Date: 2016-05-13
From: Damascus

To: Damascus Trail Days and make up hiking
Miles today: 43.0

Thursday through Saturday ¢ May 12, 13, 13 ¢ Trail Days, Damascus VAArrived in Damascus on Thursday afternoon. Vendors were beginning to set up displays and the town was in full swing of final preparations. Hikers were allowed in town but nothing official would begin until Friday morning. Trail days is really a combination of two events,: First is the official portion with music, food, parades and events. Second is the unofficial portion which occurs in Tent City, a fenced in area along the river in the woods where most hikers set up their tents for the weekend. Think of this portion more like a mini-version of Burning Man.In the Tent City several vendors set up to assist hikers in repairing or replacing gear. My hiking boots were more appropriate for Colorado with Thinsulate for cold weather and snow. The last few weeks my feet would sweat so bad that my socks were soaked by the end of a day. I stopped by a new manufacturer called Vasque. I looked at several but decided to move on. I approached the Backpacker magazine booth and talked to the rep explaining my needs. He sent me back to Vasque booth highly recommending them so off I went. After trying out several shoes I settled on one and asked the price handing them my credit card. The rep there asked if I would wear a pair of their socks with their logo and next thing I know I am walking out with them for free ¢ WOW I was thrilled. Next over to Osprey backpacks because I lost a lot of fat in the stomach and the pack slid over my skinny hips. Twenty minutes later I had a completely refitted pack with new harness ¢ again for free. Hey this Trail Days is great.That night the fire department held a massive dinner feast for everyone. I returned to the hostel campsite for the evening. After looking over the Tent City I was fearful of Riley in that area as the estimated number of campers was over 10,000 in the woods. That turned out to be a good decision. The hostel held a bean bag tournament and then a campfire. A local band began playing rock music a few blocks away and Riley and I fell asleep in our tent to the music. All in all a great first day.The next day the events started. I got a haircut, foot wash and massage and lots and lots of food everywhere for the hikers ¢ all free and donated. There were several weddings in the tent city including a hostel owner that invited all of the hikers to the ceremony and BBQ dinner afterwards. I wandered into Tent City after dinner to meet up with friends. Off to one side was a huge area set aside for what would be a huge campfire. At 9pm I could hear the sounds of drums indicating the start of the fire so Riley and I headed back into Tent City. The crown was massive around the fire and looked more like a scene out of Brave Heart with William Wallace. Thousands of hikers were bare top painted in war paint on their bodies and faces dancing circles around the fire, drinking beer and smoking pot. I knew then Riley and I did not belong. This was the first time I felt out of place generationally. This was for the young and wild and that was not me. Saturday I continued to go to events including the talent contest and participated in the hikers parade. This was no small parade with thousands of hikers marching down main street while the towns people soaked us with water guns, water cannons and anything else that would launch water at us. By the end of the parade Riley and I were soaked. I had fun but Riley did not seem to be pleased getting wet. I went over to the local food store and bought myself two pork chops, some salad and Hawaiian Bread and cooked it on the grill back at the hostel campground. Great meal to end a great day and fun event as I would be heading back 47 miles to where I got off the trail.Sunday through Tuesday ¢ May 15, 16, 17 ¢ Lake Watauga Shook Beach to Damascus ¢ 47 milesReturned to point where I got off the Appalachian Trail to attend Trail Days in Damascus. Made a sign and put on the back of my backpack with the words ¢Lake Watauga Hampton¢ and began walking with Riley on the main street of Damascus. Within about three blocks a man pulled up to give us a ride. He was a section hiker in town for Trail Days and was headed that way.Commissioner texted me he was between Roan Mountain and Laurel Falls and would not reach the lake until Monday.There was a sign at the lake pavilion indicating that hikers must continue nonstop for the next five miles because of active bears in the area. The first shelter area as closed for camping. I came to the lake dam on the northwest side of the lake. As I crossed, I could see that the dam was several hundred feet high and a huge open valley below giving me the view of just how deep the lake was. It was a cold and sunny day and even hiking I needed to keep both my sweatshirt and rain jacket on to keep warm. I reached the Vandervetter Shelter around five and decided to stop there for the day. There were three other hikers there already and we chatted on how few hikers were on the trail. We guessed that many of the hikers that jumped ahead for trail days decided to forge ahead rather than make up missed miles. The shelter provided a beautiful view of the lake and town below. By 7pm it was getting very cold so everyone decided to head for their tents and call it a night. This was going to be my first night in the new warm weather sleeping bag along with the Reactor liner and down blanket. I saw a package of hand warmers in the shelter left behind so I decided to try and place one in the foot area of the sleeping bag. It worked and I slept through the night nice and warm.In the morning Riley and I headed off with the goal of reaching Low Gap 18 miles away as the forecast was for rain overnight. By mid afternoon we reached a hug open field that was leased to a rancher with cows wandering all around. When they saw us they all came running towards us. It scared Riley and he hiked between my legs as the cows followed us for about a mile.I came across a hiker coming the other direction asking if I had seen seven women who were slack packing. He was their ride. We chatted for a few minutes. I reached Low Gap around 7pm and began to set up the tent but the rains began before I could finish. I quickly finished and threw my backpack and Riley into the tent. By now everything was wet and we still did not have dinner yet. We ate in the tent being very careful to not drop anything in the tent. By 8 I took the food out and hung it in a tree then crawled back in with Riley for the night. I saw I had cell coverage so I called Marilee to chat and tell her that I missed her. We chatted for a while then I went to sleep. Even with most things wet I stayed warm. The rains picked up and it poured all night. Riley woke up growling nonstop so I took the flashlight and shined it out the door. Of course I was on high alert and it took about an hour to fall back to sleep.The next morning it was still raining and I had to pack my gear while still in the tent with Riley. It did not make much difference as most items were wet anyway. We crossed the road where two men were cleaning up huge amounts of trash left by hikers travelling to trail days. Sadly I see this a lot especially at the shelters. We chatted for a few minutes. The rain continued and the trail was now a river of mud. Today would be 15 miles back to Damascus. By mid afternoon the rains stopped and I came across the same hiker I met yesterday waiting for his slack packer group. We talked as he gave me cheese and crackers, a soda and a banana. I was starving because I did not eat breakfast. When I left him I took the wrong path. After about a mile I realized I was going down the mountain rather than up and rather than turn back I decided to blaze a path back up the mountain. I should have turned around as it took me an hour to climb the steep grade through thick brush and trees. When I reached the top I was hot, sweating and exhausted only to realize that I was almost back to the point where I started ¢ RATS ¢ an hour lost and now out of water. By this point the trail was so muddy that you simply slide around in two inches of mud. Those new shoes that I got at Trail Days was covered. I reached Damascus around 5pm and went back to the same hostel / camping area that I stayed for Trail Days.Around 9pm Commissioner texted me that he decided to do a monster day of 32 miles and was about one hour out of Damascus hiking with his headlamp. We met up at the hostel and decided to take tomorrow as a down day so I could dry my stuff and he could rest his feet.