¢s food, drink and camaraderie. A good place to catch up with other hikers you haven¢t seen for a while. I drove to Atkins and picked up Honey Badger, Berkeley and Double D and his 2 dogs. He wanted one of his dogs to see the vet at Trail Days as she had an injured paw. We tied their packs to the roof and everyone piled in for the almost hour drive to Damascus. I dropped them in the center of town. This is where I would run into Rambo. I haven¢t seen Rambo since Hawk Mountain Shelter when I was beginning to get sick. She had just hiked into town and picked up her mail drop and was heading to Tent City to set up camp for a few days. Tent City is a large field about a mile out of town where the hikers and vendors hangout for the weekend. I left Damascus to head back near Atkins when I ran into 2 young hikers from Portland ME sitting on the side of the road with a cardboard sign that said ¢DAMASCUS¢. I stopped and we chatted for a moment and I gave them a ride back to Damascus. One hiker was named Bad Larry and I cannot remember the other hikers name. Both young men were glad to chat with someone from back home. I used to live in ME for many years. I lived, worked and went to school in Portland for nearly 10 years. They tell me they met while working at the South Portland Olive Garden, a place I used to frequent during the time they worked there¢¦ but I don¢t recall any employees from back then. Small world. Again, I dropped them at the center of town but this time I parked down by the river and headed to the Blue Blaze Caf© for pizza and beer. It was crowded. I stood outside talking to the Portland guys when Patchouli would come up to me and give me a big hello with a hug. I met Patchouli over at Carvers Gap. We talked for a few minutes. Double D showed up and we decided to get a table together. A hiker from 2009, Legs, would join us. He just met Double D while setting up camp next to each other. Legs is from South Carolina, retired Army (Hoo ¢ Raah). He thru hiked after he retired. I loved hearing his stories. Double D left and Legs and I would enjoy a second beer (a yellow beer mind you) and talked for a short while longer. For those of you that don¢t know me well enough¢¦ I drink only Guinness. But Guinness is not for sale this week for Trail Days. So drinking a yellow beer is like drinking koolaid. ? The band began to play in the bar side of the Blue Blaze. After paying our bill, I slipped over there to check it out. I ran into Cowabunga and Bootless. Quick hello¢s and off I went to feed Fizzgig and take her for a walk. The town was beginning to hop. The Old Mill (another bar and eating joint) was located right where I parked by the water. It appeared to be a ¢locals¢ hangout - I could tell by the jeans and cotton T-shirts.. oh and some wore cowboy boots. I popped in for a minute. I didn¢t recognize any of the hikers so after I circled around¢¦ I left. I sat by my car for the next few hours listening to the music that would pour out of the Old Mill. I spent the night by the river.